Manchester United were beaten by three goals to one against Brighton & Hove Albion in what was the club’s first home defeat since the first game of last season, which was inflicted by the same opposition. It was another disappointing result so let’s take a look at each player’s performance.
Andre Onana – 6/10
United’s new number one was breached three times this game but none of the goals were particularly his fault. He made some good saves in the end to lessen the embarrassment in the scoreline.
Diogo Dalot – 7/10
Dalot was arguably United’s best defender in the game in what was often truly shambolic defending from the rest of the team. His dribbling on the right was good, beating his man and getting a dangerous cross into the box. He also made some good progressive passes to relieve the pressure Brighton were putting on.
Victor Lindelof – 4/10
A terrible game from the Swede who was a clear downgrade defensively on the injured Raphael Varane. He was physically outdone by Brighton’s attacking players throughout the game, winning just one of his three ground duels and being bypassed multiple times.
Lisandro Martinez – 4/10
Worryingly, Martinez has not been good at all since the start of the season and it continued in this game. His wayward passing was causing the team to lose possession many times in the game and like his centre-back partner, he was easily bypassed by Brighton’s front men.
Sergio Reguilon – 7.5/10
In his debut game for United, the Spaniard’s individual display was one of the very few positives from this match. Reguilon was very energetic down the left hand side, constantly offering an overlapping run to Marcus Rashford. His passing was crisp when playing out of the back. His crosses into the box also posed a threat that United have been lacking from that side since Luke Shaw’s injury.
Casemiro – 3/10
By far United’s worst player in this match. We are used to Casemiro being rash on the ball but he took it to another level this game, completing just 79% of his passes and constantly being the culprit for promising attacks breaking down. Without the ball, his tracking was as poor as we’ve seen it this season and his awful positioning arguably played a part in Brighton’s opening two goals. It was no surprise to see him taken off at the 64th minute mark.
Christian Eriksen – 4/10
This was the game where Mason Mount’s absence was felt most. Eriksen was a ghost out of possession. Him and Marcus Rashford being so poor without the ball on United’s left side was the key reason for why the press was bypassed on nearly every occasion by Brighton.
Bruno Fernandes – 5/10
It was a poor game from Bruno as well. He was unable to provide any meaningful creativity to the team, as he didn’t create a single big chance all game. His set-piece delivery was also frustratingy inadequate.
Scott McTominay – 2/10
McTominay was introduced into the starting line-up to faciliatate a change of shape into a 4-4-2 diamond. The shape did not help United in any way with or without the ball and McTominay was practically invisible, completing just 15 passes and not having a single shot or chance created. He really should not be starting games for this club.
Marcus Rashford – 7.5/10
The Englishman was by far the team’s biggest attackng threat, hitting the post and setting up Rasmus Hojlund for a beautiful goal that was only marginally disallowed due to the ball running out of play. His score is only put down by his out of possession weaknesses that largely hindered United’s press.
Rasmus Hojlund – 7/10
It was Hojlund’s home debut for the club and all in all he was a breath of fresh air up front. His finish and box movement for the disallowed goal were brilliant and he also made a lot of promising runs in the box throughout his 60 minutes on the pitch. He suffered from a lack of service from his teammates and the team suffered when he went off for Anthony Martial.
Anthony Martial – 3/10
A 30 minute cameo from Martial that basically killed the only chance of a comeback. It’s truly a stark difference between him and Hojlund
Hannibal Mejbri – 8/10
Hannibal gave us the only real moment of happiness in this game. It was good to see him take his opportunity by scoring a fabulous goal in an otherwise dire afternoon. Hopefully he gets more chances to shine in the future.
