Erik ten Hag lost his competitive match as Manchester United boss. The Red Devils succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the opening fixture of the Premier League at Old Trafford.
The visitors started on the front-foot and came close to scoring just under 15 minutes following a defensive error by Diogo Dalot. Leandro Trossard tried to take advantage of the error only to smash the side netting. The Seagulls were in control of the game and scored in the 29th minute through a brace by Pascal Gross.
Manchester United struggled to build momentum in the first-half as they constantly lost possession in the middle at the expense of Fred Rodriguez and Scott McTominay. Gross scored a second goal for Brighton in the 39th minute to make it 2-0 by interval. Old Trafford crowd boed after the whistle at half-time following a dismal performance by the home side.
The center-back pair of Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez displayed a solid performance at the heart of defense. The duo resembled a powerful partnership at the back.
Cristiano Ronaldo came on for Fred in the opening five minutes of the second-half. Christian Eriksen dropped in a much deeper role and United dominated the entire half. Marcus Rashford was then denied a goal when his attempt from close range was saved by Robert Sanchez.
McTominay was substituted for Donny Van de Beek and the Red Devils fully dominated the middle of the park. Manchester United scored through an own goal by Alexis Mac Allister following a corner.
Ten Hag introduced Antony Elanga, Tyrell Malacia and Alejandro Garnacho in the 89th minute. The Seagulls however saw the game through to seal a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford for the first time ever. This also marked the first defeat for ten Hag in a competitive fixture. The English giants lost their opening fixture for the first time since the 2-1 defeat to Swansea in 2014 during the reign of Luis Van Gaal.
Graham Potter’s men have now won two consecutive matches against Manchester United including a 4-0 humiliation at the Amex Stadium last season.
Manchester United starting XI: De Gea; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; McTominay, Fred, Fernandes; Sancho, Eriksen, Rashford.
Brighton starting XI: Sanchez; Webster, Dunk, Veltman; Gross, Mac Allister, Caicedo, March, Lallana, Trossard; Welbeck.
