Ten Hag blames dismal defending for Man Utd defeat to Brighton
Manchester United’s under-pressure manager, Erik ten Hag, lamented his team’s defensive frailties after a last-minute goal by Brighton condemned them to a 2-1 defeat on Saturday. The match, held at the American Express Community Stadium, saw United fail to secure a point despite Amad Diallo’s deflected equaliser following Danny Welbeck’s opener for Brighton.
United appeared to have rescued a point when Diallo’s shot found the net, but Brighton’s Joao Pedro was left unmarked in the dying moments, allowing him to head in the decisive goal. Ten Hag was visibly frustrated with his side’s defensive lapses, particularly with new signing Matthijs de Ligt and Scott McTominay, who were caught out of position on Simon Adingra’s cross.
“If you protect the goal like we do then you drop points,” said Ten Hag in his post-match interview. “We concede two soft goals where we should act better as a team. We have to be alive in such moments.”
The defeat adds further pressure on Ten Hag, especially with a crucial fixture against Liverpool at Old Trafford looming next weekend. Despite significant investments in strengthening their defence over the summer, including the acquisitions of Noussair Mazraoui and Leny Yoro, United’s backline looked vulnerable throughout the match.
Brighton’s win was a dream home Premier League debut for their 31-year-old manager, Fabian Hurzeler, who has led the Seagulls to back-to-back victories since taking charge. “Winners in the last minute are always emotional,” Hurzeler remarked. “The most important thing for me is the attitude of the players; they always had belief in each other.”
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Brighton took the lead in the first half when former United player Danny Welbeck capitalized on a defensive error to score his 100th career goal. United thought they had equalised almost immediately, but Marcus Rashford’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Despite a strong start to the second half from Brighton, which saw them hit the bar and have a shot cleared off the line, United managed to equalize through Diallo’s deflected shot. However, a disallowed goal for offside by Joshua Zirkzee after a VAR review seemed to deflate United, and Brighton seized the opportunity to clinch the win through Pedro’s late header.
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