‘They’re our regular customer, can’t wait to use Wan-Bissaka anyhow that day’: Brighton Star Mitoma sends Match day warning to Arsenal fans ahead of their clash this weekend
Whenever Manchester United are slated to face off against Brighton there has been, of late, a sense of trepidation about what may – and often does – follow.
Ralf Rangnick, in his penultimate game in charge as caretaker boss in 2022, found himself and his team humiliated, well and truly, before Erik ten Hag got stung by Brighton in his first Premier League experience.
Chuck in a stuttering FA Cup semi-final against them – which needed to be settled in a penalty shootout – and a 1-0 defeat at the AMEX Stadium and that sense of trepidation is far from misplaced.
United’s travelling fans chanted as much when they told the players they were ‘not fit to wear the shirt’ – and, well, Bruno Fernandes agreed with them.
There have been dismal days for Manchester United – a 4-0 rout at Brentford last season was hardly much better – but this was alarmingly bad.
One of the most glaring issues United had at the AMEX Stadium – where United have never beaten Brighton in front of a crowd – was the significant disparity in workrate.
Time and again Brighton – easily – found overloads and mismatches, with Diogo Dalot particularly exposed down United’s right side.
But it wasn’t just him. Take an example here before Brighton scored their first goal where two players sit free on the edge of the box for a strike that is eventually blocked into the path of Moises Caicedo – out of picture – who, reacting quickest, leathered in from distance to make it 1-0.
Not only was workrate a major issue – a pet peeve of supporters is a lack of effort – there was a slowness to United’s build-up which meant Brighton hassled and harried the life out of them.
Perhaps taken off as a scapegoat but Anthony Elanga was hooked at half time after registering a harrowing 14 per cent pass accuracy – make that only one of the seven he attempted completed.
When all was said and done Brighton’s expected goals from open play registered at 2.50. United came in at a meagre 0.51.
So not only was there a lethargy defensively, the same was said for their attacking play.
Much of the attention defensively fell on the deficiencies of the full-backs but it was actually the lax positioning of Victor Lindelof that often left Brighton able to flood the defence and break at speed.
Wing play is essential to Brighton’s success and with Dalot again set to feature, he is going to need much more help from those ahead of him and over his shoulder.
Brighton’s strengths lie in their speed of press and they overwhelmed United here, so much so that when Marc Cucurella fired in for 2-0, totally unmarked on the edge of the area, United were 4-0 down within 11 minutes as they could not stop the spinning.
With a bloody nose from the first four blows, Brighton hit the post thereafter and went close again via Danny Welbeck in a display that, truth be told, could have been six or seven.
‘I tell you what, never mind the Gypsy King retiring, what do you say United why don’t they f****** retire – get off!’ United fan Tyson Fury fumed on Instagram.
‘They were shambolic, Manchester United, they were an embarrassment,’ Alan Shearer added on Match of the Day that night. ‘And if he hasn’t already, Ralf Rangnick should get his players in tomorrow and show them the performance from Brighton. Because this is what committed footballers do for their club, their fans, for their teammates and their managers. They work hard, they are prepared to put a shift in, they are organised and they are committed. It should be a given, but it’s not at Manchester United.’
The static nature of their defending was mocked mercilessly online – not without foundation – and there were arguments that players had long stopped responding to the sound of Rangnick’s voice.
But there was an absence of professional pride on this day and as good as Brighton were, United rolled over and got stomped on. Do so this weekend and a repeat is far from an impossibility.
