Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
A nightmare second half at Old Trafford saw Manchester United fall apart against Brighton.
Michael Carrick has a lot of work to do to turn Manchester United’s fortunes around. Judging by the second half against Brighton, this group are low in confidence. United had led 2-0 at Old Trafford after just 10 minutes, before contriving to lose 3-2.
By the end it looked more likely that Brighton would add a fourth than United score an equaliser.
Our player ratings returned some very low scores for United’s players, which is fully justified. Separately, I am going to pick out the three players I was most disappointed by.
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Benjamin Sesko
Benjamin Sesko had started the season quite well after recovering his fitness. This was a major step backwards.
Sesko stands at 6 ft 5 and there was attention to how he bulked up in the off-season. But there are times where he plays like he 5 ft 5. This was one of them.
Too often, Sesko is scared to put his boot in where it hurts, or he is too tentative when trying to anticipate a possible opening. He should be the biggest nightmare for defenders to face all season – but he is just too nice.
The statistics show Sesko won only 4/9 duels. It felt like even less than that. He failed to attempt a single shot at goal.
There was a moment in the second half when the ball broke loose and goalkeeper Jason Steele rushed out and beat Sesko to the ball. The striker could have got there, but he was frightened to get clattered.
Leny Yoro
Leny Yoro should be Manchester United’s top defender right now. Signed for £52 million in 2024, he is now entering his third season. And when you see United leaking goals at the start of the campaign with Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez in defence, you think, OK, just put Yoro in.
Yoro has to learn on the job and learn from his mistakes. But at the same time he was so poor in the second half that you accept there is surely no way he can be trusted to play in the next Premier League game.
The Frenchman lacks clear defensive leadership and did not look to be in command of the box particularly in the second half. His desperate attempt to try and tackle Pascal Gross saw him comically tackling thin air. But it was no laughing matter for United.
Yoro needs a senior partner alongside him, because his defensive partner was equally to blame.
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Ayden Heaven
Ayden Heaven started United’s first game of the season against Hull City and was subsequently dropped. This was his chance to put in a statement performance and show he should be recalled.
Unfortunately his partnership with Yoro was exposed as an accident waiting to happen. Together they should be United’s long-term pairing – but they should not be trusted together right now against quality opposition.
Heaven was too casual with his defending and too easy to play through. He was not helped by his full-backs either.
I have high hopes that Heaven can be a success at United. He is a big talent and has shown that he can play at a high level, but against Brighton his performance was a disappointment and I don’t know how long it will be until he gets another chance, especially with Matthijs de Ligt closing in on a return.