Once again, Man United lost to Brighton and each time the bitterness and helplessness were the same.

The diamond shattered

For the first time since last season, Erik ten Hag used a diamond-shaped four-midfield scheme for Man United. The person chosen next to the trio Casemiro – Eriksen – Bruno is Scott McTominay. It’s easy to understand that McTominay is in very good form in the Scottish team, so this midfielder is the one chosen and no one else. In the end, the luxury and flashiness were nowhere to be seen, the “Red Devils” midfielder quartet played like chickens with hair stuck in their hair.Ten Hag’s first mistake was breaking the midfield, where the trio Casemiro – Eriksen – Bruno has only lost 1 match in the entire 2022-2023 season. When a system was working well, the Dutch strategist was creative at the wrong time. Christian Eriksen and Casemiro in many situations participating in attack and supporting defense did not know how to coordinate with McTominay.

In the Scotland national team, McTominay was assigned to play “number 8”, taking on the role of rushing into the opponent’s penalty area to score goals. The way this star plays is quite simple. He caught the ball from the backline and led it straight into the middle to find an opportunity. However, with Bruno Fernandes in front of him, McTominay can hardly ignore the captain to perform the same routine as in the national team. Therefore, trying to squeeze McTominay in was a forced action by Ten Hag.

This way of playing is also dangerous in that when McTominay rises high and Diogo Dalot also rises, Casemiro alone will have to face Brighton’s whirlwinds on the left wing. During many counter-attacks by the away team, M.U’s wings were almost paralyzed, not just Dalot’s position.

Bruno, on a day playing “number 10” under two strikers, almost disappeared. The reason is because Bruno is used to playing under the striker. When the center forward runs to attract people, the Portuguese midfielder will have space to finish. If not, he can drift right as usual to create cross situations or turn the ball into the penalty area. The inability of Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund to play the attractive role caused Bruno to directly face Brighton’s strong and crowded defense.

Ten Hag used the diamond scheme for the first time but failed miserably. He certainly cannot continue such baseless testing.

Manchester United should not play two strikers

Rashford will be very good if he can kick wide outside the opponent’s penalty area and have a lot of space to accelerate. However, Ten Hag’s 4-4-2 arrangement forced Rashford to stand closer to the penalty area because if he kicked too wide, he would step on Eriksen’s foot. In the end, Man United’s brightest striker was limited in space, leading to a lack of creativity.

Looking at the way Rashford continuously stretched his striker, I remembered Thierry Henry’s words to the English striker, it is true that strikers should use their brains when making shots. Rashford is off to a very bad start, completely different from the second half of last season.

As for Hojlund, he is only good at making walls, turning his back to the opponent’s goal and accelerating, pressing people in short distances. Rashford’s playing space is limited and Hojlund’s playing space is unnecessarily expanded. There were many situations where the young Danish striker fumbled and didn’t know how to pass the ball.

The wrong starting

Man United lost to Brighton 4 times in the last 5 matches but still did not learn the lesson. It cannot be denied that in the first 20 minutes, the “Red Devils” pressed and had a chance to score. However, when the heat subsided, Ten Hag had to have his players sit deep in defense and wait for a counterattack to their strengths. On the contrary, the Dutch teacher still sent his troops up to close to the opponent’s penalty area and received continuous damage.

Standing in front of an opponent who defeated him many times, Ten Hag still did not learn the lesson. If Man United’s forte is counter-attacking, let the opponent actively hold the ball so they can execute familiar moves. Ten Hag did the opposite and suffered the consequences.

Besides, Man United has never been a team that moves the ball well and the lines are often very fragmented. If the “Red Devils” are allowed to actively hold the ball and dictate the style of play, the naivety will sometimes be clearly shown because the home team at Old Trafford at this time does not have a true conductor to keep the rhythm.