The Devil’s Diary: Tragic centre-back to be snapped up by Rabiot or Manchester United panic again

The opening game against Brighton showed Erik ten Hague much more than the whole pre-season preparation. The words of Ralf Rangnick, who after a few months at Old Trafford was well aware of how much work awaited his successor, are coming true. So an unenviable job has begun for the Dutch coach, one that will take time, hopefully ruled with a firm hand.

It is no coincidence that last Premier League season Brighton won twice, drew twice and lost only to Manchester City and United at the grounds of top 6 opponents. The Red Devils were facing a very tough first opponent, which although weakened before the season, but for Graham Potter, it seems to be not such a big problem.

Moreover, the team from the south of England showed a very good tactical performance, which was of course helped by two goals in the first half. Manchester United also had their chances, but they ended up among the fans in the stands. Brighton took three points from Old Trafford with a 2-1 win, building on the previous match, which they won 4-0.

First mistake by Haga

The Dutch coach came up with the idea of Christian Eriksen at the tip of the attack. The latter did make his way into the midfield during the game to get the attacking action going, whereupon Scott McTominay moved forward and looked lost to say the least in many situations.

After the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Danish midfielder moved into the middle and together with Bruno Fernandes, they were already able to come up with some action in the middle of the pitch. However, even with a few chances wasted, the ball could only get into the goal of the brilliantly catching Roberto Sánchez once and it had to be done by the Brighton players themselves, specifically Alexis Mac Allister.

However, those expecting a final push were disappointed. Manchester United did keep the ball on their feet, but what we witnessed in pre-season, when especially the trio of Sancho – Martial – Rashford combined brilliantly in the attacking half, we unfortunately did not see. And in the last minutes of the game Brighton kept the result quite calmly.

This tactic didn’t work for the Hague at all and only confirmed the futility of the players who wear the red jersey. However, even Alex Ferguson lost his opening game at Manchester United and as they say, you learn better from a loss than a win.

The upside? Lisandro Martínez and Christian Eriksen

The Argentine stopper confirmed what he came to Manchester with and gave a very good performance on the pitch. He is still a great hope for the future with the aforementioned Danish midfielder.

Martínez, unlike his teammates, was virtually always where he was needed. 94% pass success rate, which also had a head and shoulders, hopefully that will continue.

Eriksen confirmed that as long as he is used where he feels like a fish in water, that Hag will have quality passes taken care of. His partnership with Fernandes should work out in a while. If they add a third quality midfield player, it just takes time.

But whether it will be Fred, McTominay or someone else is not yet clear.

But is Adrien Rabiot the right man?

Manchester United, as usual, are panicking and looking everywhere they can. Quite simply, top players are no longer flocking to Old Trafford, especially when England’s once most successful club is not even playing in the Champions League.

The speculation surrounding Rabiot is a classic example of the Red Devils’ failed transfer policy. Since arriving in Manchester, the Hag has been declaring that a Frenkie de Jong type player definitely needs to come in.

Now we are in the second week of August and of names like the aforementioned Dutch midfielder, Ruben Neves and a few others, we have ended up with a once great French talent that Juventus want to get rid of according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Whether it’s because of his unprofessional attitude or not fulfilling his talent, Rabiot ultimately isn’t even the right man United need. It’s just that if there’s no one else, the Hag must be happy for him as well and try to bring out what was expected of him.

However, Manchester United have many such ‘average’ players, so it is a question of whether to go down the same route as his predecessors from the days when Juan Mata, Morgan Schneiderlin and others transferred to Old Trafford.

With such, the Red Devils fans are facing another mediocre season, which looking at the loaded competition, may end up with only the Europa League instead of the prestigious Champions League again next season and the same problem will be solved, top players will not want to go to Old Trafford again.

No need to comment on the transfer of Marko Arnautovic…

Source: Manchester United, Transfermarkt, Fabrizio Romano