Brighton offer Erik ten Hag a reminder of Manchester United progress and the issues still to be fixed

Back to where it all began for Erik ten Hag this weekend.

Brighton visit Old Trafford, the last and only team to have beaten the Dutchman's Reds in a Premier League game on their own turf. That day United fell two goals down, rallied after the break but ultimately came up short. It was far from a perfect performance and left Ten Hag with plenty to ponder.

Some of the issues were painfully obvious: What to do with Cristiano Ronaldo? Why is Christian Eriksen playing as a false nine? - and some were more nuanced: Do United have a mentality issue? Are the players capable of carrying out the manager's game plan?

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Ten Hag has solved some of those day-one dramas, others still remain. His firm hand with Ronaldo ended the Portugal star's second spell prematurely and the signing of Rasmus Hojlund provides the profile of player the Dutchman wants to lead his line.

United's transfer business in the summer has helped Ten Hag shape a side more in his identity and improved the quality. Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat are better players than Fred and Scott McTominay. Even Donny Van den Beek got the final quarter off the bench when Brighton last visited Old Trafford, now he's so far down the pecking order it's difficult to see him playing that many minutes all season.

In goal, United have upgraded to Andre Onana who looks the part and can certainly play his part in revamping the Reds' ability to build from the back. Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are an experienced and commanding first choice centre-back pairing, with