Erik ten Hag's opening day Manchester United concern still needs fixing

Manchester United's opening day loss to Graham Potter's Brighton and Hove Albion was a huge wake-up call for Erik ten Hag.

While it could not be foreseen how well the Seagulls would do this campaign back in August, the manner of the defeat raised alarm bells with the new man in the dugout. After Pascal Gross opened the scoring for Brighton on the half-hour mark, the Reds' heads dropped.

Gross would grab his second of the game less than 10 minutes later to put the match almost out of sight for United by half-time. Alexis Mac Allister's own goal gave the Reds hope with just over 20 minutes remaining but it was clear they had bitten off more than they could chew to complete the comeback.

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Post-match, a frustrated Ten Hag highlighted an area where United needed to improve. "We dropped down in belief during the first half and that cannot happen," he explained.

"I can understand that after last year but it’s not necessary as they are good players. Self-belief is from yourself, bring it on the pitch."

In the weeks and months that followed, intermittently these old habits seeped back in. In the next match against Brentford, the Reds capitulated further with a horror first 45.

The same happened in October vs Manchester City, November at Aston Villa, March against Liverpool and the Europa League clash with Sevilla. In all of these matches, a moment of weakness was soon amplified into a full-scale disaster.

After throwing away a two-goal lead vs Sevilla which would ultimately cost them a place in the Europa League semi-finals, Ten Hag spoke about past traumatic experiences which are still hindering them. "It says something about the position where we are," United's manager told