Manchester United fans react to starting line-up vs Brighton as Cristiano Ronaldo benched

Erik ten Hag has named his first starting line-up as Manchester United manager, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo out of the starting XI for this afternoon's Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford, kick-off 2pm.

United, who were thrashed 4-0 by the Seagulls in their most recent meeting back in May, will be determined to make a winning start to the campaign and kick the Ten Hag era off in style. The Reds enjoyed a relatively encouraging pre-season, winning three of their six friendlies.

They concluded their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw at home to Rayo Vallecano last Sunday, as Ten Hag fielded a much-changed team, mainly featuring players who had not featured as much as they would have hoped for in Thailand and Australia. The Dutchman made it his mission over pre-season to hand out as many opportunities as possible to almost every member of his squad.

READ MORE: Manchester United vs Brighton LIVE

From the side that drew with Vallecano a week ago, Ten Hag has made nine changes, meaning it has come as no great surprise. Summer signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen are the only duo to keep their places.

Elsewhere, it appears as though Bruno Fernandes will start in the front-three, with both Anthony Elanga and Ronaldo among the substitutes. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford have both been awarded starting berths.

Meanwhile, Tyrell Malacia, Raphael Varane and youngster Alejandro Garnacho are among those on substitutes bench, which is now made up of nine players.

It is Ronaldo's absence from the starting line-up that has, to no surprise, attracted the most attention from United's supporters in the immediate aftermath of the team news being confirmed. Below, MEN Sport has taken