Manchester United have already passed up on the chance to sign their perfect midfielder

Exactly three months to the day since Brighton & Hove Albion toppled Manchester United at the Amex Stadium, the Seagulls sparked calls for yet another United post-mortem over the weekend.

Although the scoreline did not have such a horrifying look to it this time around, United were well beaten by Graham Potter's side in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford on Sunday, losing 2-1. It was a nightmare start for new manager Erik ten Hag and all of the optimism that had greeted him when he emerged from the Stretford End tunnel a few minutes before kick-off was nothing more than a distant memory when he made his way back down it at the full-time whistle.

United, not for the first time in the last 12 months, were outplayed in their own back yard, struggling to find the answers to deal with and get the better of a well-drilled and well organised Brighton team. The Seagulls, despite losing key figures Marc Cucurella and Yves Bissouma over the summer, still looked every bit of the quality team that brushed United aside on the south coast back in May.

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Although it was United's old nemesis, Pascal Gross, who loves nothing more than facing the Reds, that dominated the headlines after scoring a first-half brace, it was midfielder Moises Caicedo that ran the show. The midfielder, a player that United passed up on when the opportunity to sign him was staring them in the face in January last year, dictated proceedings throughout, highlighting the Reds' desperate need for midfield reinforcements.

The 20-year-old, who has the challenge of filling Bissouma's role this season, produced the most tackles, most interceptions and created