“Although he’s one of the big-name here but it has reached to drop him from the first-team squad”: Manchester United’s coach Ruben Amorim names ONE Man United’s player who was responsible for the club’s humiliation today, removed him from the club’s squad

Brighton brought Manchester United’s recent mini-resurgence to an abrupt halt with a deserved victory at Old Trafford.

United had drawn with Liverpool at Anfield, beaten Arsenal with 10 men and come from behind to beat Southampton in the previous three matches. But any idea that Ruben Amorim may finally have found the winning formula were put to bed as Brighton claimed their third straight Premier League win at Old Trafford.

Yankuba Minteh put the visitors ahead inside five minutes with a simple finish following a route one move before Bruno Fernandes equalised from the penalty spot. Joao Pedro had a goal ruled out by VAR before Minteh crossed for Kaoru Mitoma to bravely make it 2-1 at the back post.

Things went from bad to worse when Andre Onana inexplicably spilled a straightforward cross to Georginio Rutter to make the points safe. United showed few signs of a fightback, with the penalty their sole shot on target. Here are the five talking points from the match.

1. Leaky United

This was Ruben Amorim’s 15th match in charge of United. He has managed to keep just one clean sheet – and that came against an extremely deficient Everton attack. Even with injury problems and the change of tactical system, that is simply not good enough.

United were shambolic from the off against Brighton and were fortunate not to be 1-0 down inside two minutes when Andre Onana pushed Joao Pedro’s cross into Danny Welbeck. In the end, it didn’t take much longer – or much guile – for Brighton to take the lead. Baleba launched a ball in behind, Mitoma ran past a ball-watching Noussair Mazraoui and squared for Minteh for a simple finish. A dreadful start – and completely in-keeping with the trend under Amorim so far.

2. A lack of creativity

It’s not just that United are shipping too many goals at the back. They are also blunt as an ancient butter knife up top, with one obvious exception. Joshua Zirkzee came into the starting line-up for this match, replacing Rasmus Hojlund, and he did win the penalty that got United back into the match.

But the glaring lack of invention, of excitement, of unpredictability going forwards was alarming, if extremely familiar. So while Brighton’s exciting and pacey forwards interchanged and darted into space, United were left plodding forwards with the only one apparent tactic: give the ball to Fernandes and Amad and hope. There was just one goal on target for the home side in the first half and that was a penalty. They didn’t manage another by the time 98 minutes had passed.

3. VAR to the rescue

Brighton appeared to have gone 2-1 up when Pedro bamboozled the United defence by turning on a loose ball from a botched free-kick to blast through Onana’s legs. It had all the makings of another comedic nightmare for the beleaguered backline, only for VAR to intervene.

Replays showed that Jan Paul van Hecke had made contact with Diogo Dalot after the United defender touched the ball. VAR sent referee Peter Bankes to the pitchside monitor and he had no choice but to rule out the goal, despite Dalot clearly making the most of the contact.

4. Bogey team

Brighton arrived at Old Trafford feeling confident on the back of successive wins over Norwich and Ipswich in the FA Cup and Premier League, and with a five-game unbeaten in the league. They could also reflect on good experiences at Old Trafford – a stadium which used to be a fortress but is now anything but.

The Seagulls had won their previous two games at the ground, picking up a 2-1 win in August 2022 and a 3-1 victory in September 2023. Overall, they have won seven of their 15 Premier League matches against United since their return to the top flight, making them a proper fully-fledged bogey team.

5. Onana nightmare

Could it get any worse? It sure could! How about the goalkeeper spilling a very tame cross under no pressure directly to the one opponent in the penalty area? Enter Andre Onana.

Yasin Ayari put in a hopeful cross from the right wing. Unfortunately for him it was nowhere near Rutter. Luckily for him, Onana decided to deliver it up to the Brighton substitute on a silver platter. All he had to do was take a touch and pass the ball into the empty net.

United are 13th in the Premier League – closer to the relegation zone than the top four. On this display, they are thoroughly deserving of that lowly position.