Just as Ruben Amorim had thought his Manchester United team had finally turned a corner, their Jekyll-and-Hyde tendencies were there for all to see again in a crushing 3-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Indeed, as much as Red Devils supporters would have been overjoyed with their win at Arsenal in the FA Cup and with their 2-2 draw versus Liverpool in January, Amorim’s topsy-turvy side were way off the pace throughout against Fabian Hurzeler’s ruthless Seagulls to remind the Portuguese manager there’s plenty to still fix.
The former Sporting boss will surely regret keeping his faith in shot-stopper Andre Onana for this one, with the shaky 28-year-old struggling once more after conceding to basement club Southampton the match prior.
Andre Onana’s performance against Brighton
There were at least some redeeming qualities to his showing against the Saints, with five strong saves tallied up in the 3-1 win, with this performance lacking any obvious positives on the contrary.
The Cameroonian didn’t make a single save during this nightmare showing, as Yankuba Minteh’s early effort beat him despite the United goalkeeper initially getting a glove on the shot, whilst the other two strikes from the Seagulls saw Onana rooted to his goalline and then fumble into the path of Georginio Rutter who made it 3-1.
With Altay Bayındır standing out in the Cup when Amorim’s side surprised Arsenal, as the reserve shot-stopper tallied up an impressive six saves across the 120-minute affair, it could be worth reinstating the Turkish goalkeeper for United’s next Premier League test over the ex-Ajax star.
He is unlikely to be the only casualty, with Noussair Mazraoui’s head also potentially on the chopping block after a fatigued showing against a full-throttle Brighton team.
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Mazraoui’s performance in numbers vs Brighton
Mazraoui did have a daunting task on his hands trying to keep a slick Kaoru Mitoma quiet all afternoon, but it was still a below-par showing from the Moroccan that would have worried Amorim a lot.
Indeed, the early opener saw the Brighton number 22 completely beat his marker for pace after a long ball over the top, with Minteh then left with a simple tap-in after Mazaroui let Mitoma lay it off to his eager teammate.
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Mazraoui’s performance in numbers |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
84 |
|
Touches |
45 |
|
Accurate passes |
25/30 (83%) |
|
Key pass |
1 |
|
Interceptions |
2 |
|
Tackles |
1 |
|
Dribbled past |
2 |
|
Total duels won |
1/7 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
All-in-all, it was a dreadful day at the office for the former Bayern Munich man, who was dribbled past two times as an easy target for the Brighton attackers to exploit, alongside only winning one of his seven duels as the far brighter and switched-on visitors showed no mercy.
His creative game was also way off with just one key pass managed – after becoming known at Ajax and at the Allianz Arena for being an expansive option out from the back.
Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst voice his dissatisfaction at Mazraoui’s performance at the full-time whistle, with a 3/10 rating handed to the 27-year-old who was singled out for how much he struggled up against Mitoma.
It will now be up to Amorim to attempt to get a tune out of his worst underperformers, but in the case of both Onana and Mazraoui, their first team spots could be up for grabs now as Rangers travel to Old Trafford next in the Europa League, before a tricky away day at Craven Cottage comes into view back in the unforgiving league.
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