Arsenal legend Ian Wright has admitted that he “can’t understand” one decision that Erik ten Hag made during Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
Manchester United dropped all three points on their first away match of the Premier League campaign, following on from their 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford.
Danny Welbeck punished his former side in the first half after United’s poor defending allowed him to fire Brighton into the lead at the Amex.
Erik ten Hag’s men rallied back into the Premier League contest in the second half after Amad Diallo cancelled out Danny Welbeck’s opener for Brighton.
Alejandro Garnacho thought he fired United into the lead late in the second half, only for VAR to rule out his strike after a deflection from Joshua Zirkzee on the line.
Joao Pedro then inflicted a devastating blow against United deep into injury time after the unmarked Brazilian forward smashed home a header from close range.
United are 11th in the Premier League table after their first two matches and will now face Liverpool on Sunday at Old Trafford ahead of the international break.
Wright on Man Utd star vs Brighton
Erik ten Hag made the bold decision to withdraw Bruno Fernandes in the 79th minute against Brighton and replaced him with Scott McTominay.
Bruno Fernandes has been a linchpin figure in the Manchester United first team and the Red Devils captain was an influential presence during the match at the Amex.
Speaking on the Wrighty’s House podcast, Ian Wright couldn’t understand why Ten Hag took Fernandes off when United were drawing against Brighton.
The ex-Arsenal star pointed out that Fernandes was “actually smiling and laughing” when he came off and could only have had one reaction to the substitution.
“A lot of things happened in that game that I just couldn’t understand or see happening,” Wright said.
“Like I can’t understand why he took Bruno off and went so defensive. Why are you taking him off?
“When he [Fernandes] ran off, he was actually smiling and laughing. He was like, ‘What the f**k? I can’t believe this guy.’
“That’s the vibe I got from it. If anyone is going to win a game for you, it’s Bruno Fernandes.”
Ten Hag on Man Utd defeat to Brighton
Speaking after the defeat at the Amex, Ten Hag was far from happy at United slipping up defensively against Brighton as they did in the Community Shield.
“We have good potential but we have to keep going until the end because where we concede, in the Community Shield [against Manchester City], almost in stoppage time,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“Now, in stoppage time, we concede a goal and you have to keep going until the end.
“The game is finished when the referee whistles three times and that is what we didn’t do well. Game management – we should improve that.”
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