Manchester United boss Eric Ten Haag admitted he recognised his team's ability to lose to Brighton on the opening day of the Premier League season because he knew the progress "wouldn't come overnight". The Reds were beaten 4-0 by the Seagulls in last season's penultimate game, at the end of Ralph Lonnick's tenure. But after a fairly strong pre-season, United entered the new season with optimism.
However, that positive feeling quickly faded as Pascal Gross scored two goals in the first half – with the help of some inferior United defence – putting Albion into half-time. The hosts pulled back a city after Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez blocked Alexis McAllister's breakout, but the away team insisted on a 2-1 win and took their first win at Old Trafford.
On Sunday, United were second for a long time, with captain Harry Maguire admitting they could easily make a U-turn after conceding a goal in the first game. After his first Premier League game, Ten Haag revealed he wasn't completely shocked by this shift in mentality. "(Before us) it was a very bad job. We have to work very hard, analyze, and then move on. Today was a good start and then we dropped a level in conviction and we made the mistake of punishing our opponents. But it's a good opponent, we [try] to work together, but when you make a mistake, you get punished for that," he said.
"I know what might happen (with a drop in confidence), but I think we should do better — that's clear." But I also know that [improvement] won't happen overnight. Sometimes we play better in preseason. Today we had a very bad time in the first half and we have to learn from it. ”
Asked if he could feel the team's fragile confidence, Ten Haag replied: "I think so. This is also normal. I didn't expect that we were already a team with a lot of [time together]. "And I think that's what makes us different from our opponents: they've been with a certain program and coach for a long time and we haven't. But losing this game is still not necessary. ”