Erik ten Hag calls out three Man Utd players and demands talks after Brighton defeat

Erik ten Hag was angered by the nature of Man Utd's defeat at Brighton (Image: Getty)

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says he and his squad will 'talk about' the defending that led to Brighton & Hove Albion's late winner at the Amex Stadium, with three players called out for allowing Simon Adingra to cut in and cross.

The back-post ball from Adingra landed flush on the head of Joao Pedro in the fifth of seven added second-half minutes, with goalkeeper Andre Onana left helpless. United's defending has been widely criticised as Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui and, to a lesser extent, Kobbie Mainoo all allowed Adingra onto his favoured right foot.

And Ten Hag did not hide his feelings on the trio in question after the full-time whistle confirmed a painful 2-1 loss for his side.

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"We didn't stop the cross," he said. "There were three players, right-footed players, who should have sent him down the line and not allowed the cross. We have to talk about this, how we act in that situation as a team."

United were breached in the first half when their former academy star, Danny Welbeck, slid in to convert Kaoru Mitoma's low cross, though Ten Hag's side levelled the scores through Amad Diallo on the hour mark.

The Red Devils looked to have won the tie through Alejandro Garnacho in the second period, but his finish was judged by VAR to have hit Joshua Zirkzee on its way into the net, who was in an offside position.

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Simon Adingra (right) assisted Joao Pedro for Brighton's stoppage-time winner (Image: Getty)

Then came Pedro's winner, which left Ten Hag to rue a performance which, he felt, was littered with errors. "There was more than one mistake," he explained. "We have to talk about it. We were close to winning this game, but we definitely shouldn't lose the game.

"Both goals are very soft goals. We should have done better. I have seem some good parts in the game and other parts. Early in the second half we should have had more control of the game. In both boxes we should be more clinical and aggressive."

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Eyebrows were raised at the interval when Ten Hag hauled Mason Mount off. The Dutchman confirmed, during his post-match duties, that it was not tactical. He said: "He has some problems. He had an issue so we took him out."

Two games into the new season, United have one win and one defeat on their record. Ten Hag will be desperate to avoid a repeat of last campaign's eighth-place Premier League finish, which was the club's lowest in 34 years.

Erik ten Hag calls out three Man Utd players and demands talks after Brighton defeat

Erik ten Hag calls out three Man Utd players and demands talks after Brighton defeat

Erik ten Hag calls out three Man Utd players and demands talks after Brighton defeat

Erik ten Hag calls out three Man Utd players and demands talks after Brighton defeat

Erik ten Hag calls out three Man Utd players and demands talks after Brighton defeat