Man United 1:2 Brighton: Ten Hag’s United Begin Premier League on Nightmarish Note

• Brighton and Hove Albion stunned Manchester United at Old Trafford in their Premier League opening day fixture
• The Seagulls had walloped United in this fixture last season and continued from where they left off with a 2-1 win over Ten Hag's charges
• Despite a better second-half performance from the Red Devils, Man United manager Ten Hag was given a rude awakening to his Premier League debut

Erik Ten Hag was handed a nightmarish Premier League debut as Manchester United manager when his side stumbled to an opening day defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.

A brace from Pascal Gross rendered an own goal from Mac Allister only a consolation as the Seagulls clinched their maiden win over Man United at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

It would prove to be a big blow to Man United, who had a fairly positive pre-season and Ten Hag will have a massive task to remould the fortunes of the club this season.

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United started the game the better of the two with Bruno Fernandes blazing a rebound sky-high as the home side came close to drawing first blood.

Despite being buoyed by the home crowd, it was Brighton who managed to weather the storm grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck as the Seagulls neutralized their highly-fancied opponents.

And it came as little to no surprise when Pascal Gross, who has made it a habit to find the back of the net against Manchester United, broke the game's deadlock at the half-hour mark.

The goal by Pascal Gross completely turned the tie in favour of the visitors as former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck came close to doubling the lead for Brighton but his effort narrowly missed the right post in the 38th minute.

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Solly March, who replaced Marc Cucurella - who had joined Chelsea 24 hours before the Premier League kick-started, nearly repaid the confidence reposed in him by Graham Potter when his effort was parried by David DeGea in post for Man United.

But it was Gross who reacted quickest to slot home from close range to silence the home crowd. There was no further goal-mouth action as referee Paul Tierney whistled for halftime.

Down by two goals after recess, Ten Hag kept faith with his starting lineup but a lack of attacking impetus forced the Dutch manager to introduce wantaway superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for the misfiring Fred.

His introduction added spice to United's attack with the Red Devils seeking to halve the deficit.

A snapshot by new signing Eriksen was turned into a goalmouth melee which forced Alexis Mac Allister into an own goal in the 68th minute after a VAR review.

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The goal inspired United to relentlessly pursue an equalizer as Dalot came close to realizing the fightback, which has been synonymous with the Sir Alex Ferguson days but was denied by Sanchez in post for Brighton.

Tried as much as the Red Devils pushed, Brighton put up a resilient display at the back to record their first win at Old Trafford in the history of the club.

Man United face tricky test in Premier League opening game

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Manchester United will open their 2022-23 Premier League chapter against a tricky opponent in Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Sunday, August 7.

The Red Devils will look to build on a positive pre-season under new manager Erik ten Hag, winning three, drawing twice and losing the other.

Despite the fairly positive on-the-field results, United's pre-season has been clouded by the uncertainty surrounding the future of superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo.