Have Man United New Signings Really Changed Anything — or Are the Same Old Problems Still There?
The Red Devils are suddenly the team everyone’s talking about again, and you can feel the buzz around Old Trafford.
Imagine this, it took almost eleven months to win back-to-back Premier League games, and now, out of nowhere, they’ve made it three on a row.
Despite a chaotic late spell that almost turned the match into a comedy sketch, United fully deserved their 4–2 win over a Brighton side that’s been a real thorn in their side lately.
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But now it leaves us all wondering some uncomfortable things.
Are Manchester United actually… good again? We’re not quite ready to say that, but we’re definitely not as sure as we were just a couple of weeks ago when everything felt like a mess.
The minutes immediately following Danny Welbeck’s free kick that cut the score to 3-1 showed the remaining scepticism.
It wasn’t exactly panic, but it wasn’t as respectful as it ought to have been in response to what should have been a small setback in the last moments of a match that United had dominated up until that point.
Brighton had a decent start to the match, but United were as excellent as we’ve seen them in the Premier League under Ruben Amorim throughout the first ten minutes or so until the third goal shortly after the hour.
And two summer additions held the secret to it all. There were a lot of positive indicators here, but Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo haven’t exactly entered a locker room with the kind of swagger and confidence that could facilitate new recruits’ swift and easy assimilation.
Even before his first goal, which was skilfully taken and made fun of his lengthy goalless streak with a fine first touch that set him up to arc a shot inside the far post, Cunha was already contributing more than we had seen.
On the opposing side, Mbeumo had an equally significant impact, and it was tempting to imagine how this could be a long-term path to something truly spectacular, with wide attackers providing the threat and danger and real goal threat rather than tired wing-backs.
Their midfield steadiness, which has previously been lacking in an Amorim style that demands a lot, gave them the flexibility to play that manner.
Perhaps the most improbable component of this United comeback is Casemiro’s comeback.
However, there was also United’s fundamental weakness. Amorim’s reaction to the third goal and his obvious conviction that the match was lost were what really began it, not the Brighton goal.
Within five minutes, he eliminated Luke Shaw, Casemiro, and Amad Diallo, and all of the system’s previous flaws reappeared.
Even for this relatively simple task, Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo were too erratic a midfield, and they and United’s defence were virtually eliminated with a single pass from Brighton substitute Tom Watson.
It was probably fortunate for Brighton to have been given the free kick from which Welbeck would make everyone nervous, but it was startling how easily the Seagulls could now get past United.
In addition, Brighton would reasonably object to Shaw’s foul in the lead-up to United’s third goal.
The sight of seven minutes on the injury-time board caused such obvious distress for United’s manager and audible concern among the supporters that you were reminded once more of how much this most successful of clubs have gotten out of the simple habit of simply winning football matches in a relatively stress-free fashion.
Amorim was forced to make additional changes in order to restore that lost control.
Brighton’s second goal created numerous amusing scenarios, but once more, United should be given credit.
Because after United’s second goal, there was no more concern, and Mbeumo completed the scoring with a second goal following a Bruno Fernandes dummy that should have been given credit as an assist.
With no real harm done other than a few minutes being more tense than was absolutely required, maybe the tension of the last fifteen minutes is not a terrible thing.
In any case, the story around United will continue unabated. Exaggerated talk about how awful they are will be replaced with exaggerated talk about how wonderful they are.
After this, they are at least momentarily fourth, and some would even imply with straight faces that they can stay there.
But what United does have, which has been sorely lacking for so long, is a clear route to become at least passably good for a long time. Cunha and Mbeumo’s work provide a hint of something that can be replicated.
There is every possibility that this revival will continue in the near future. Next week is Nottingham Forest; if they win, it’s a trip to Spurs, who are awful at home, and that guy’s five-game winning streak hairstyle is on the line.
That would then become a much bigger game than the Europa League final, and that is not at all an exaggeration.
But coming as near as United did to a potential disaster for a small moment should serve as a reminder to everyone that this current run is very positive, very welcome, and could actually be a sign of something serious.
The response to the “seven minutes” alone, however, indicated that the scars from the previous year are still fresh and will take time to recover, so it may not be that.
