“I thought the tempo, right from the start [was key] – we always had an outlet”, he said.
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“I think we live one incredible season last season, there was cameras, we do it for ourselves”. And judging by the performance against Brighton at the AMEX on Sunday afternoon, it looks like he is right on the money.
With the Red Devils not investing in a centre-half this summer despite it being desperately needed, it was the ideal opportunity for Bailly and Victor Lindelof to prove their worth.
Lukaku’s snatched, wayward shot was all United had to show for a wretched opening half-hour, where Mourinho’s men crumbled under the weight of consistent home pressure.
“They had more hunger than us”, he told Sky Sports.
It didn’t come, but it didn’t matter.
“We kept trying but, myself, I was losing a lot of balls”.
It’s not quite that bad for Mourinho but his preseason prediction is already coming true.
Harry Maguire and Toby Alderweireld were among Mourinho’s targets but United were reportedly put off by their clubs’ respective asking prices.
“But Brighton deserved [to win], congratulations to them”.
Lindelof was at fault for the first, letting Murray steal in to score.
Bailly, again, was at fault for Brighton’s third goal two minutes before half time as he went to tackle Pascal Gross who had taken a poor touch in a Brighton attack.
By then, a battling Brighton side had done enough to earn a second straight home victory over Jose Mourinho’s side.
For now, Mourinho will have to make do with what he has got.
But the highlight of the game was David Silva’s superb 48th minute free-kick, scored in front of his son Mateo who was born prematurely eight months ago, requiring the Spanish star to return frequently to Valencia last season to be with his family. They have never scored three against United previously – although they would have done if Smith had scored!
“There is nothing wrong with being direct but this is Manchester United, arguably the biggest club in the world, playing football that was played by teams from a lower league 30 or 40 years ago”, he added.
Brighton toppled United 1-0 on the south coast in May en route to a 15th-place finish in last season’s Premier League and was at it again three months down the line.
Not long after that, the whistle went for half-time with Brighton in dreamland but United were in dire straits and were in need of a miracle in the second half if they were to get back in the game.
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Brighton fought hard for survival in their first campaign following promotion last term, securing their top-flight status with a win against United in their final home match.
