Manchester United continued their miserable start to the season with a 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday and it has been claimed there was a ‘bust-up’ between star players at full-time.
The Red Devils have taken a measly six points from their opening five Premier League games and have already fallen to three losses.
They were played off the park by Brighton in their most recent stumble, going 3-0 down at Old Trafford before youngster Hannibal Mejbri scored a late consolation, and the loss was the Seagulls’ fourth successive win over United in the Premier League.
The opening couple of months to United’s season have been marred by off-field controversies, and frustrations appear to be taking their toll behind the scenes.
A report from The Sun claims that following Saturday’s loss, four United players were involved in a heated exchange back in the dressing room. Club captain Bruno Fernandes is said to have confronted Scott McTominay, who was handed a rare start by Erik ten Hag but failed to impress.
Centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof are also alleged to gave gone at one another following a calamitous defensive display. Martinez notably allowed Pascal Gross, who has scored 25 per cent of his Premier League goals against United, to ghost past him with a dummy leading up to Brighton’s second goal of the afternoon.
Ten Hag tried to control the unrest unfolding in front of his eyes at the end of a testing day at Old Trafford, but his decision to replace full-debutant Rasmus Hojlund with Anthony Martial just after the hour mark was met by jeers from fans, while United were booed off the pitch at full-time.
The report has since been disputed by United.
United have the chance to claim a major scalp when they travel to Bayern Munich for their first Champions League group stage match of the season on Wednesday – the first time they have met the Bavarian giants in nine years.
The two clubs famously played out one of the most thrilling Champions League finals ever in 1999, as late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earned Sir Alex Ferguson’s United a famous 2-1 win at Camp Nou.
What we know
- Man Utd beaten 3-1 by Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday
- Red Devils booed off by disgruntled home fans
- Four first-team stars allegedly involved in altercations back in the dressing room
