BRIGHTON, England — Despite all the talk of a fresh start under Erik ten Hag, there was a sense of terrible inevitability and familiarity about Manchester United’s 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on the rainy south coast on Saturday.

United were far too porous at the back and although they will point to their unfortunate disallowed goal, they managed to destroy themselves when Joao Pedro was unmarked at the back post and headed home the winner in the fifth minute of added time, something that will make for some horror in the post-match analysis when the team returns to Carrington.

There were aspects of this performance that looked like a step forward for Ten Hag 2.0. After a summer in which he was given trust and permission to rebuild his team, as well as four new signings (so far), this should be the season we see the United he has promised and touted since taking charge. But United lost to Brighton because of mistakes that were there before and should have been fixed by now.

United left their players unattended for both of Brighton’s goals. The first, in the 32nd minute, saw Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui fail to stop Pedro’s cross and also fail to get Kaoru Mitoma’s ball into the six-yard box, leaving Danny Welbeck to score from close range against the club where he began his career.

When the winner was scored, Pedro stood with his hand raised, begging Simon Adingra to put the ball on his head while Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez were caught watching. Pedro, with plenty of space, had all the time in the world to bend down and head the ball past André Onana. It was far, far too easy.

By this point, United had already sabotaged themselves and could have scored a winner. They had come back into the game in the 60th minute through Amad’s heavily deflected equaliser and then thought they had scored a second ten minutes later through substitute Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentina international’s shot beat goalkeeper Jason Steele and was on target, but the ball struck the knee of an offside Joshua Zirkzee just before crossing the line and VAR correctly intervened to disallow the goal.

United thought they had put those days behind them, but sloppy mistakes, poor communication and missed chances once again marred their performance.

Ten Hag was “very disappointed” and said his team needed to be much more aggressive in both defense and attack.

“I think we often did the right things,” Ten Hag said after the game. “Often we were successful – when we won trophies and won other big games where we got points.”

“Today we should have been better. We should have been better in the Community Shield (1-1 against Manchester City). We have often done well in situations where we have brought victory over the finish line.”

Although there are rumours that United are showing their teeth this season, they are still trying to find some bite. Of the summer signings, Mazrouai is the one who has immediately established himself as a right-back. He has largely done well against Mitoma, who was so dangerous in Brighton’s opening win over Everton. Zirkzee has been used as a substitute twice – first in the 1-0 win over Fulham where he scored the winning goal in the 87th minute, and here he came on at half-time for Mason Mount, a change that saw Fernandes move back into the No.10 position.

They looked far more dangerous and had more penetration with this combination, suggesting that perhaps it is time to bring back the experiment of using Fernandes as a false No.9. It served them well at the end of last season, leading them to two Premier League wins and an FA Cup final triumph over Man City, but that particular role for Fernandes has had a difficult second season. With Fernandes back behind Zirkzee, the captain looked far more relaxed and it was his pass to Garnacho that could have secured the possible winner.

De Ligt is used gently in the heart of the United defence, coming on as a substitute against Fulham and Brighton. In both games, De Ligt replaced Maguire for the final 10 minutes. So, despite all the England international’s stunning efforts, De Ligt is the long-term solution at centre-back. However, De Ligt was on the field when Pedro was given freedom of the United penalty area to score the winning goal.

Brighton found space in United’s penalty area far too often, and Martinez also failed to live up to his usual high standards, so it remains to be seen how Ten Hag uses De Ligt and 18-year-old Leny Yoro when he returns from a broken metatarsal.

The performance also showed that United are keen to sign defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain before Friday’s transfer deadline to have younger legs in central midfield. Ugarte, 23, should be a more mobile alternative to 32-year-old Casemiro. That was evident as Billy Gilmour, who has been heavily linked with Napoli, had the Amex in his grasp and was excellent in midfield for Brighton, finding time and composure amid the pressing chaos to break through United’s defence.

Brighton are set to be a blockbuster under former St Pauli manager Fabian Hürzeler. His age has raised a lot of eyebrows – at 31 he is the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history – but his aggressive 4-2-4 formation is wonderful to watch and they are unabashedly attacking.

Pedro works brilliantly in this system, finding the ball from deep and running at the storming defence, while Mitoma and Minteh are both excellent wingers. Brighton still have a number of other players to integrate, such as club-record signing Georginio Rutter, who made his debut from the bench. Matt O’Riley (Celtic) and Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahçe) are also likely to leave in the next few days.

Brighton’s spending this summer could exceed £200 million and Hürzeler has built a team that has led them to two wins from two games. They are extremely ambitious and will be a formidable side.

There is still plenty of work to be done at Old Trafford too. Will United find the right mix as they find themselves in the midst of this turbulent start to the season?

United have six days of the transfer window left to sign Ugarte and determine which players leave. Jadon Sancho was again left out of the matchday squad, while Scott McTominay was a second-half substitute as he plays against Fulham and Napoli. Ten Hag hosts Liverpool on September 1, and it seems that game comes too soon for his new-look United to be ready. Ten Hag needs time, but he doesn’t have that luxury as he has limited credit on the bench.