The pre-match buzz was all about Manchester United’s struggles and Rubin Amorim’s unwavering commitment to his much-debated 3-4-3 system. With the pundits gradually recognising our strong start, the focus seemed to be on United’s vulnerabilities, with three defeats in their last six league games.
For us, there’s no doubt that it’s been a superb start to the season with three wins, two draws, and just one loss, placing us comfortably in sixth. This was the best start for a promoted team in thirteen
years — a testament to the hard work of Régis Le Bris and his coaching staff.
Arthur Masuaku continued at left back as Reinildo Mandava’s suspension was ongoing, and reports of Nordi Mukiele’s death turned out to be slightly exaggerated as he started at alongside the hero of Nottingham Forest in Omar Alderete.
Although Enzo Le Fée started the last game, he was moved into more of a number ten role for this one, in which we loved to see him during last season.
On the wings, Simon Adingra was brought in to face off against his international counterpart Amad Diallo, with Bertrand Traore also given his first start. Chris Rigg and Chemsdine Talbi were moved to the bench and although Rigg turned out to be an unused substitute, I’m sure he’ll get chances in other games having impressed against Nottingham Forest.
For Talbi, it was a chance for a rest following consecutive starts and although he’s been impressive — especially when it comes to keeping hold of the ball and making intelligent decisions — Traore could’ve possibly offered more of a direct attacking threat for this particular game.
United also made a few changes, dropping Altay Bayindir after a few uninspiring performances with Senne Lammens brought in for his debut. Matheus Cunha, purchased for £62.5 million, was also dropped, with Amorim opting for Mason Mount instead.
Personally, I was nervous about this game. When we were complacent earlier in the season, it resulted in a 2-0 win for Burnley but I did feel the players learned a lot of lessons from that game and wouldn’t allow it to happen in this instance.
United had won their previous two games at Old Trafford and there’s still something imposing about watching us play there. Our away record against the Manchester clubs isn’t something to shout about, having won just one of our last twenty nine away encounters. However, records are there to be broken and this squad has a completely different mentality.
Early on, we were keen to put pressure on United, with some defensive frailties exposed. Granit Xhaka played a superb pass into Adingra which took half of their team out of play instantly, although the offside flag was raised, sparing Traore’s blushes.
Our approach seemed much more aggressive than in previous weeks and the game was ridiculously open in the first ten minutes when things took a sudden turn — Mount finding himself open and taking his chance well. The touch and finish were classy and it wasn’t something you could attribute blame to from our perspective, but instead, it was a moment of Premier League quality that we had to acknowledge.
Amad decided to be treacherous on the twenty minute mark by testing Roefs, who produced a solid save matched by another fantastic stop two minutes later from Bryan Mbuemo. It marked a point in the game where both sets of midfielders decided to play a game of “Hot potato”, handing possession to the opposition in a polite and regular manner, but it did seem like conceding the goal rocked us slightly as we struggled to get back into the game.
On twenty five minutes, I decided that Roefs is a god among men. Bruno Fernandes curled an effort towards the top corner, but somehow, Roefs managed to produce another world class save. If there’s any human on Earth who wonders why Anthony Patterson isn’t getting a chance, they should rewatch that save.
United’s second goal was poor from our point of view. A long throw resulted in five of our players trying to win the initial ball. None of them did, and Benjamin Sěsko found himself free for a tap-in. A really poor moment and as a result, we saw a change in tactics and mentality.
Dan Ballard was brought on for Adingra with thirty six minutes played. Though it was harsh on Adingra, it was a decision that had to be made before the game turned into a bloodbath, and the tactical change led to notable improvement, Xhaka trying his best to redeem our first half performance with a solid hit towards the end of the first half, producing a save from Lammens.
Sěsko then demonstrated his versatility by appearing to kick Trai Hume in a way that WWE’s Kane would’ve been proud of, but VAR showed that although his leg was raised, there was no contact with Hume. A review was called, no penalty was given and from the corner, Ballard was first to the ball, hitting the side-netting. It was a promising end to a poor first half — although it was a chance that you’d expect Ballard to convert on most occasions.
The second half saw no changes.
We came out and did a better job at holding on to the ball and valuing possession, whereas United sat back to defend their lead and very little happened until fifty seven minutes, in when there was a real moment of contention as Traore was booked for simulation after getting sandwiched between two United players as he looked to progress into the penalty area.
VAR didn’t intervene when it looked like Lammens should’ve been sent off, and although I’m usually a bit of a VAR apologist, appreciating that we’ll benefit at times and feel wronged at others, it felt like a puzzling decision. There was clear contact and absolutely no sign that Traore had dived or was trying to deceive the officials. It should’ve seen Lammens sent off and I’m absolutely baffled as to why VAR didn’t get involved.
Three substitutions were then made by Le Bris, with Eliezer Mayenda, Brian Brobbey and Talbi on for the aggrieved Traore, Wilson Isidor and Masuaku.
Unfortunately, there was little of note from that point as the second half petered out. Our substitutes initially struggled to get into the game as the tempo slowed down, although Talbi was able to get himself into some promising positions on the wing, playing in some really inviting crosses which nobody could capitalise on.
As the game drew to a close, we were left to rue some fairly decent chances.
Mayenda had a chance on seventy eight minutes but was unable to take it; Trai Hume was overlapping and had provided a great opportunity. This was then followed by our best chance of the game: a solid opportunity for Talbi at the ninety-minute mark having been played in by Mayenda. Whilst he hit the target, you would’ve expected him to score in that situation.
Ultimately, the damage had been done in the first thirty minutes. I’m not sure if we thought that being aggressive and really going for it in the opening stages would unsettle a mentally fragile Manchester United, but it had the opposite effect as we left ourselves too open.
Whilst I’m pleased that Le Bris made the tactical change, you can’t win games at this level when you give the opposition a two-goal head start. Instead, you’re left wondering how the game would’ve finished had we opted for that tactical switch from the very beginning.
That said, though, it’s important to have some perspective.
It’s one poor game, we learned our lessons from Burnley and I’m sure we’ll do the same in this instance. We’ve got an extended break before Wolves on October 18 and I’m hoping to see the team come back and get another three points at home.
4 October 2025
Premier League
Old Trafford
Attendance: 74,004
Manchester United 2 (Mount 8’, Sěsko 31’)
Manchester United: Lammens, Shaw, De Ligt; Yoro (Maguire 84’), Dalot (Dorgu 63’), Amad; Casemiro (Ugarte 84’), Fernandes, Mount (Cunha 63’); Mbuemo (Mainoo, 75), Sěsko
Subs Not Used: Bayindir, Heaven, Leon, Zirkzee
Sunderland: Roefs, Hume (Geertruida 78’), Mukiele; Alderete, Masuaku (Talbi 58’), Xhaka; Sadiki, Le Fée, Traore (Mayenda 58’); Adingra (Ballard 34’), Isidor (Brobbey 59’)
Subs Not Used: Patterson, Neil, Rigg, O’Nien
