Joao Pedro waited. Brighton‘s Brazilian attacker had somehow evaded the attention of nine Manchester United defenders inside their own box.

All eyes were firmly fixed on Simon Adingra, who had the ball at his feet on the other side of the penalty area.

Diogo Dalot stood off and Adingra cut inside, before floating a cross to the far post.

This was now Pedro’s time and the forward, still unnoticed and lurking in acres of space, powered home his header to send the Amex Stadium into delirium and condemn United to yet another damaging defeat on the road.

Despite the optimism of a new season and some promising signs in their display, Erik ten Hag‘s men had been hampered by all too familiar problems as they went down 2-1 to the Seagulls on Saturday lunchtime.

Joao Pedro’s 95th minute winner condemned Man United to a 2-1 loss at Brighton on Saturday

Pedro’s goal came when United somehow failed to pick up the Brighton attacker at the far post

United’s defensive frailties were exposed again as they suffered another damaging defeat

The feel-good vibes following Joshua Zirkzee‘s debut winner against Fulham on the opening weekend had quickly evaporated as the Red Devils lost for the fifth time in six Premier League games against Brighton.

An extremely damning screenshot of United’s failure to pick up Pedro did the rounds on social media post-game, with all nine players watching Adingra, yet no-one had the foresight or the awareness to notice the dangerous position the goalscorer found himself in.

To make matters worse, Julio Enciso was queuing up behind the Brazilian like the pair were waiting for a bus.

That defensive shambles came after Harry Maguire failed to intercept Pedro’s first half cross, with the move eventually resulting in Danny Welbeck tapping home unmarked inside the six-yard box for Brighton’s first goal.

In truth, Saturday’s game on the south coast was just the latest example of United’s troublesome defensive issues over the past 12 months.

Back in Ten Hag’s debut season in 2022-23, David De Gea scooped up the Golden Glove in what proved to be the Spaniard’s final campaign at Old Trafford after he kept 17 clean sheets.

United conceded just 43 goals, a record that was only bettered by Newcastle United and champions Manchester City.

Yet something changed last season. Whether it was the loss of De Gea and the arrival of Andre Onana that destabilised the defence, the plethora of injuries at the back or the deterioration in Casemiro’s displays in midfield, Ten Hag’s side were exposed time-and-time again.

United finished eighth, their worst ever position in the Premier League era, but more worrying was their negative goal difference after they conceded 58 goals, seven more than 15th-placed Everton.

Harry Maguire was at fault for Brighton’s first when he failed to intercept Pedro’s teasing cross

Erik ten Hag just can’t seem to shake his side’s troublesome defensive issues right now

No team has allowed opponents to have more shots on their goal since the start of last season

The defeat to Brighton meant Onana is the first United goalkeeper to concede 60 goals in 40 Premier League games or fewer.

Pedro’s goal was also the sixth injury time winner United have conceded under Ten Hag, compared to two in their entire Premier League history before he took charge.

The winner similarly condemned United to their 17th away defeat in the Premier League under Ten Hag, with the Red Devils having won just 16 matches on the road since the Dutchman took charge in 2022.

There are several mitigating factors for United’s troublesome defence, particularly the heavy injury list last season.

In total, United’s players missed  a combined 202 games due to fitness issues, with the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia all absent for significant chunks of the season.

The injuries to Shaw and Malacia have been hugely problematic, with United forced to play much of the past 12 months without a specialised left back.

While Dalot has filled in admirably at times, several other makeshift options such as Sofyan Amrabat and Victor Lindelof struggled, while it naturally unbalances United’s defence.

The midfield has badly faltered at times too, as despite the impressive impact Kobbie Mainoo had in his breakthrough season, the Englishman is still vastly inexperienced at 19.

The performances of his partner, Casemiro, are cause for concern, while the likes of Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay have not been able to provide the necessary defensive bite to help United address their problems.

The base of midfield remains a hugely problematic position and while United have been heavily linked with PSG’s Manuel Ugarte, there is still much work to do – plus, the Uruguayan is unproven at the top level.

Andre Onana has become the first United keeper to concede 60 goals in 40 games or fewer

Casemiro’s performances have also deteriorated dramatically over the past 12 months

The continued injury problems of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia mean that United have had to play without a recognised left back for most of the past 12 months

These struggles at the back have been evidence by some damning statistics since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

For example, United have faced the most shots (691) of any team in the top flight, including last season’s relegated trio of Sheffield United (678), Luton (660) and Burnley (615).

Meanwhile, despite Onana conceding 60 across 40 Premier League games, he has actually outperformed United’s xG against of 72.6, a record that is the fourth worst in the top flight.

United’s duel success of 48.8 percent is the 16th best, while the 1327 touches opponents have had in United’s box is the third most out of all Premier League teams.

Ten Hag’s side have also conceded 95 big chances, more than double Arsenal’s total of 46.

There is hope things will improve this time around, particularly after the £60million double signing of Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, along with Lenny Yoro’s £52m move to Old Trafford from Lille.

Yet, although the injuries are clearly a mitigating factor to United’s defensive issues, the fact that they have run on for so long mean that Ten Hag must sort these sooner rather than later.

And, given his comments following the Brighton defeat, it is an issue that is causing much frustration to the Dutchman.

Lenny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazaroui will hope to make a difference in defence

Ten Hag needs to sort United’s defensive issues fast to avoid coming under pressure again

‘Two soft goals, we have to be more clinical in both boxes,’ he bemoaned. ‘(For the winner) we didn’t stop the cross.

‘There were three players — a right footer, send him down the line wide instead of letting him come and allow the cross.

‘We have to talk about this, how we act in the situation as a team. There was more than one mistake on that occasion and that has a big impact on the score.’

Ten Hag kept his job this summer despite significant speculation after last season’s struggles, but if the Dutchman doesn’t sort out these defensive issues soon, the rumour mill surrounding his future will soon alight again.