By Chris Osa Nehikhare | Publisher, From My Window

There are defeats, and then there are defeats that leave you wondering what exactly you have just watched.

For Manchester United, the last few days have provided both.

It started with the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. United lost 1–0 to Manchester City through an Erling Haaland goal that should not have stood. This is no longer simply the complaint of a wounded United supporter: the refereeing body, Pro Ref, subsequently acknowledged that VAR had erred by failing to recognise the impact of the offside-positioned Enzo Fernández and recommend an on-field review.

We can complain about that decision, and rightly so, but we cannot hide behind it.

City played much of the match with ten men following Phil Foden’s first-half red card, yet United never really made the numerical advantage count. There was possession, effort and the occasional threat, but not enough authority. Not enough urgency. Not enough of the Manchester United that should smell blood when a rival is reduced to ten men.

So, controversial goal or not, the performance did not inspire.

Then came Brighton.

If Sunday allowed us to point a finger at VAR, Wednesday offered no such hiding place.

In fact, for ten minutes, everything looked rather good. Young Shea Lacey announced himself with a fine eighth-minute goal and Mason Mount made it 2–0 just two minutes later. Old Trafford could breathe. Perhaps this was going to be the response we wanted.

Instead, it became a collapse.

Brighton pulled one back through Charalampos Kostoulas just before half-time. Pascal Grob equalised in the 65th minute and, only four minutes later, Maxim De Cuyper completed the turnaround.

Manchester United 2–3 Brighton. Out of the League Cup.

What troubled me most was not merely the defeat. It was how pedestrian United became. The intensity disappeared, the confidence drained away and Brighton increasingly looked like the team that believed it would win.

And here is the statistic that perhaps tells the story better than anything else: United had not lost at Old Trafford after taking a two goal lead for 50 years — since September 1976.

That is not the kind of history Manchester United wants to be making.

After the 5–2 victory over Ipswich earlier in the season, I wrote with optimism. I had even joked with friends that, after our opening defeat to Hull, our league started that day. The pace and dominance of that second half against Ipswich offered something to believe in.

Now we need to see it again and consistently.

Perhaps the early exit from the League Cup will ultimately prove useful. One less competition. Fewer distractions. More training ground time to correct what is clearly wrong. But that argument only works if United use the opportunity.

The season is still young. There is enough football ahead to change its direction completely. But the team must rediscover intensity, aggression and the confidence to control matches rather than merely participate in them.

Next comes Fulham away on Sunday.

Maybe that is where the reset begins.

For now, dark clouds are hanging over the red half of Manchester.

Hopefully, they have emptied themselves and are beginning to move away.

Because somewhere behind those clouds, we still hope there is a Manchester United season waiting to emerge.