Set the scene. It's the 72nd minute at Old Trafford, with the scoreline level. United have a freekick with bodies in the box to attack the pending delivery. Cristiano Ronaldo manages to find the net, but is ruled offside. On second look, all six Manchester United players attacking the ball are in an offside position.
Why is this moment being flagged? Well, it's the perfect encapsulation of United at the moment. On a more genuine analytic level, it's a perfect display of a lack of attention to detail at present, plus a lack of focus that riddles portions of matches. In broader terms, for a moment things look positive as Ronaldo appears to end his drought, but hopes are instantaneously shattered as the offside flag is raised.
It sums up United right now. You think you may just be getting somewhere, only for a plethora of problems to promptly unmask themselves.
Lots of people are, justifiably, coming into Tuesday evening’s rearranged encounter with Brighton & Hove Albion with the view that a 1-1 draw is the most logical prediction. From the outset of matches, United have a newfound invigoration and belief that they can gain the first say by way of the scoreline. Come the time that they do find themselves ahead, there is a sense of an injection of abject fear. There is a mental block, you may say.
Having squandered leads against both Middlesbrough and Burnley in the week prior, it was clear that those in United red had a reoccurrence of such event at the forefront of their minds as Southampton paid visit to Old Trafford. The thought seemed to be toying with those on the pitch. It got the better, and there was another concession within an instant after the juncture.
Ralf Rangnick has addressed the problem, suggesting that their has been communication with the club's new sports pyschologist Sascha Lense following the Southampton draw.
"Obviously, when you're 1-0 up in three consecutive games and concede an equaliser, this affects the mind of the players," Rangnick said. "We should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up and, all of a sudden, it's 1-1. This affects the mindset of players, it's obvious. They are human beings not robots."
"If you concede an early goal [after half time], everyone can understand this affects the confidence of the players. I spoke with Sascha about that. The only thing we can do is speak to players one by one and as a team, and think about how we score a second or third goal."
"We have to be more effective to score a second and third goal and just kill the game off - we create enough chances to do that. But, even if this does not happen, just stick to the game plan, stay solid and tactically disciplined."
United have now dropped 13 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season after only 24 outings, and have never previously dropped more than 14 in a single campaign.
The mishaps on the pitch have become more blatantly a player issue of late, rather than any tactical ineptitude stemming from the coaches. A lack of compliance with the deployed system throughout a match has been problematic, conjunct with the seeming mindset issues when leading in matches. What was initially a fitness issue with relation to sustaining a performance for the whole duration of a match has become more of a mental issue that has to be overcome.
Ralph Hasenhuttl also critiqued United's "reverse gears" after his side were unfortunate to only come away with a single point on Saturday, essentially laying into a work ethic shortage when it came to tracking back and helping the team on all fronts. Confidence can be somewhat excused for some of the lapses, but a lack of endeavour cannot.
Ultimately, confidence will not be restored if there is no want of trying. There has to be a drive to work towards the primary goal of finishing inside the top four. Although results have been wayward, there remains a huge chance of United finishing in the Champions League places due to the difficulties endured by rivals amidst other factors.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have been dropping points on a relatively frequent basis, with the inconsistency of the former seeing them in the midst of a three match Premier League losing run. In the meantime, Arsenal have far from straightforward games in hand against Tottenham and Chelsea - United already head Mikel Arteta's men by a point.
Facing Graham Potter's Brighton will be far from routine for United, and possibly another stumbling block ahead of a frightening run of matches against a number of the fabled 'big six'. The Seagulls have certainly been flying this term, perched inside the top half of the table having lost only four league matches all season. Currently unbeaten in the competition since mid-December, Brighton have twice held Chelsea in the last two months having also snatched points from Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham over the course of the campaign. A substantial 12 draws have likely damaged any faint European hopes, but Potter's side have significantly improved on their 16th-place finish last term - eight points shy of their points tally having played 15 matches fewer.
No side have lost fewer matches than Brighton's one defeat on the road this season, though they have never won a league match in Manchester, losing 11 times in 13 visits to Old Trafford in all competitions. United have won the last five league meetings between the sides.
Rangnick has been bolstered by Fred's isolation period coming to its end, with the Brazilian set to be involved in the squad. Eric Bailly is also back in training after his ankle injury, however Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani remain sidelined.
An upturn needs to be sparked into action soon from a United standpoint, otherwise there is a risk that the season could slip away before the 30 game mark, especially if they are to exit the Champions League to Atletico Madrid in the coming weeks. There's work to do.
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