Manchester United players arrived for training with glum faces on Wednesday after their crisis season continued with a 3-2 loss at home to Galatasaray.
The Red Devils were handed their sixth defeat in ten games against the Turkish side in their Champions League group stage clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday to maintain pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.
And players looked like they were feeling the pressure too as they arrived at Carrington the following day with blank expressions ahead of a likely inquest into how the team collapsed to hand their rivals all three points.
Rasmus Hojlund - a £72million arrival from Atalanta - had put the home side ahead before ex-United star Wilfried Zaha equalised. Hojlund added his second to put United 2-1 up before goals from Kerem Akturkoglu and Mauro Icardi sealed a stunning win for the visitors.
The squad were pictured driving into the training complex looking to keep a low profile as captain Bruno Fernandes led the names arriving in a bid to put things right this weekend - when they play Brentford at home.
Defender Raphael Varane also looked far from pleased after his performance came under scrutiny against the Turkish outfit - with club legend Paul Scholes criticising him for being 'soft and weak' with 'sluggish legs'.
Midfielder Mason Mount - who joined United for £60m this summer - wore a baseball cap as he pulled in, while goalkeeper Andre Onana looked on sternly having come under fire for another calamitous mistake in the Champions League clash.
The Cameroonian was guilty of passing straight to Dries Mertens from the back - with the forward racing into the box before Casemiro gave away a penalty and was sent off as a result.
It followed on from another high-profile error against Bayern Munich when he failed to keep out Leroy Sane's speculative effort from distance.
Hojlund was also among the list of glum faces despite netting his brace for United - making it three in the Champions League - though he is still waiting for his first Premier League goal.
Attentions will now turn to a must-win game against Brentford as Ten Hag looks to find a response from his dejected players.
The Dutchman will have bad memories of when the Bees thrashed his side 4-0 at the beginning of last season - though United did bounce back to win the home game 1-0 against Thomas Frank's outfit.
Brentford have had a mixed start to the season after one win, four draws and two losses so far. Their biggests tests have come against Tottenham - drawing 2-2 - and Newcastle, who beat them 1-0 at St James' Park.
Ten Hag insisted he had the support of the club's hierarchy after the Galatasaray game as he prepared for more challenges ahead.
‘Last season went brilliant, terrific more than we could expect.
‘But also in this project we knew there would be gaps and in this period we are in a very difficult period but we come out together, fight together, stick together and that is me the directors, the team, altogether we will fight.
‘This is not us we know we will do better.’
Charlesterrance
575
1) Yes players are out in right positions 2) replace onana with 2nd in line n train the replacement goalee to perform 3) defenders should remain at their positions instead of going forward to score during corner kicks like Varane n lindelof - stay at their positions and defend fir God’s sake and let the strikers n midfielders focus on scoring 4) replace top players like Rashford with Ganacho if he’s not in form 5) draw out the opponent players to their half n then attack on the rebounce 6) that’s the winning formula 6) Erickson to remain on bench for last min changes.. he does not have speed due to his age n fitness.. 7) test the younger players n train them to be more robust and swift n attack when they are chances or gaps in opponents defence 8) martial should be benched - too slow and not tough and skillful as he looses the ball too easily.. 9) Ten Hag where’s your winning 11 .. have you identified them 10) too much of dependency on seasoned players like Wan bisaka and Luke Shaw n Lisandro who are all injured !! 11) identify yr 2nd best team without the seasoned players as injuries can happen anytime !!!
rahmonjago
419
1) Yes players are out in right positions 2) replace onana with 2nd in line n train the replacement goalee to perform 3) defenders should remain at their positions instead of going forward to score during corner kicks like Varane n lindelof - stay at their positions and defend fir God’s sake and let the strikers n midfielders focus on scoring 4) replace top players like Rashford with Ganacho if he’s not in form 5) draw out the opponent players to their half n then attack on the rebounce 6) that’s the winning formula 6) Erickson to remain on bench for last min changes.. he does not have speed due to his age n fitness.. 7) test the younger players n train them to be more robust and swift n attack when they are chances or gaps in opponents defence 8) martial should be benched - too slow and not tough and skillful as he looses the ball too easily.. 9) Ten Hag where’s your winning 11 .. have you identified them 10) too much of dependency on seasoned players like Wan bisaka and Luke Shaw n Lisandro who are all injured !! 11) identify yr 2nd best team without the seasoned players as injuries can happen anytime !!!
Jentle18
300
Ok , there’s something most people are not realizing especially when it comes to these EPL coaches who are now starting their careers. They all want to be Peo Guardiola soo bad to the point where, when pep uses a player as inverted left back, they all want to do the same. When pep put players in different positions on the field, these coaches want to try it soo bad, look at Ten Hag playing Amrabat in left back, Bruno as left winger when it’s not working out, Arteta played Partey as right back, forcing himself to make it workout for Kai and other players in different positions , same as Pochetinho
Peaceking1234
144
Meanwhile Onana to Cleansheet👇💯😂😂
BarcaChelArg
106
The media is putting Onana on the chopping board for the losses which is very unfair 😔 What kind of football does Manchester United play? What system is ETH imposing on his players? Does ETH have the right players for his system? How do you attack if your goalkeeper is among your top five passers? The EPL statics list shows no Man U player until number 32 where you find Bruno Fernandes, then Lindlof on 51, Martinez on 72, Varane on 82 and Onana on 89. What do the midfielders do with the ball? How do you play attacking football without passes while hoping to stop your opponents from hitting your goal 🥅 regularly?? Ter Stegen of Barcelona had such a terrible record the defense of Samedo, Umtit, Mingueza, Pique couldn't coordinate. Wisen up Manchester United, get rid of toxic players!!!!