Manchester United’s poor start to the Premier League season continued in their second game against Brentford FC on Saturday, August 13. The home side registered a memorable 4-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Goals from Josh Dasilva, Ben Mee, Mathias Jensen and Bryan Mbeumo helped Brentford take all three points. Meanwhile, Manchester United registered their second Premier League defeat in succession after losing 2-1 in their opening match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Here are five talking points from Manchester United's hapless defeat to Brentford:
#1. Manchester United's pre-season form has failed to translate to the Premier League
Manchester United looked like a team that was on the mend under Erik ten Hag in pre-season. The players looked to be buying into the Dutchman’s tactics and the camp was filled with happy faces. Players who failed to deliver over the years (like Anthony Martial) suddenly looked to have revived their careers.
The team began their preparations with a resounding 4-0 win against Liverpool, which only added more to the expectations from fans and pundits alike. They won three of their six pre-season matches, losing one.
However, the Red Devils have gone back to their disappointing roots once the Premier League season started. While Brighton showed some flaws in Manchester United's game, Thomas Frank’s Brentford laid bare the issues in the team.
The laughter on the players’ faces from pre-season has been wiped out and replaced with dejection, with little signs of that changing anytime soon.
With Liverpool visiting Old Trafford next week, ten Hag’s side might not have hit rock bottom just yet.
#2. Lack of competition for David de Gea
The last time David de Gea let his guard down and was conceding howlers, Dean Henderson started in the Premier League on loan at Sheffield United.
Henderson returned to the club last summer, signed a new contract and looked set to replace the Spaniard in goal. However, De Gea got his act together and found his form once again.
After playing second fiddle in the last few months, Henderson is out on another loan, this time to Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, De Gea, 31, has begun showing rust in his game once again.
He was at fault for the two opening goals against Brentford. He let Dasilva's shot go through him while his pass to an under pressure Christian Eriksen led to the second goal.
Will the Red Devils regret the lack of goalkeeping competition for the Spanish ’keeper?
#3. Harry Maguire leads by the wrong example
When Ten Hag was announced as the new Manchester United manager, all eyes were on how ruthless he’d be in building the team around his ideas. One big call he was expected to strip Harry Maguire of the captaincy after his error-ridden performances last season.
The Dutchman, however, surprised many by deciding to stick with the Englishman as his team’s leader.
The new season hasn’t brought about any changes in Maguire’s game. He’s sloppy in possession, regularly fumbles with his passes and fails to organize his defense when on the backfoot.
Tyrell Malacia, 22, in his second game for the club, had to scramble back to cover the ball and prevent the team from conceding a fifth goal. He then turned around and remonstrated with his senior teammate, which certainly paints a somber picture.
#4. Lack of cohesion in attack
Anthony Martial looked unstoppable in pre-season, scoring three goals, but is now on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Marcus Rashford looked reborn during Manchester United’s Asia tour but has gone missing once the season has started. Jadon Sancho’s pace and purpose has been easy to nullify as well.
Cristiano Rolando has spent the summer trying to engineer a move away from the club (via The Times). He missed most of Manchester United's pre-season and has now returned but looks to be leading a disjointed attack.
If Ten Hag has huge defensive issues to solve, he’ll have similar problems when looking at the other end of the pitch. There doesn’t seem to be a clear leader in attack and teams are finding it easy to suffocate the Red Devils and not show them any sight of goal.
The transfer window will shut at the end of the month and there is arguably lack of decent options in the market. So who will solve the team’s dilemma in the attacking third?
#5. Unwanted records galore
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United broke and set several Premier League records. They were unbeatable at their peak and had the ability to register wins even when they were not playing at their best.
Since the Scot retired in 2013, however, things have looked bleak and are heading to new depths with each passing season.
This was Manchester United’s biggest ever defeat to Brentford, equalling a 4-0 defeat they registered back in 1936. It was also Brentford’s first win against the Red Devils since 1938.
Brentford have become the third side to score four goals against United in the first half of a Premier League match. The other two games took place in the last two years, with Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool doing so in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The Red Devils find themselves at the bottom of the league table for the first time since 1992. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag became the first manager to lose his debut away game since Sir Alex Ferguson. He is also the first Manchester United manager in over 100 years to lose his first two league games.
Paul Merson has predicted the results for Chelsea vs Tottenham and other GW 2 fixtures! Click here