The spectacle at Old Trafford had a somber atmosphere as Erik ten Hag and his players ran across the pitch in pouring rain to applaud the fans who had remained within the stands until the ultimate whistle. The few hundred in Stretford End continued to sing, even when there wasn't much to sing about; The tone was less defiant and more obligatory.
Alejandro Garnacho, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana were among the many last to go down the tunnel. Thoughts are probably racing through their minds about how quickly Manchester United have spiraled into turmoil this season and what needs to vary to show things around.
There was nothing particularly unusual within the cabin afterwards. Just the determination to make a “fresh start”, starting with Thursday’s Europa League game in Porto, with Ten Hag telling his players there’s “always a new day”.
But inevitably the main target will probably be on whether Ten Hag are capable of make clear this recent day, for this was a sombre event, their second 3-0 defeat in as many Premier League home games, having suffered a of the worst halves football in recent memory had played within the opening phase.
Afterward, Ten Hag said he didn't take into consideration being scrutinized for his job. “We all made the decision together in the summer to stay together,” he said, referring to the review through which United interviewed other candidates for his position, akin to Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi, but then decided to stick to him to remain .
“After a clear review, we made the decision on what we need to improve as an organization and how we build a squad.” All decisions were made together, also knowing that it could take a while given how the time-frame was going. We are all on the identical page, one boat, the owners, the management group, the staff, the players too.”
United's chaotic first half was greeted by stone-faced faces in a directors' box which included INEOS sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford and United CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.
United's hierarchy includes (from left, second row top) Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Privately, those in charge share Ten Hag's view – that changing the infrastructure and dealing practices on the club was a top priority when INEOS arrived and that patience is required for this to take hold and show results. Berrada and Ashworth only publicly announced their unequivocal support for Ten Hag earlier this month, so changing course now could be an about-face and inconvenient for leaders who prefer to be guided by a methodical process.
Another consideration is that Ten Hag was allowed to pick out his own coaches, including Ruud van Nistelrooy, and influence recent signings.
Likewise, the managerial landscape hasn't modified much since May and June, when United officials scoured the marketplace for potential replacements and ultimately settled on Ten Hag. Gareth Southgate is now available after giving up his role with England and has links to Ashworth and Brailsford, but that's all that concerns him.
However, pressure on decision-makers will definitely increase should Porto and Sunday's game at Aston Villa provide more of the identical, especially with one other international break looming. Gary Neville and Ashley Young, two former United captains, suggested on Sky Sports that the players should hold a gathering without Ten Hag to determine find out how to proceed. That's the type of media assumption that may fill the narrative unless results improve dramatically.
“We began the sport very badly after conceding a goal, like we did when a central defender (Micky van de Ven) crossed the entire pitch. Then we were very stressful in the sport, we couldn't discover a alternative. “Substitution, couldn't hold the ball, wasn't aggressive enough when the third man was doing it, we didn't get the pressing right,” admitted Ten Hag.
Such mental fragility is concerning and raises the query of whether it’s a person issue or a insecurity in team strategy.
The red card for Bruno Fernandes had an impact on the sport, but Tottenham were already cutting through United at will when the rating was 11-on-11. Spurs were good but United were very bad. Their pressing was disjointed, attempted passes from the back were difficult as gaps opened up again in midfield, and easily finding a teammate with the ball gave the impression to be a foreign concept for several players.
More than once the ball dribbled out of the boot of a United player attempting to get a move going. Those who found a red shirt were often fallacious. On a counter-attack before the break, Joshua Zirkzee passed off to Marcus Rashford, but put the ball behind his path. All Rashford could do was turn and hit a back pass right into a Spurs defender. He showed his frustration by waving his arms.
United's passing accuracy in the primary half was 76 percent, the bottom first-half figure within the Premier League this season.
United also dawdled in defense, at one point Matthijs de Ligt turned the ball over just for Dominic Solanke to hit. On one other occasion, Diogo Dalot attempted an additional touch of the ball but was overwhelmed by Brennan Johnson, who launched an attack that led to a shot from James Maddison.
Then there was the Spurs goal within the third minute. Van de Ven adopted FC Twente's blueprint by winning the ball and running straight towards United. Having conceded a goal like that’s embarrassing; Doing this twice in two games is an omission.
It was on this context that Fernandes committed his foul. He slipped but still threw his studs at Maddison's shin before pulling her away. It was a harsh red card, but there gave the impression to be some annoyance in Maddison dictating the play in midfield. (Fernandes later asked to handle the post-match media as an alternative of Onana to represent his team and take responsibility.)
Fernandes defeats Maddison and receives a red card (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
At this point, United were imploding and at the identical moment Kobbie Mainoo had to depart the pitch, seemingly suggesting to Casemiro and Antony on the touchline that he had picked up a hamstring injury. United's discipline slipped, with yellow cards for Mason Mount against Rodrigo Bentancur, Martinez against Maddison and Manuel Ugarte against Dejan Kulusevski.
Ten Hag have managed just six wins in 19 Premier League games since last season, while United's seven points are their lowest after six games in a season (same record in each 2013-14 and 2020-21).
Only within the 2007/08 season (4) did United rating fewer goals of their first six Premier League games than of their five games this season, although they did finish that season with a double victory within the Premier League and the Champions League.
In a good more worrying omen, United have lost consecutive Premier League games without scoring at Old Trafford for the primary time since November 2021 (0-5 against Liverpool and 0-2 against Manchester City). These were the last two home games for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who manages the club.
Ten Hag will hope this isn't a nasty omen for his own term.
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