Bill Rice, BBC Radio Manchester
Erik ten Hag may have felt Manchester United had turned a corner after back-to-back wins and clean sheets against Burnley in the Premier League and Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
Home defeats by Roy Hodgson’s Eagles and then Turkish side Galatasary have plunged them back into the mire.
It’s now six defeats in 10 games this season for the Reds, five in their last seven matches, and they are bottom of their Champions League group after starting a European campaign with two defeats for the first time.
They have also conceded 18 goals so far, and despite defensive injuries will have to improve that if they are to get their season back on track.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana was clearly brought in to change United’s build-up play, but without a settled defence in front of him has started nervously. He now looks like he is feeling the pressure and is a mistake waiting to happen.
The one bright spark was Rasmus Hojlund, who joined an elite group of United players to score three times in his first two Champions League games for the Reds. Only Wayne Rooney, Romelu Lukaku and Dimitar Berbatov had done that before.
The last time United lost successive home games was in October-November 2021 to Liverpool and Manchester City. They were under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in what proved to be his final home matches in charge. He was sacked two weeks later after a loss at Watford.
United have another home game next against Brentford on Saturday, and even this early in Ten Hag’s second season in charge, it feels like a game they cannot afford to lose.
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