Brentford 4, Manchester United 0
Manchester United were blown away in 35 minutes at Brentford as they went down 4-0 to lose their second consecutive game of the season.
A second defeat made it already their worst start to the Premier League season in 30 years but unwanted history was made once again as Erik ten Hag became the first Reds boss to lose their first two games in charge of the club since 1921.
Only one change was made from the team that lost to Brighton on the opening day of the season – with Scott McTominay sacrificed to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to start the game at the GTech Community Stadium.
This meant that Christian Eriksen was switched to a deep lying playmaker role having been the false 9 striker at Old Trafford but Brentford set a trap and United fell right into it after a promising first five minutes in London.
David de Gea allowed a Josh Dasilva strike to squirm past him to open the scoring for the Bees after 10 minutes.
And De Gea was at fault for Brentford’s second after 18 minutes when Mathias Jensen robbed Christian Eriksen after the Spanish goalkeeper inexplicably passed to his heavily marked team-mate.
Ben Mee outjumped Lisandro Martinez to head home Brentford’s third while the rout was effectively complete after just 35 minutes when Bryan Mbeumo broke free of United’s feeble defence to slide the ball past De Gea after the Reds lost the ball in the Brentford half.
Ten Hag said: “In 35 minutes to concede four goals is not possible. The team has to take responsibility, I feel really sorry for the fans – we let them down.
“They are good players and have to take responsibility on the pitch as a team and as individuals.
“I asked them to play with belief and take responsibility for their performance but they didn’t do this.”
He admitted that United we at a low ebb and that mistakes like De Gea’s for the first two goals didn’t help but said that the team needed to stick together.
He said: “I have to give them belief but they also have to have belief themselves.”
And he added that the squad still needed strengthening, adding: “We need new players, quality players, and we will do everything we can to convince them to come.”
United will have their toughest test of the season on Monday week, with Liverpool coming to Old Trafford looking to repeat or better last season’s 5-0 thrashing of the Reds – and on this form the Reds, who are now rock bottom in the Premier League, might be in for some trouble.