Man Utd sink to new depths as season comes apart

 

Manchester United’s season is spiralling out of control and manager Erik ten Hag appears powerless to stop the rot.

United slipped to a chaotic 3-2 defeat at home to Galatasaray on Tuesday and have lost their opening two Champions League matches for the first time.

It was United’s sixth defeat in 10 matches in all competitions this season, with positive pre-season vibes now a distant memory.

Ten Hag appeared to be steering United in the right direction when he ended a six-year trophy drought last season and led them to a third-place finish in the Premier League.

Now the Dutchman, in his second season at Old Trafford, is under growing scrutiny for the first time as he scrambles for solutions.

Ten Hag’s men badly needed a victory on Tuesday after losing their Champions League opener against Bayern Munich and faced a Turkish side who had never won in England before.

United led twice, courtesy of impressive goals from new forward Rasmus Hojlund, but Galatasaray took advantage of some calamitous defending, sealing the win when Mauro Icardi dinked the ball over the error-prone Andre Onana.

Ten Hag says there are “no excuses” for his side’s dismal performances but is not worried about losing his job.

“Last season: brilliant, terrific, more than we could expect,” he said.

“We also knew in this project there would be common gaps. At this moment we are in a very difficult period as everyone can see but we come out together, we are fighting together.”

The question is, what does the Dutchman, besieged by problems on and off the pitch, do to halt the steep decline?