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Porto Exposes More About the Struggling Manchester United

Manchester United continues to stumble amid a serious defensive crisis that has persisted since Dutch coach Erik ten Hag arrived at the club in the summer of 2022.
It’s clear that Ten Hag’s dismissal has become a matter of time, as he has failed to correct the trajectory of United in major competitions. This was evident when his team was leading 2-0 against Portuguese side Porto in the second round of the UEFA Europa League yesterday evening, only for Porto to come back and win 3-2. The match ended in a draw with a late goal scored by substitute defender Harry Maguire, temporarily saving his coach from the chopping block.
After United was ahead with goals from Marcus Rashford (7) and Danish player Rasmus Hojlund (20), the home team turned the tables with three goals from Brazilian Pepe (27) and Spanish player Samuel Omorodion (34 and 50), before Maguire salvaged his team from defeat with his goal in the 91st minute. Meanwhile, his teammate, Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, was sent off in the 81st minute, complicating matters even further for his team.
The “Red Devils” were on the verge of suffering their second consecutive defeat after a shocking 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the league last week, and two draws, including one against Dutch side Twente in the Europa League. They currently sit in 21st place on the overall table with just two points from two matches.
There’s no doubt that the difficult draw and coming back from Porto with just one point will increase the pressure on Ten Hag, who has requested more time to change his team’s fortunes.
After the match, Ten Hag stated, “I don’t judge us at this moment. I will judge us at the end of the season. We are in a development phase. Everyone needs to be patient; we need to develop this team. We will work and continue to fight. You can see the spirit and connection between the coaching staff and the team. The players are united, have a strong spirit, and want to achieve success. We have a good mentality, but we need to intensify efforts in some defensive areas.”
However, it’s clear that United defended for most of the match, which saw the firing of captain Fernandes for the second consecutive game, making things worse. Ten Hag commented, “We started the match very well, controlled it, and scored two goals, then lost control. It’s a difficult situation; we came back from being down 3-2 and scored an equalizer. The team has a strong personality, but we need to improve the middle parts of matches.”
According to the statistics network Opta, no Premier League team has conceded three goals or more in a match more than United since Ten Hag took charge. The figures indicate that the “Red Devils” have conceded three or more goals in 24 matches across various competitions, something that has not happened with any previous coach since Sir Alex Ferguson took over the team in 1986, which marked the beginning of a long golden era that practically ended when he retired. The club has struggled with selecting coaches, as none have succeeded in providing the necessary results and restoring the team to its former glory.
Another statistic worth noting is that Manchester United has conceded at least two goals in a match for the 31st time since the beginning of last season, more than any other team active in the Premier League.

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