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Erik ten Hag is hardly the first manager to suffer in the Manchester United hot-seat since Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day in 2013.
The Dutchman was brought in to succeed where David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all failed and was given a warning by interim manager Ralf Rangnick of the “operation of the open heart” that was needed at Old Trafford before his arrival.
However, Ten Hag has so far failed to avoid the traps his predecessors fell into as United manager, overseeing some dejecting and downright unforgivable performances at times, even if he has been hamstrung by the off-field mess the club has wallowed in during recent years.
Here are Ten Hag’s worst defeats as Man Utd manager.
Hardly the worst result from a plain scoreline perspective, United’s FA Cup final defeat to local rivals Manchester City was still unbearably painful.
It was Ilkay Gundogan who stepped for the Cityzens with a brace – including a stunning first-minute opener – as Bruno Fernandes’ penalty proved little more than a consolation. United weren’t helped by David de Gea, who signed off on his United career with a shocking display between the sticks.
The win ticked off the second trophy in City’s treble bid and they would complete the job in the Champions League, equaling United’s stunning 1998/99 achievement.
United had lost their Champions League opener in 2023/24 and were in dire need of three points when Galatasaray arrived at Old Trafford in October.
Instead, a new nadir arrived as the Turkish giants stole a late victory after Casemiro had been sent off.
Rasmus Hojlund had twice given the hosts the lead either side of Wilfried Zaha’s equaliser but Kerem Akturkoglu struck to pull Galatasaray level before Casemiro was shown a second yellow card, having been played into trouble by an awful Andre Onana pass.
Mauro Icardi put the resulting penalty wide but the Argentine soon ran through the middle and chipped over Onana to hand United a third home defeat in their opening six games of 2023/24.
Andoni Iraola had found his feet as Bournemouth manager by the time he took on Ten Hag at Old Trafford in December.
The Spaniard’s fluid style of play was reaping its rewards after a few challenging months at the start of his Premier League career. United, meanwhile, looked as rudderless as ever and went behind early on when Dominic Solanke finished well at the near post.
The clueless defending continued as Very Tall Man™️ Philip Billing was left unmarked to head in at the back past in the 68th minute. Marcos Senesi made it 3-0 moments later from a corner with no one tracking him and the home fans quickly trickled out of the stadium.
United had to pick up two wins against Copenhagen to bolster their Champions League hopes after two defeats from their opening games. They managed a 1-0 triumph at home but the return leg saw more self-inflicted nonsense result in a defeat to the Danes.
The Red Devils looked to be streaking towards a much-needed victory as Hojlund struck twice in the opening half hour, but Marcus Rashford’s red card levelled the playing field as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Diogo Goncalves put Copenhagen level at half-time.
Fernandes’ penalty again gave United the lead, but Lukas Lerager equalised before Roony Bardghji inflicted a damaging blow to the visitors’ knockout-stage ambitions.
A true false dawn had given United hope of an upset win in the Manchester derby in October 2022. Four straight league wins meant Ten Hag’s outfit were in good nick, but a brutal reality check was dished out at the Etihad Stadium.
City led 4-0 at the break and Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both competed their hat-tricks in the second half, though Antony did claw one back to briefly make it 4-1.
Anthony Martial managed to come off the bench to grab a brace, somewhat improving the scoreline, but the damage had well and truly been done.
Europa League glory was there for the taking in Ten Hag’s debut season in England, so long as United could avoid by overawed by competition specialists Sevilla in the quarter-finals, having seen off fellow Spaniards Barcelona and Real Betis in the previous rounds.
The Red Devils threw away a 2-0 lead in the first leg and capitulated horrifically on away soil, with goalkeeper De Gea one of the major culprits for their exit.
Having been involved in a mix-up with Harry Maguire which gifted Youssef En-Nesyri his first goal before Loic Bade headed in, De Gea attempted to control a high ball outside his area but instead knocked it straight to En-Nesyri, who curled into an empty net to cap an awful night’s work for United.
This match proved to be a turning point in Ten Hag’s first season, though the drop-off in the second campaign suggests the response wasn’t all that deep.
Having lost their first league game of 2022/23 to Brighton at home, the Red Devils’ maiden away trip went horrifically as Brentford surged into a 4-0 lead by half-time after goals from Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Ben Mee and Bryan Mbeumo.
That they would go on to finish third that season after such a horrendous start has to be respected, but similar performances have been regular in 2023/24.
There can be no ignoring the significant injury issues Ten Hag has had to deal with during his second season at United. However, a 4-0 loss at Crystal Palace? Really?
The Dutch manager was somewhat thrown under the bus by midfielder-cum-emergency-defender Casemiro, who delivered a career-worst performance alongside veteran Jonny Evans, who was evidently short on fitness after a month out.
Michael Olise was at the double while Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell also struck, sending United down to eighth in the Premier League with a minus goal difference.
Injured players or not, this was a nightmare showing from Ten Hag and United.
Liverpool enjoyed an all-you-can-score buffet when they hit United for seven at Anfield in March 2023. The Reds weren’t even challenging for the Premier League title and were only one ahead at half-time before the floodgates really opened in the second period.
Cody Gakpo put the Reds ahead just before the break, after which six unanswered goals from the hosts gave Ten Hag another reminder of the major work ahead, even if they had won the Carabao Cup just a week before.
Gakpo grabbed another alongside braces for Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah before Roberto Firmino rounded off the scoring on one of the bleakest afternoons in United’s history.
