Manchester United’s poor run of form was extended on Sunday as Erik ten Hag’s men fell to defeat at Newcastle United, with two second-half goals ensuring the hosts picked up all three points.
Newcastle have leapfrogged United in the table as a result and now, there are plenty of concerns for Ten Hag and his coaching staff going into the final two months of the season.
For the first time this season, United are hitting an extended patchy run of form and have now failed to win any of their last three Premier League games. That winless run of three games has, unfortunately, also come with another unwanted record.
3 – Manchester United have failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games for a seventh time, and for the first time since February 2020. Blunt. pic.twitter.com/o0iQbZ8XPp
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 2, 2023
According to OptaJoe, following the defeat to Newcastle, United have now failed to score for three consecutive games in the league for the first time since they did so in February 2020.
SN’s verdict…
United have done well this season but this slump in form has come at the worst possible time for Ten Hag. You could argue that the Dutchman’s thin squad paired with an increasing number of suspensions and injuries has played its part as well.
It cannot be forgotten that United have had to deal with the absence of their entire first-choice midfield for much of the second half of the season.
By the time Casemiro has served his four-game suspension, he will have missed a whopping eight games through suspension in 2023 and Christian Eriksen, who failed to start just one game prior to his injury, has been absent since the end of January.
The increasing reliance on Marcus Rashford to pull a rabbit out of the hat has also been apparent, leaving the opposition with a clear way of stopping United.
