One of the reasons behind Manchester United’s impressive 2022/23 campaign was their form at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag’s men losing just one of their 19 league games at the Theatre of Dreams.
That defeat was also the first game of that season, taking Ten Hag’s unbeaten run at home to almost a full year before the Reds were beaten by Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this month.
Alarm bells had already begun ringing before that defeat to Brighton but now, after sustaining back-to-back defeats at home following this weekend’s loss to Crystal Palace, there are worries over the side’s ability to see teams off at home.
Speaking after the game against Roy Hodgson’s men, Ten Hag admitted that United are disappointed with their home form and that it is in everyone’s interest to get back to what made them so difficult to play against last season.
“We lost two games [here] in a row in the Premier League now, that is clear, but I wouldn’t set that as a conclusion [right] now,” Ten Hag is quoted as saying by the official Manchester United website.
“We have to do better that is definitely the case, but we have to show it, even in our body language.
“Old Trafford needs to be a fortress and [we need to show] that you can’t get anything here,” the boss added. “The only way other teams do that is if we lose. We have to do better here.
“The demand is that we get a row of wins to get into a rhythm. We have to do better than we are doing right now.”
United will get an immediate shot at setting things straight in two days when Galatasaray make the trip to Old Trafford, with the Reds desperately needing three points in the Champions League.
After an opening-day defeat to Bayern Munich, United cannot afford to be pointless in their group after two rounds of fixtures or they may risk finding themselves in the Europa League once more.
