Man United set unwanted home record as the Red Devils’ turbulent campaign continues, with Erik ten Hag’s side suffering a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth – their fourth Premier League defeat this season

• Man United suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday
• Erik ten Hag’s side have suffered their fourth loss at Old Trafford this season 
• United are three points behind City… a league table can LIE. There are chasms between them – It’s All Kicking Off 

Manchester United suffered a bruising 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, their 35th loss at home since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as the club’s manager in 2013. 

It means that Erik ten Hag’s side have now suffered more defeats at home since Ferguson left the club, than the legendary manager suffered in his 21-year spell in charge of the Red Devils, according to Squawka. 

Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies with the Red Devils, only lost 34 times at home during his managerial career with the club. 

United, meanwhile, have suffered four losses at Old Trafford this season, losing to Brighton, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and now Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth. 

Interestingly, this was United’s heaviest defeat at home against a side who came into the start of the weekend in the bottom half of the table, with Bournemouth now rising to 13th in the standings, level with Chelsea, Brentford and Wolves on 19 points.

Manchester United suffered their fourth defeat at home of the 2023-24 Premier League season in their 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth

They have now gained the unwanted record of having lost more games since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, than the legendary manager lost in his 21-year spell at the club

Ferguson joined the club in 1986, guiding United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies

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The Red Devils have also now conceded three goals in three of those four losses. 

After the game, Ten Hag blamed the defeat on a lack of focus, with Dominic Solanke putting the visitors 1-0 up after just five minutes, with Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi scoring after half-time.

‘You have to start right and 100 per cent focused so everyone is eager. It can’t happen that opponents are more eager than we are,’ he told BBC Sport.  

The Dutchman added: ‘We had good spells of football. But there were moments when we were not good enough. 

‘We make mistakes and you can’t make such mistakes. On this level, the opponent will take benefit from it. You can’t switch off and we have to work on that. 

‘If you want to be successful and achieve the targets you set, you need consistent performances and you need to do it every third day.’ 

Ferguson took charge of United in 1986, replacing Ron Atkinson. He’d go on to take charge of 810 matches in the Premier League, securing 528 wins, 168 draws and impressively only 114 defeats. 

Since his departure, United have appointed several managers, including David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

Ten Hag, meanwhile, has overseen 54 matches, winning 32 of those, drawing six and losing 16 in the Premier League.

While United have endured a difficult start to the 2023-24 season, they still sit only three points off Manchester City in fourth place. 

Dominic Solanke put the visitors 1-0 up after five minutes, before Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi scored after half time  

It was United’s fourth home defeat of the Premier League season, with the Red Devils having conceded three goals in three of those defeats

Iraola’s side are now unbeaten in their last five matches and today claimed the club’s first-ever victory at Old Trafford. 

After the match, the Spaniard spoke of his side’s game plan to exploit spaces around the pitch as United pushed players forward to attack. 

‘When you come to a stadium like this you know they’re very strong, especially in wide areas, full-backs overlapping and underlapping, wingers very dangerous in one-v-one, you know you have to be very sharp in your own box, clearances, blocks,’ he said, according to Manchester Evening News.  

‘But they send a lot of players forward so you will get spaces. In this kind of open game when you know there will be chances for both games, we spoke at half-time and needing more goals if we want to win.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

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