Man Utd Players Deliver Brutal Assessment as Club Hits Rock Bottom with Shameful Milestone
Chaotic, inadequate, awkward. These harsh criticisms emerged from a growing number of frustrated Manchester United players enduring the club's equal-worst opening to a Premier League campaign.
The previous occasion United managed only four points from their initial four matches was in 1992, during Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure with a squad still recovering from a devastating late-season title collapse. Instead of mourning a runner-up disappointment, United's current team is attempting—with limited success—to build upon last season's disappointing 15th-place finish.
The recurring weaknesses of Ruben Amorim's squad were mercilessly highlighted by Manchester City on Sunday in a thoroughly disappointing 3–0 derby loss. Bruno Fernandes found himself positioned in a two-man midfield that showed early promise before crumbling under pressure at the first hint of dynamic play.
"We need to maintain better control in specific moments," United's struggling captain declared after the match.
Though other performances this season have provided brief moments of optimism—particularly the season-opening loss to Arsenal—Sunday's poor display matched the dreary Manchester conditions. "I feel terrible," a drenched Noussair Mazraoui confessed to MUTV.
"[I'm] let down by my own performance, by the team's effort, and sorry for the supporters that we couldn't deliver the standard we've shown recently. A derby carries extra significance, more emotion, so when you lose after playing well and creating the opportunities we've had in recent matches, you might find some acceptance because progress is evident. But [against City] it simply wasn't acceptable."
Defender Matthijs de Ligt echoed similar pessimistic sentiments. "We must improve," he stated grimly. "We need to demonstrate it, or words mean nothing. During the opening period, they [City] dominated...In the latter half, they netted their second goal quite rapidly.
"Then we conceded a third in a somewhat careless manner—our second-half performance improved but they were clearly superior throughout."
However, despite the widespread negativity—which is certainly abundant—the new season hasn't been completely without merit.
As De Ligt noted, United did threaten City's goal. "I believe we had numerous opportunities to create scoring chances," the Dutch defender observed. "We simply couldn't execute the final pass effectively."
Fernandes correctly identified this as a persistent problem. "We continue generating scoring opportunities but struggle to convert as many as desired," he expressed frustration. "Our takeaway from this match must be analyzing our shortcomings and moving toward the next fixture. We must find the net while preventing goals. That's football's fundamental principle."
United have, rather unexpectedly, attempted more shots this season than any other Premier League team. Only Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Betis—having played an additional match—surpass the Red Devils in goal attempts across Europe's premier five divisions. However, their finishing efficiency remains dreadful.
From United's 71 shot attempts, merely two have resulted in goals—including Fernandes's injury-time penalty against Burnley. Twenty-three individual players across the continent have scored more league goals than United's entire squad despite a summer investment of £200 million ($272.3 million) on attacking reinforcements.
Historical patterns indicate that goals should eventually come for a team consistently creating quality chances, but Manchester United have recently developed a troubling tendency to defy conventional expectations.