20-time Premier League Manchester United succumbed to yet another defeat as they were comprehensively beaten by Stoke City 2-0 at the Brittania stadium on Boxing Day. United slipped to their fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions as the pressure on the beleaguered Loius van Gaal grew ten fold.
The latest defeat to the Potters has underlined United’s woeful run of form under the Dutch manager and surely the knives are out towards the manager and his underperforming bunch of stars.
The wheels are certainly coming off Manchester United’s season as their winless run now extends to seven games with their last three Premier League games ending in defeats. This is United’s longest winless run for nearly 26 years. Their results in the last seven games in all competitions read DDDLLLL.
Also, The Red Devil’s points tally of 29 points from the first 18 games in the league so far this season is the lowest they have collected since the start of the Premier League in 1992.
To add more insult to injury, Saturday’s defeat to the Potters was the first instance in over 55 years that the Old Trafford side have lost four competitive games in a row within a single season.
The defeat to Stoke was the first time the Red Devils have lost a Premier League game on Boxing Day since 2002 (1-3 at Middlesbrough). Also, it is only for the second time overall in the competition (P22 W18 D2 L2).
Louis van Gaal's side have averaged just 1.22 goals per game in the league this season (22 goals in 18 games). This has been United's lowest average in a league campaign since the 1989-90 season(over 25 years).
Current United skipper Wayne Rooney was benched for the game at the Brittania stadium last night with Frenchman Anthony Martial leading the line. This was the first time since January 28, 2014 that Rooney occupied the bench in a Premier League or Champions League tie for United.
In a scathing assessment of Van Gaal’s decision to let strikers Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez go from the club, the two strikers along with Angel di Maria and Nani have scored 45 goals in all competitions among them so far this season. This tally is ten more than what the whole of the United squad have managed this season until Boxing Day in all competitions.
Since the damaging 3-0 loss to rivals Arsenal in the Premier League in October, Manchester United have played 15 competitive games and have won only four of them.
Former United manager David Moyes, who was sacked after just 10 months in charge at Old Trafford, had a better record at the helm than his successor Van Gaal until Boxing Day.
With fellow strugglers Chelsea visiting Old Trafford on Monday, United who are currently down at 6th place in the League standings, could end up all the way in 10th with a loss to the Blues from Stamford Bridge.
If the Red Devils lose to Chelsea on Monday at Old Trafford, which increasingly looks likely given United’s pathetic run of form and serious loss of confidence among the squad, United are on the verge of an unwanted record which will see them lose five competitive games in a row for the first time in their long and glittering history since 1936, almost 79 years!
