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Manchester United are one of the greatest clubs in English football. The club has won a lot of trophies in the course of its rich history
Sir Alex Ferguson has played a big part in shaping United's success. He instilled a mentality of teamwork over the years as they triumphed. The 20-time English champions clinched all major club trophies with a number of titles coming from playing attractive football.
However, the Red Devils have endured some tough moments in the club's history that left supporters in utter shock and disappointment. Here are some of the times when the team was exposed defensively and even lost matches against minnows.
Truly, these were dark days for the club's supporters.
#5 MK Dons 4-0 Manchester United
On 26 August 2014, Manchester United faced League One side MK Dons in the second round of the Capital One Cup. United started their campaign at this stage of the competition for the first time in 20 years.
This was due to their seventh-placed finish in the 2013/14 season when David Moyes was at the helm. Louis van Gaal, who took over from Moyes, also had a tough start to his managerial career at United.
In this match, a brace each by Will Grigg and Benik Afobe condemned United to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat. MK Dons was a team that played in a league two divisions below the Premier League.
Grigg struck in the 25th and 63rd minute whereas Afobe piled more misery on United with two late goals in the second half. The Dons' combined starting XI at the time cost less than £500,000.
It was almost inconceivable for United to lose this match given that David De Gea, Javier Hernandez, and Danny Welbeck were in the side.
#4 Manchester United 0-1 West Brom
This loss was unexpected as Jose Mourinho's team was coming on the backdrop of a solid 3-2 comeback win over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium to delay their coronation. On 15 April 2018, bottom side West Brom shocked the world when the team stunned United 1-0 at Old Trafford to effectively hand Manchester City the Premier League trophy.
The relegation-bound Baggies silenced the supporters at Old Trafford in the 73rd minute through Jay Rodriguez’s close-range header.
United became so desperate for a goal that Paul Pogba inexplicably used his hand in an attempt to score. At the end of the match, City were crowned English champions for the 2017/18 season.
#3 Manchester United 1-2 Sevilla
The first leg in Spain had ended as a goalless draw. Coming into this match, United had not lost a European match at home since Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win in 2013.
A dismal performance saw United concede two goals in the final 16 minutes courtesy of substitute Wissam Ben Yedder. In the space of seven minutes, Yedder scored two quick-fire goals to send United crashing out of the competition.
Yedder's first goal was in the 74th minute when he lost his marker and unleashed an unstoppable shot that went in through De Gea's right post. United then looked to capitalise on their impressive home record in order to eliminate Sevilla from the Champions League knockout stages.
The Red Devils conceded four minutes later due to some shocking defending. Following a corner, an unmarked Joaquin Correa was given acres of space to head the ball across the goal for Yedder to finish. Romelu Lukaku's late strike proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
Mourinho was pretty vocal after the match and painted a clear picture on United's heritage. This did not go down well with many of the club's supporters as outlined in the transcript.
“I say to the fans that the fans are the fans and have the right to their opinions and reactions but there is something that I used to call ‘football heritage’... It is something like the last time Manchester United won the Champions League, which didn’t happen a lot of times, was in 2008.
"Since 2011: 2012, out in the group phase, the group was almost the same group we had this season – Benfica, Basel and [Otelul] Galati from Romania. Out in the group phase. In 2013, out at Old Trafford in the last 16, I was on the other bench. In 2014, out in the quarter-final. In 2015, no European football.
"In 2016, comes back to European football, out in the group phase, goes to Europa League and on the second knockout out of the Europa League. In 2017, play Europa League, win Europa League with me and goes back to Champions League.
"In 2018, win the group phase with 15 points out of a possible 18 and loses at home in the last 16."
#2 Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement
Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-2013 campaign having won the Premier League title. He inspired United to numerous domestic and international titles and left a huge void when he finished his coaching days.
After Sir Alex Ferguson retired, David Moyes was appointed as Ferguson's replacement. Moyes ended up having an unsuccessful reign as Manchester United manager.
Under Moyes, United finished seventh in the league and missed out on Champions League football for the first time in 22 seasons.
United struggled further in the seasons to follow by finishing fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Ferguson’s retirement proved to be a bitter pill to swallow for United supporters. The club has not won a league title in five seasons since Ferguson left.
#1 Losing the title to Manchester City (2011/12)
On 13 May 2012, Manchester City won the Premier League in the most dramatic fashion. Roberto Mancini's side trailed Queens Park Rangers 2-1 heading into stoppage time when the unexpected happened.
Edin Dzeko scored a 92nd-minute header to bring the match level at 2-2. About a minute was left on the clock when Sergio Aguero stormed the opposition box and scored the winner with virtually the last kick of the match.
The 3-2 win enabled Manchester City to snatch the title from United’s grasp as the two teams were locked on 89 points. However, City enjoyed a superior goal difference.
This scenario went down in history as one of the greatest Premier League finishes. United fans will surely want that moment buried deep in their memories.
