sport news Man United shamed by stats after Brentford loss as Erik ten Hag makes poor start trends now
Manchester United plumbed new depths as they were thrashed 4-0 by Brentford on Saturday night as the gigantic scale of Erik ten Hag's rebuilding job became painfully apparent.
They were four goals down by half-time in west London, with two early errors by goalkeeper David de Gea setting the tone for a shambolic performance.
Major problems lie throughout United's side and also in their collective mentality, as some of these damning statistics from the Brentford defeat show.
Manchester United suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Brentford on Saturday evening
An unwillingness to put in a shift
United's players covered 95.6km during the 90 minutes compared to 109.4km covered by Brentford.
To say that the Bees wanted it more is something of an understatement when put in such stark terms.
Ten Hag's entire game plan revolves around hard running and intense pressing but there were absolutely no signs of that on Saturday night.
It speaks of a laziness in the United ranks and a lack of commitment to the cause that, truthfully, has lingered for far too long now.
Cristiano Ronaldo cuts a dejected figure during another chastening afternoon for United
No hint of Ten Hag's pressing game
Related to that are the sprint stats. Brentford's players made 90 bursts for the ball, United just 65.
And when it comes to applying pressure in the opponent's defensive third, there are no signs yet of United's players adopting Ten Hag's pressing game.
With Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack and Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho behind him, United applied pressure just seven times.
By contrast, Brentford did so 21 times during the 90 minutes.
We all suspected that Ronaldo wouldn't buy into a hard press style, just as under interim boss Ralf Rangnick last season, and here is early evidence. Maybe it is time to get rid.
