Manchester United had an unlikely hero to thank for sparing them from yet another dreadful defeat on Thursday.
Harry Maguire, on as a second-half substitute, headed home a stoppage-time equaliser to secure a 3-3 draw away to Porto in the UEFA Europa League.
Given United were reduced to 10 men before the goal — captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for a second successive match, this time for two yellow cards — it might seem as though this was a result to celebrate, especially in the context of a terrible start to the season that included a 3-0 home loss to Tottenham last weekend.
However, this was another largely awful outing for Erik ten Hag and his players. After going 2-0 up at the Dragao after 20 minutes, the Red Devils surrendered their advantage in the space of 23 minutes covering either side of halftime, with Samu Omorodion scoring twice after Pepe had pulled a goal back.
The nature of United's collapse brought back memories of last season's Champions League campaign, in which they surrendered two-goal leads against Galatasaray and Copenhagen in a group stage that saw them concede 15 times in six games.
Indeed, United have made a habit of shipping three goals or more in games under Ten Hag. In fact, it's something they do more often than any other Premier League team.
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How many times have Man United conceded three goals under Ten Hag?
The draw with Porto marked the 24th time in all competitions that United have conceded at least three goals since Ten Hag became manager in 2022. In that time span, no Premier League team have let in three or more goals in a single game on so many occasions.
24 - Since Erik ten Hag joined the club in 2022, no Premier League club has conceded 3 or more goals in a match more times in all competitions than Manchester United (24). Open. pic.twitter.com/WRvic7vpss
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 2024
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It's a remarkable fact for a team of United's stature, not to mention one assembled at such extraordinary expense — in the region of £600 million has been spent on players since Ten Hag took charge.
It highlights just how suspect they have become defensively since the beginning of last season in particular, their 2022/23 campaign having been largely positive as they finished third in the Premier League and won the Carabao Cup.
Should 24 become 25 when they face Aston Villa on Sunday, the calls for Ten Hag to go will likely become deafeaning.
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