United lost 3-1 to Brentford, slipping to 14th in the league with 7 points from 6 games.
Manchester United’s struggles continued on Saturday as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at Brentford, leaving them in 14th place with just seven points from their opening six Premier League games.
The result also stretched their miserable away record to eight matches without a win in the league, their longest run since 2019.
Manager Rúben Amorim has been criticised for sticking to his preferred 3-4-3 system. However, centre-back Matthijs de Ligt feels the team’s issues are less about tactics and more about focus.
“Of course, it’s always easy to look to the manager, but, in the end, the players on the pitch have to do it,” De Ligt said. “You guys always talk about the system. That also has a lot to do with focus, concentration, and, if that’s lacking in key moments, it’s going to make a difference.”
Since Amorim took charge last November, United have conceded the opening goal 21 times in league games – more than any other side. In that same period, only Tottenham (33) have collected fewer points than United’s 34 among ever-present Premier League teams.
The Brentford defeat capped a difficult seven days for United. They narrowly beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford but were then comfortably outclassed by Manchester City in a 3-0 derby defeat, before a shock EFL Cup exit to League Two side Grimsby Town on penalties.
Despite the setbacks, De Ligt urged his teammates to remain united and learn from their mistakes.
“If you lose this game, it’s a big blow, obviously,” he admitted. “A lot of times, it is the same song, but we have to stick together. That’s the most important thing… for the next game, we have to analyse what went wrong, because a lot of things went wrong.”
