Manchester United resumed their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Defeat at the London Stadium means the Red Devils have only won one of their last eight matches across all competitions.
It was a case of deja vu for United, who dominated much of the game but were poor in front of goal and missed far too many big chances.
Erik ten Hag cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines as his side wasted more chances.
Crysencio Summerville opened the scoring for the hosts and Jarrod Bowen scored a late winner from the penalty spot after Casemiro nodded United level.
It has been a terrible start to the season for United and they have now dropped down to 14th in the table below West Ham.
Here are five things learned from the West Ham defeat:
Another Noussair Mazraoui position change
Erik ten Hag raised eyebrows when he started Noussair Mazraoui in an advanced midfield role against Fenerbahce midweek.
The £13m summer signing was given another new role on Sunday with Ten Hag tasking him to play left-back against Jarrod Bowen.
It worked better than the experiment on Thursday but United are still desperate for a natural left-back – something they have not had available to them all season.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka one of West Ham’s best
United fans know better than anyone that Aaron Wan-Bissaka is one of the best one-on-one defenders in the world.
The right-back, who was sold to West Ham for £15m this summer, was impressive against United and there was a good duel between him and Alejandro Garnacho on United’s left flank.
Given United’s lack of availability at full-back this season, some will be wondering why he was let go.
Diogo Dalot miss of the season
Scoring goals has been a huge issue for United this season. Ahead of Sunday’s clash, the Red Devils had only scored seven league goals.
United’s poor record in front of goal continued against West Ham with the worst miss of the game – and of the whole season – going to Diogo Dalot.
The Portuguese full-back lifted the ball over the goalkeeper and had an open net to aim at, but incredibly he sent his shot sailing over the bar. Unforgivable.
Erik ten Hag back under huge pressure
After surviving the sack over the international break, Ten Hag relieved a little bit of pressure with the 2-1 win over Brentford.
However, back-to-back 1-1 draws against Fenerbahce and West Ham have piled the pressure on again.
Ten Hag may be sweating after United reportedly made contact with Edin Terzic and he can expect the sack rumours to keep swirling after failing to win again.
European hopes are quickly dwindling
Qualifying for the Champions League was United’s aim this season, but a top-four finish is looking out of reach already.
We are now a quarter of the way through the Premier League season and United are falling behind their top-four chasing rivals.
The gap to fourth is still only five points, but United will have to get things together quickly if they want to put themselves back in the picture.
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