(Football news) Manchester United were convincingly beaten 3-0 on home soil by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, while Porto – in stark contrast – cruised to a 4-0 victory over Arouca in the Primeira Liga.
Manchester United have made their joint-worst start to a Premier League campaign, picking up just seven points and losing three of their opening six games, including a miserable three-goal defeat at the hands of Spurs last weekend – one described by former defender Gary Neville as “disgusting” and “one of the worst performances” by a Red Devils team under Erik ten Hag.
The somewhat controversial dismissal of Bruno Fernandes did not help Man United’s cause, but their worst spell arguably came when they had 11 players on the pitch, as Tottenham cut through their midfield like a knife through butter, with a whole host of familiar bad habits resurfacing once again.
Ten Hag, who has now suffered 10 defeats as Manchester United boss by a margin of at least three goals – including two this season already – is running out of excuses to explain Manchester Uniteds’ demise. Over £600m has been forked out on new signings and 12 of the 16 players used against Spurs were either recruited by the Dutchman or brought into the first team by him from the club’s academy.
If reports are to be believed, Manchester United’s hierarchy have no immediate plans for a change of manager, with Ten Hag set to remain in situ for away encounters with Porto and Aston Villa before the international break. However, if performance levels do not improve quickly, then the under-pressure 54-year-old – who only penned a new two-year contract in July – could be in trouble.
Prior to the defeat against Spurs, Manchester United laboured to a 1-1 home draw with FC Twente in their opening Europa League fixture, but they can travel to Porto on Thursday with some confidence as they are unbeaten in their last 12 European matches against Portuguese clubs.
The Red Devils beat Porto 1-0 in their most recent meeting at the Estadio do Dragao back in 2009 when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an iconic 40-yard goal to secure a slender Champions League victory. Another win on Thursday should grant Ten Hag more time and would get United up and running in the Europa League before they face Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce on matchday three.
While Manchester United are down in the dumps, Porto have made a significantly better start to their domestic campaign, winning six of their opening seven Primeira Liga matches by an aggregate score of 16-1, with their only league defeat during this run coming at leaders and defending champions Sporting Lisbon (2-0) at the end of August.
Porto’s most recent success took place on Sunday at home against 10-man Arouca, with second-half goals from Samu Omorodion, Nico Gonzalez, Galeno and Deniz Gul securing a comfortable 4-0 victory and consolidating second place in the table.
Head coach Vitor Bruno, who replaced Sergio Conceicao in the summer, was full of praise for his side’s second-half display and hopes they can transfer their domestic form onto the European stage having yet to hit the ground running.
Indeed, Porto suffered a surprise 3-2 away defeat against Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt in their opening Europa League fixture last week, despite playing the majority of the second half with an extra man; the Dragons have in fact won only one of their last seven games in Europe’s secondary club competition.
Porto have faced Thursday’s opponents Manchester United a total of eight times in Europe and have come out on top only twice – a thumping 4-0 home win back in 1977 in the European Cup Winners’ Cup and a 2-1 success in 2004 in the Champions League quarter-finals en route to winning the tournament.
Also read: Manchester United and FC Porto and all about their squad & injuries
