For the 13th time this season, Erik Ten Hag's Manchester United fell to defeat on Saturday afternoon, as West Ham notched up an ultimately routine victory at the London Stadium.
There was a familiar pattern to this game to previous United outings. Though they would enjoy most of the ball and territory in the first half, they only created one clearcut opportunity - scuffed by Alejandro Garnacho when one-on-one with Alphonse Areola.
By the time the second half came around, West Ham were comfortably on top, and they were full value for their 2-0 win by full-time.
It's a defeat which means Manchester United will sit in eighth in the Premier League table at Christmas, eight points off the top four and staring down yet another season of disappointment.
Last season had seemed like such a step forward for Ten Hag's side, with third in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup marking one of the most successful seasons of the post-Ferguson era.
The contrast with this season is stark. In truth, United have rarely looked more lost since the departure of Fergie than they do currently. Even taking into account an injury crisis unlike any the club has seen in the past decade, top players have failed to consistently perform, and it is now over six hours of game time since the team scored a goal.
In the aftermath of Saturday's defeat, an uncanny comparison was drawn between United's current form under Erik Ten Hag, and the form of Valencia during Gary Neville's ill-fated spell in charge.
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Manchester United: Erik Ten Hag stats startlingly similar to Neville at Valencia
Anyone familiar with Gary Neville's brief foray into management will understand that a coach should never hope to be compared to the ex-Manchester United right-back.
Neville's stint in charge of Valencia during the 2015-16 season was an unmitigated disaster, and he has not return to management since.
A remarkable tweet from @CR7Legacy on Saturday made stark contrast between that infamous Spanish sojourn and the current form of Neville's former club.
Gary Neville at Valencia
• 28 games
• 11 losses
• 39 goals
• 38 goals conceded
Ten Hag 23/24
• 26 games
• 13 losses
• 33 goals
• 41 goals conceded
‘Worst manager ever’ vs Mr ‘Eras come to an end’ pic.twitter.com/pINxRbk6Zz— 💛💙 (@CR7sLegacy) December 23, 2023
The agenda of the Cristiano Ronaldo fan account against the man who oversaw Ronaldo's departure from Old Trafford is not exactly well-hidden in the above tweet, but the stats themselves are startling nonetheless.
With only one Premier League game on Christmas Eve, it is now guaranteed that there will only be one team in the entire league with fewer goals scored than Manchester United's pitiful 18 by Christmas Day.
There will now be serious questions asked of Erik Ten Hag, after an utterly dire December thus far which echoes the disastrous 2015 festive period under Louis van Gaal.
Despite all of the alarm bells, Ten Hag himself was bullish after his defeat in London on Saturday. The Dutch coach said that he believed his team was capable of turning the tide, and that he expected the goals to flow sooner rather than later:
We have issues...but the players on the pitch are good enough to win games.
It is about getting into the box. Make sure you are there. Have the willingness to arrive there and to score a goal.
They are capable of it - I know Rashford can score, Hojlund can score, Garnacho can score, Bruno Fernandes can score, Scott McTominay can score. We have scoring abilities in our squad and also from set plays.
At this moment we're not doing it. They have to stick together and believe in themselves.
It is remarkable that when Manchester United face Aston Villa at Old Trafford on St. Stephen's Day, they will be 11 points behind the Villains in the Premier League table.
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