Manchester United suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday, being hammered 6-3 by arch rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Hat-tricks from Phil Foden and the sensational Erling Haaland brought United's four-game winning run in the league to an end in dramatic fashion, bringing Erik ten Hag's players back down to earth with a bang. United were outclassed in every department and it was only courtesy of City easing the pressure in the second half that they managed to score three goals.
After being 4-0 down at half time, they then found themselves 6-1 behind before two goals from substitute Anthony Martial put a slightly more respectable look on the scoreline. It was a shambolic display and Ten Hag, despite watching his side fall behind with just eight minutes on the clock, felt his side were in trouble with less than 60 seconds played.
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He said: "It is over when you start like this, from the first minute on. You are without a chance [when you start so poorly].
"Without belief on the pitch, no spirit and you are not brave on the ball you will get hammered by a good team like City, that's clear. It starts with that [a lack of belief].
"You have to be proactive from the start and we weren't, meaning we had to change things. Watching the first goal back, we won the ball in a good position on the field and we could have countered them, but we gave the ball away and the reaction after was like a pack of cards [falling]."
A lack of belief was also cited as the reason behind United's performance by both Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes. They each felt the squad lacked that important trait for a game of such magnitude.
"It's quite simple, it's a lack of belief," Eriksen told Match of the Day. "When you don't believe on the pitch then you can't win games, that is unacceptable."
All three of United's league defeats this season have come as a result of their opponent being far superior, opposed to edging a relatively even game, even though Brighton only won their season opener at Old Trafford by a single goal, compared to the four Brentford scored and the six City got on Sunday. United have been shambolic in each of those defeats and have been left with nobody to blame but themselves.
When they lose, they lose embarrassingly, opposed to competing and pushing their opponent every step of the way. It's a trend that Ten Hag needs to arrest and investigate deeply, especially when he blamed the defeats to Brighton and Brentford back in August on his players' attitude and approach.
After the 1-0 win at Southampton towards the end of August, Ten Hag, reflecting on the opening two defeats, said: "You have to adapt to find a certain way to win games and that is what we did today. That was the problem, especially in the second game [versus Brentford].
"When you don't give everything and you don't have the attitude for 100 per cent and you don't have right team spirit, you don't have to talk about philosophy or game plan or whatever. First it has to be a team and spirit and 100 per cent commitment."
With Ten Hag, along with Eriksen and Fernandes, admitting that the defeat to City stemmed a lack of belief, United need to try and correct this problem quickly. They cannot continue to cite it as a reason every time they are beaten, especially when the attitude of players within the squad has been so heavily criticised over the past 12 months.
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