The performance was wrong. The tactics were, too. The team selection as well. At last, an hour after Galatasaray sealed victory, it felt as though Erik ten Hag got something right. “There are no excuses,” he said. And as he surveyed Manchester United’s start to the season – historically bad, even by the sort of standards they have set in recent years – there aren’t, really. Not injuries, many as there have been, or misfortune, despite Christian Eriksen’s assertion that “[bad luck] is following us around at the moment”.
Not when United are the masters of mistakes, finding ways to plumb new depths as Galatasaray, without a Champions League away win since 2013, triumphed at Old Trafford. Even for a club who have amassed many an unflattering statistic over the last decade, there were historic lows: United have made their worst-ever start to a Champions League group. They have lost six of their first 10 matches of a campaign for the first time since 1986/87, a spell that eventually resulted in Ron Atkinson’s sacking.
