A humiliation that was one of the most astounding scorelines in the Premier League’s 30-year history, and wasn’t actually all that surprising. Jubilant Brentford, for one, seemed to know exactly what Manchester United were going to do and how they could hurt them. Again, and again, and again, until it was a stunning 4-0 after just 35 minutes.
That is itself a low, and yet you couldn’t really say Erik ten Hag’s new era has plummeted to new depths. It was rather a continuation of everything that has come before, an implosion from so many problems that had built up for over a decade.
