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WOEFUL stats are mounting faster for Manchester United than the pressure on Erik ten Hag.
As stirring as Harry Maguire’s last-gasp rescue was for the 10-man Red Devils at Porto, the crazy 3-3 draw revealed more of United‘s shocking failings.
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The Europa League thriller means no Premier League club has let in three or more goals more often in all competitions than Ten Hag‘s men since he took charge at Old Trafford in April 2022.
United now visit Aston Villa – buoyant after toppling Bayern Munich in the Champions League for a make-or-break Prem clash on Sunday.
However, despite another night of dodgy defending, Ten Hag insisted he is still in it for the long haul.
The Dutchman said: “We will get there. Don’t judge us in this moment, judge us at the end of the season.
“We are in the process, we will improve. We have two seasons now where we achieve finals – just wait.
But he did admit: “You see again that the team is willing, strong character, but the middle part, the defending we have to improve.
“We have to be better on the ball and defend better.”
United, free-flowing early on, were deservedly 2-0 up through Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, although Porto keeper Diogo Costa somewhat blundered for both goals.
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But legendary centre-back Pepe and Samu Omorodion soon headed the Portuguese giants level.
Ten Hag took off a confident-looking Rashford for the second period – later raising eyebrows by revealing it was purely to rest the striker for the weekend rather than any injury.
And Spanish forward Omorodion promptly cracked the home side in front.
In fact, Porto could easily have exposed more gaps at the back for United.
Ten Hag then made another bold decision – bringing off both central defenders, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs De Ligt, with Maguire and Jonny Evans coming on in a like-for-like gamble.
But almost immediately star Red Devils’ midfielder Bruno Fernandes saw red for the second game in a row, courtesy of a controversial second yellow card late on.
Fortunately, Maguire soared to head home a point-saver in stoppage time.
However, even though it was a defender who stole in when most needed, the Red Devils are being robbed of decent stats by their dodgy backline.
United have now conceded at least three goals for their last four European away days, with just one victory in their past 10 Euro ties.
That’s four at Bayern, then four, three and three against FC Copenhagen, Galatasaray and Porto respectively.
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Surely no team can challenge for a trophy with such forlorn facts ‘n figures.
And if you look at the bigger picture – all competitions – the Red Devils also lead the leakers amongst Prem sides.
United have surrendered two or more goals 31 times since the start of last season.
That’s yet another unwanted tally for which United top the table.
No wonder they will travel to Unai Emery‘s high-flying Villa with the heat around Ten Hag really starting to prickle.
The Red Devils sit just 13th, with just two wins from six games.
That matches their worst-ever Prem start to a campaign and leaves fans fearing the pain might deepen before it is eased – unless Ten Hag finds a quick solution that is also the key to his future
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