Manchester United will be hoping to avoid setting a new unwanted club record in the Premier League when they face Liverpool on Sunday.
Head coach Erik ten Hag is working under the knowledge that a poor end to the season could cost him his job in the Old Trafford hotseat.
On Thursday night, it appeared that the Dutchman had taken a significant step to strengthening his position when United came from 2-0 down after 19 minutes to lead Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge deep into stoppage time.
However, in one of the most chaotic finishes that the Premier League has ever seen, and one which produced a handful of records, the Blues scored twice past the 99th minute to remarkably prevail 4-3 in West London.
The capitulation could have ramifications for Ten Hag in the long term, most notably due to United now being nine points adrift of fifth position in the standings with eight matches remaining.
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Man United looking to avoid unwanted record
Losing to Chelsea made it 29 defeats in just 104 matches for Ten Hag at Old Trafford, while his win ratio is now back below 60% (59.62%).
In terms of the Premier League, things look no better for the former Ajax man with United having now suffered 12 defeats in a single Premier League campaign for just the third time.
That feat first occurred under a combination of David Moyes and Ryan Giggs during 2013-14, the first season after the departure of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
History would repeat itself in 2021-22 when United posted 12 losses over their 38-game campaign, again when different managers were at the helm in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick and Ralf Rangnick.
The defeats in questions came under Solskjaer and Rangnick, though, with Carrick not suffering a loss in his three games in temporary charge in all competitions.
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As a result, Ten Hag faces the distinct prospect - a result of eight matches still being left on the schedule - of becoming the first United manager to lose 13 Premier League matches in a single season.
Ten Hag is also nearing United's worst run of defeats since the 1977-78 campaign when 19 matches were lost in all competitions. United have currently suffered 17 defeats from 42 games.
Furthermore, United have reached a point in their season where they have had more shots taken against them in 2024 than any other team in European football's top five leagues.
Nevertheless, on the flip side, Ten Hag holds an under-rated win ratio at Old Trafford, with his percentage of 71.7% even better than Ferguson's (71.2%).
Liverpool will also travel to the Theatre of Dreams having suffered defeat at the ground just three weeks ago, going down 4-3 after extra time in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Darren Plant
