Reaction to Manchester United’s 4-0 hammering at Brentford on 13 August 2022 was predictably fierce.
pundit Chris Sutton talked of United hitting “rock bottom”. On Sky Sports, Karen Carney said United “can’t get any lower”. Former skipper Gary Neville said his old club was “rotten”.
Sutton and Carney were wrong.
From that mauling at the Gtech Community Stadium to the end of last season, United spent over half a billion pounds on new players. They ended the 2024-25 campaign in 15th spot, their worst finish since relegation in 1973-74.
There have been good days in the intervening years. United won the EFL Cup, FA Cup and qualified for the Champions League. But there has been embarrassment, too.
They conceded six in losing at Manchester City in 2022 and suffered a record 7-0 hiding at Liverpool in March 2023.
They were beaten 4-0 at Crystal Palace in May 2024 and it took late goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo to give the scoreline a respectable look when they were beaten 4-3 on their last visit to Brentford in May.
This summer, United spent another £219.6m on four more players. Goalkeeper Senne Lammens had not arrived by that point but Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo – who was one of Brentford’s scorers in 2022 – and Benjamin Sesko were all involved when their club was beaten at League Two Grimsby in the EFL Cup in August.
It was the first time United had ever lost to a fourth-tier side.
Far from hitting rock bottom when they were beaten at Brentford three years ago, it was just another heavy thud on a long descent from their glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson.
This weekend, United go back to west London trying to take baby steps on the path back to something like what they once were.
Victory would represent the first time they have won successive league games under Ruben Amorim, and the first time they have done it at all since they followed up a 2-0 success at Brighton on the final day of the 2023-24 campaign by opening last season with a late 1-0 win over Fulham.
It is a staggering statistic, both for United and Amorim, who took former club Sporting on a 12-match winning streak in the autumn of 2021 and had emerged victorious in 16 out of 17 games – with one draw – immediately before moving to England.
Little wonder he is not looking too far ahead.
“It’s really hard but I also understand it’s a different club, with different pressures in a completely different league,” he said.
“That feeling of winning and for it to be really normal to win, I struggle [with] a lot.
“It’s in our hands to change things. We just need to win the next one and to do everything to win the next one [after that].”