Members of the Manchester United first team have allegedly started to question Erik ten Hag's tactics following their 3-0 Manchester derby drubbing at the hands of Manchester City.
The Red Devils welcomed their long-time adversaries to Old Trafford for Sunday's Premier League clash on the back of three straight wins over Brentford, Sheffield United and Copenhagen, but none of those successes was convincing.
Ten Hag's men required injury-time heroics from Scott McTominay to see off the Bees and a Diogo Dalot stunner to overcome the Blades, before relying on a last-minute Andre Onana penalty save to sink Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Man United were briefly in the ascendancy against Man City at the Theatre of Dreams, but a bright opening five minutes soon paled into insignificance, as Erling Haaland struck from the spot after Rasmus Hojlund was adjudged to have pulled Rodri back.
It took a spectacular save from Onana to deny Haaland his second before the break, but the Norwegian headed home early in the second half before teeing up Phil Foden to complete an Old Trafford trouncing.
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Throughout the contest, Man United had just 39% of the ball in front of their own fans, while also coming up with just a third of Man City's total shots, firing seven compared to the champions' 21.
According to The Sun, some players are now beginning to raise concerns over Ten Hag's tactical setup, as they were left "dumbfounded" by some of the Dutchman's personnel choices.
The former Ajax head coach controversially started Victor Lindelof - a centre-half by trade - at left-back over Sergio Reguilon, as well as leaving Raphael Varane out of the XI in favour of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans.
To accommodate all of Christian Eriksen, Sofyan Amrabat and McTominay, Bruno Fernandes was also forced into a wide position, despite the presence of Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.
Ten Hag was also targeted by boos from the home crowd when he took off Hojlund for Garnacho in the 73rd minute, as the £72m summer signing awaits his first Premier League goal since joining from Atalanta BC.
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When Ten Hag arrived in Manchester, the Old Trafford faithful were expecting the 53-year-old to implement his previous style of play from his days at Ajax, who were an unquenchable attacking force during his tenure.
However, Ten Hag claimed after the match that he would "never" be able to replicate those tactics with Man United due to having different players at his disposal, as his side suffered a fifth loss from their opening 10 top-flight games for the first time since 1986.
Despite Man United's mediocre start to the season, Ten Hag is thought to retain the full backing of the Red Devils' board, having built up enough credit in the bank with a successful debut season.
The Dutchman led his side to EFL Cup glory and third-placed Premier League finish in 2022-23, and he remains under contract at Man United until the end of the 2024-25 season with the option of a further 12 months.
Man United now turn their attention to Wednesday's EFL Cup fourth-round tie with Newcastle United - a repeat of last season's final - before travelling to Fulham in Saturday's early Premier League kickoff.
Ben Knapton
