Ruben Amorim's record with Man Utd is lamentable as clueless players undone again at Brentford

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It turns out Ruben Amorim was right to say he had no idea which version of his Manchester United side would show up.

Unfortunately for Amorim, the version that turned out at Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium was the one that continues to let down, frustrate and infuriate him and United's loyal fans.

Every time this United team seems to have turned a corner, as they did with their hard-earned win over Chelsea the previous weekend, in which they showed hitherto unseen character and aggression, they somehow manage to regress and revert to type.

When Brentford's third goal in added time, their fans taunted Amorim with chants of "sacked in the morning" and their returning former hero, Bryan Mbeumo, with cries of "Bryan, what's the score?", sparing neither as they revelled in their deserved victory.

Here, the seeds of United's latest setback were sown inside the first 20 minutes, Brentford striker Igor Thiago profiting from the uncertainty in United's defence to plunder two goals.

Where this leaves Amorim, only the United hierarchy know. There is an unwillingness to countenance the prospect that his position as head coach is under threat, after United's chief executive Omar Berrada went all out to hire him and in so doing put his own reputation on the line.

But those in charge at United cannot hide from the glaring truth that the team is simply not showing enough signs of progress under Amorim. Seven points from a possible 18 is simply not acceptable, after he was backed in the summer with £236million worth of new signings to strengthen his squad.

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After this defeat, Amorim now has just nine wins from 33 Premier League games. For all the talk from inside the club about an improved xG, fewer shots conceded, more shots on target and a significant upturn in the data, the only stat that matters is results, which have been lamentable.

A season without European football was supposed to be a blessing in disguise for United and Amorim, giving him free weeks to work with his players on his philosophy and system, but that argument has proved illusory, with the players just as unreliable and clueless as last season.

Amorim made three changes from the Chelsea win, Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte and Matheus Cunha coming in for the injured Noussair Mazraoui, the suspended Casemiro and Amad, absent following a family bereavement.

There was no first Premier League start of the season for Kobbie Mainoo, with Ugarte given the nod to replace Casemiro, who was serving a one-match ban following his red card in the victory over Chelsea.

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United fell behind in the eighth minute, the defence having pushed up, allowing Jordan Henderson to pick out Thiago, who let the ball bounce once before thrashing a shot past Altay Bayindir, the ferocity of the shot giving the keeper no chance.

Thiago notched his second of the game 12 minutes later, Brentford again exposing United's weakness down the right side, Bayindir palming away Kevin Schade's dangerous ball, but only as far as Thaigo, who steered it back over the line for the hosts to establish a 2-0 lead.

United did not look like scoring, but £70m summer signing Benjamin Sesko gave them a lifeline in the 26 th minute, scoring his first goal since his move from RB Leipzig, with a fierce finish high into the net.

Amorim's side failed to build any real momentum thereafter and never looked like scoring, but earned another lifeline in the 75th minute when Bryan Mbeumo – returning to his old club for the first time since his summer move - was brought down by Bees skipper Nathan Collins.

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United skipper Fernandes stepped up to take the resulting penalty – after a lengthy VAR check to see if the challenge from Collins warranted a red card – but failed from the spot for the second time in a row, following his miss in a 1-1 draw at Fulham, with Caoimhin Kelleher saving his effort this time. United's misery was compounded in the 95th minute, when sub Mathias Jensen made it 3-1 with a majestic strike after a breakaway move.

Next up for United are Sunderland at home. Given how well the Black Cats have started on their return to the Premier League, that promises to be another unsettling afternoon at Old Trafford for Amorim and his under-performing players.

If this wretched run carries on much longer, Amorim is likely to be put out of his misery and go the same way as his five predecessors, all of whom followed Sir Alex Ferguson and failed in what has now become the impossible job.

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