Erik ten Hag has familiar Louis van Gaal problem at Manchester United this season

Manchester United knew to expect a partisan atmosphere when playing West Ham at Upton Park on 10 May 2016.

It was West Ham's final match at the Boleyn Ground before their move to the London Stadium and the atmosphere was electric. That translated to the pitch and a five-goal thriller played out, but it was the hosts who enjoyed a fairytale victory.

United had a 2-1 lead thanks to Anthony Martial in the 72nd minute and they were 3-2 down just eight minutes later. Louis van Gaal slumped in his chair in disbelief and West Ham sealed the perfect ending to 112 years spent at their stadium.

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That defeat was United's eighth away from home in the Premier League in the 2015/16 season and that was the most in a single campaign in the club's history. It was later matched in 2021/22 and it's been matched again this season.

That means United have matched their joint-most away defeats in a single season in the competition with Erik ten Hag in charge. That defeat brought him level with Van Gaal, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick and it also came against West Ham.

History has a funny habit of repeating itself and United finished fifth that season before winning the FA Cup. United will take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final on June 3, but it would be a disaster to finish outside the top four this year.

Although United seemed to be in an unassailable position for Champions League football at the start the February, their lead on the chasing Liverpool in fifth is now just one point and their away form has arguably been to blame for that.

United do have a game in hand to play and their run-in of Wolves, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham is hardly