Erik ten Hag is already aware of a concerning Manchester United trend

Manchester United suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season on Sunday, being hammered 6-3 by arch rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Hat-tricks from Phil Foden and the sensational Erling Haaland brought United's four-game winning run in the league to an end in dramatic fashion, bringing Erik ten Hag's players back down to earth with a bang. United were outclassed in every department and it was only courtesy of City easing the pressure in the second half that they managed to score three goals.

After being 4-0 down at half time, they then found themselves 6-1 behind before two goals from substitute Anthony Martial put a slightly more respectable look on the scoreline. It was a shambolic display and Ten Hag, despite watching his side fall behind with just eight minutes on the clock, felt his side were in trouble with less than 60 seconds played.

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He said: "It is over when you start like this, from the first minute on. You are without a chance [when you start so poorly].

"Without belief on the pitch, no spirit and you are not brave on the ball you will get hammered by a good team like City, that's clear. It starts with that [a lack of belief].

"You have to be proactive from the start and we weren't, meaning we had to change things. Watching the first goal back, we won the ball in a good position on the field and we could have countered them, but we gave the ball away and the reaction after was like a pack of cards [falling]."

A lack of belief was also cited as the reason behind United's performance by both Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes. They each felt the squad lacked that important trait for a game of such