Newcastle have exposed Erik ten Hag's false dawn at Manchester United

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and Manchester United dropping points away from home against the Premier League's elite.

For the third time this season, Erik ten Hag's side, on Saturday night, went head-to-head with one of the division's big hitters and lost. Anthony Gordon's second half goal sealed a deserved 1-0 win for Newcastle United, who made light work of a United side with the same ambition of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Gordon's tap-in, which was created by Kieran Tripper, who went close to opening the scoring himself prior to the interval with a free-kick that hit the woodwork, added to the defeats that United have suffered at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal on the road already this season. Across those three games, United have lost by a 6-1 aggregate scoreline.

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With that in mind, even the most die-hard and loyal United supporters who have a ticket for the trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in a fortnight's time must be considering a refund. You can already sense what the outcome will be.

United have been battered on their last two visits to the red half of Merseyside, losing 4-0 under Ralf Rangnick in April 2022 and 7-0 under Ten Hag in March 2023. Those defeats are likely to be imprinted on the minds of United's players in the build-up to the trip along the M62.

You have to go back to January 2016 for the last time United toppled Liverpool at Anfield. Of the 18 players that were named in Louis van Gaal's matchday squad that day, only Anthony Martial is still on the club's books.

He has started each of United's last two league outings and has