After 27 years, Man United conceded 2 or more goals for the first time when facing a lower-ranked team in the FA Cup.
Last night, Man United defeated Newport County 4-2 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The Red Devils’ opponent in round 5 is the winner of the match between Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.
Even though they won the match, M.U could not satisfy the fans. The Red Devils soon took a 2-0 lead after just 13 minutes but allowed Newport to equalize 2-2 at the beginning of the second half. Coach Erik ten Hag’s team had to work very hard to score 2 more goals to finish off the opponent. During that time, Newport also caused a lot of trouble in goalkeeper Altay Bayindir’s goal.
Notably, Newport City is only a team playing in the 4th division, the lowest level of professional level in the English football system. This makes the fact that Man Utd conceded 2 goals even more difficult for fans to swallow. According to statistics, this is the first time in 54 years that the Red Devils lost 2 goals to an opponent in the 4th division in the FA Cup. The last time this happened was in February 1970, in Man United’s 8-2 victory over Northampton Town in round 5.
If only counting lower-ranked teams, last night’s match was the first time M.U lost by 2 goals since February 1996 in the FA Cup. At that time, the Red Devils were conceded twice by Sunderland (Championship) in a 2-2 draw in round 3. Man Utd could only continue after winning 2-1 in the replay.
The above statistics show Man United’s weak defense this season. The most typical example is in the Champions League, the Red Devils scored the same as the top team Bayern Munich (12 goals), but ranked last and were eliminated because they conceded 15 times (the most in the group). In the Premier League, they are also the only team in the top half of the rankings with a negative difference (-5).
After this match, Man United will continue to be guests. Erik ten Hag and his team will face Wolves in the latest match of round 22 of EPL at dawn next Friday (February 2).