18 Most Embarrassing Man Utd Defeats Since Sir Alex (Ranked)

Key Takeaways

  • Manchester United’s recent defeat against Tottenham highlights their decade-long decline from the formidable force under Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure.
  • Losses to Everton, West Brom and Bristol City have further exposed United’s weaknesses.
  • Even with world-class managers like Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and Erik ten Hag, United’s humiliating defeats continue to mount.



Manchester United have become increasingly familiar with the bitter taste of defeat over the last decade, often tipping into the humbling realm of humiliation. It’s clear that United are a pale imitation of the formidable force constructed during Sir Alex Ferguson’s 27 years in charge and Erik ten Hag is the latest manager who looks set to fail to follow in the Scotsman’s footsteps.

The Dutch coach is hardly the only successor to stumble in Ferguson’s shadow. Every single permanent United manager since the legendary figure’s retirement has suffered at least one chastening loss.

From dismal cup exits to toe-curling European defeats, there is plenty of competition to feature in the unhonourable reel of United’s failings since 2013. Here are the most embarrassing defeats since Ferguson announced his retirement more than 10 years ago.

Ranking factors

Factors taken into consideration when ranking these defeats are as follows:


  • Margin of defeat – The scoreboard has the biggest sway over the conclusions drawn from any game.
  • Opponent quality – Getting turned over by a struggling side or a team from outside the Premier League adds to the pain.
  • Embarrassment inflicted – Some losses can be courageous, but these are invariably calamitous.

Manchester United’s Most Embarrassing Defeats Post-Ferguson

Rank

Date

Result

1

5th March 2023

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

2

4th October 2020

Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham

3

24th October 2021

Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool

4

26th August 2014

MK Dons 4-0 Manchester United

5

6th May 2024

Crystal Palace 4-0 Manchester United

6

22nd September 2013

Manchester City 4-1 Manchester United

7

13th August 2022

Brentford 4-0 Manchester United

8

20th November 2021

Watford 4-1 Manchester United

9

21st April 2019

Everton 4-0 Manchester United

10

29th September 2024

Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham

11

4th April 2024

Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United

12

21st October 2017

Huddersfield Town 2-1 Manchester United

13

7th March 2022

Brighton 4-0 Manchester United

14

14th September 2021

Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United

15

23rd October 2016

Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United

16

20th December 2017

Bristol City 2-1 Manchester United

17

15th April 2018

Manchester United 0-1 West Brom

18

4th December 2013

Manchester United 0-1 Everton


18 Manchester United 0-1 Everton

Manchester United manager David Moyes stands on the touchline alongside Everton boss Roberto Martinez.

Sir Alex Ferguson chose David Moyes to be his own successor in the Manchester United dugout and it’s fair to say that decision backfired. Moyes looked out of his depth for almost his entire time in charge and a painful reminder of that was when his old club Everton came calling to Old Trafford and earned their first win at the ground in 21 years thanks to a late Bryan Oviedo goal. The reverse fixture in April, which ended in a 2-0 win for the Toffees, was the final nail in the Scotsman’s coffin and saw his 10-month reign come to an end.


Manchester United 0-1 Everton

Date

4th December 2013

Man United manager

David Moyes

Ground

Old Trafford

Attendance

75,210

Man United scorers

N/A

Everton scorers

Bryan Oviedo (86′)

17 Manchester United 0-1 West Brom

West Brom pair Jay Rodriguez and Jake Livermore celebrate the former scoring at Old Trafford.

The 2017/18 season is actually one of United’s more successful of the last decade as Jose Mourinho guided the club to second place in the table, which he later called one of his greatest achievements in management. An indication of what the Portuguese meant came towards the end of the season when bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion earned only their fourth win of the campaign thanks to Jay Rodriguez’s strike.


Mourinho sourly dubbed his players “masters in complication” just one week after they came from behind to sensationally defeat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. To twist the knife further, United’s loss against West Brom mathematically confirmed City as Premier League champions.

Manchester United 0-1 West Brom

Date

15th April 2018

Man United manager

Jose Mourinho

Ground

Old Trafford

Attendance

75,095

Man United scorers

N/A

West Brom scorers

Jay Rodriguez (73′)


16 Bristol City 2-1 Manchester United

Manchester United's Paul Pogba places his hands on his hips after his side concede to Bristol City.

Manchester United’s defence of their League Cup crown ended in humiliating fashion at the quarter-final stage in 2017. A seemingly routine trip to face second-tier Bristol City was anything but, as Joe Bryan gave the hosts the lead early in the second half.

A crisp Zlatan Ibrahimovic free-kick soon levelled things and the game looked to be heading to extra-time before Korey Smith sealed a famous win for the Robins in the dying embers, prompting wild scenes of jubilation at Ashton Gate. Even United boss Mourinho couldn’t begrudge the Championship side their moment of glory, sincerely hailing it as “a beautiful day for football”.


Bristol City 2-1 Manchester United

Date

20th December 2017

Man United manager

Jose Mourinho

Ground

Ashton Gate

Attendance

26,088

Bristol City scorers

Joe Bryan (51′), Korey Smith (90+3′)

Man United scorers

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (58′)

15 Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho looks frustrated on the touchline at Stamford Bridge.


Jose Mourinho’s first return to Chelsea as Manchester United boss in October 2016 stung. Almost a year after he was sacked by the Blues during a disastrous campaign, the gulf in quality between his new side and the team inherited by Antonio Conte could not have been clearer.

Chelsea romped to a 4-0 victory, taking the lead through Pedro within 30 seconds of the opening whistle. It all got too much for Mourinho who accused his Italian counterpart of trying to humiliate him by over-celebrating his side’s goals, sparking a lasting feud between the pair. The Stamford Bridge crowd taunted their former boss with a chant of: “You’re not special anymore.”


Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United

Date

23rd October 2016

Man United manager

Jose Mourinho

Ground

Stamford Bridge

Attendance

41,424

Chelsea scorers

Pedro (1′), Gary Cahill (21′), Eden Hazard (62′), N’Golo Kante (70′)

Man United scorers

N/A

14 Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United

Manchester United's Harry Maguire looks crestfallen as the Young Boys players celebrate behind him.


Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League group stage in 2020 and were desperate not to repeat such a degrading exit the following campaign. As a result, their fans will have been fearing the worst when they fell to a shocking defeat against Swiss side Young Boys in their first group game.

The Red Devils were given a 13th-minute lead by Cristiano Ronaldo before the match took a dramatic shift when Aaron Wan-Bissaka received a first-half red card. While Young Boys scored twice, sealing a famous victory in the fifth minute of stoppage time, United mustered only two shots all game – the fewest in any Champions League match since 2003 according to Opta.

Young Boys 2-1 Manchester United

Date

14th September 2021

Man United manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ground

Wankdorf Stadium

Attendance

31,120

Young Boys scorers

Moumi Ngamaleu (66′), Jordan Siebatcheu (90+5′)

Man United scorers

Cristiano Ronaldo (13′)


13 Brighton 4-0 Manchester United

Brighton's Pascal Gross celebrates scoring while a despondent Cristiano Ronaldo looks on.

Ralf Rangnick’s role as interim manager of Manchester United was intended to create a period of stability after a poor start to the season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It didn’t turn out that way. The Red Devils ended the campaign in even worse form, culminating in a catastrophic 4-0 loss away at Brighton & Hove Albion which marked United’s fifth consecutive defeat away from home.


The humbling reverse on the penultimate day of the season also mathematically confirmed that the club could not qualify for the Champions League. Rangnick was hardly going overboard when he described United as “just not good enough”.

Brighton 4-0 Manchester United

Date

7th May 2022

Man United manager

Ralf Rangnick

Ground

Amex Stadium

Attendance

31,637

Brighton scorers

Moises Caicedo (15′), Marc Cucurella (49′), Pascal Gross (57′), Leandro Trossard (60′)

Man United scorers

N/A


12 Huddersfield Town 2-1 Manchester United

Huddersfield Town's Laurent Depoitre celebrates scoring against Manchester United.

The 2017/18 campaign was one of the more successful for Man United in recent memory. It took the northern giants nine matches to suffer their first Premier League defeat, but it came in humbling fashion as they slumped to a loss away at newly promoted Huddersfield Town.

The Terriers had scored just one goal across the previous two months but raced into a 2-0 half-time lead against United thanks to strikes from Aaron Mooy and Laurent Depoitre. Marcus Rashford’s effort in the 78th minute offered little consolation as the Red Devils lost to one of the worst teams in Premier League history.


Huddersfield Town 2-1 Manchester United

Date

21st October 2017

Man United manager

Jose Mourinho

Ground

John Smith’s Stadium

Attendance

24,169

Huddersfield Town scorers

Aaron Mooy (28′), Laurent Depoitre (33′)

Man United scorers

Marcus Rashford (78′)

11 Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag

There were 99 minutes and 17 seconds on the clock as Manchester United led Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in April 2024. Somehow the visitors ended up losing. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, United capitulated at the conclusion of a wild contest, handing Cole Palmer two goals in the space of 82 painful seconds.


Ten Hag’s side had performed a miraculous comeback of their own in the first half, overturning a two-goal deficit with strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes. Garnacho nodded United into the lead with a quarter of the game remaining, but that left Chelsea and Palmer with plenty of time to have the last laugh. After converting his second penalty of the evening in the 100th minute, Palmer was criminally unmarked at a corner to blast Chelsea back in front.

Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United

Date

4th April 2024

Man United manager

Erik ten Hag

Ground

Stamford Bridge

Attendance

39,694

Chelsea scorers

Conor Gallagher (4′), Cole Palmer (19′ pen, 90’+10 pen, 90’+11)

Man United scorers

Alejandro Garnacho (34′, 67′), Bruno Fernandes (39′)


10 Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham

Dejan Kulusevski celebrates for Tottenham against Manchester United

“Is there a fire drill?” Tottenham Hotspur’s boisterous travelling fans asked as Manchester United fans filed out of Old Trafford after the visitors had belatedly made it 3-0. Erik ten Hag’s beleaguered outfit had been reduced to 10 men for the entirety of the second half following Bruno Fernandes’ unwise lunge on James Maddison shortly before the interval, but the team’s performance with 11 players was perhaps even worse.

United had three shots to Tottenham’s 12 in the first half and were mightily fortunate to only trail by a single goal – even if Brennan Johnson’s opener came at the end of a humiliating attempt at collective defending as Micky van de Ven charged, unchallenged, from his own half into United’s box before squaring for the Welshman. An increasingly exasperated Gary Neville on commentary lambasted the opening 45 minutes as “absolutely disgusting”.


Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham

Date

4th April 2024

Man United manager

Erik ten Hag

Ground

Old Trafford

Man United scorers

N/A

Tottenham scorers

Brennan Johnson (3′), Dejan Kulusevski (47′), Dominic Solanke (77′)

9 Everton 4-0 Manchester United

Manchester United players Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof look frustrated after conceding to Everton.


The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reign got off to an extremely positive start but as soon as the Norwegian was given the gig permanently, things began to deteriorate. United failed to win any of their last five matches of the 2018/19 season, suffering the most humbling defeat of this bleak sequence at Goodison Park.

Everton knocked four past the Red Devils without reply in intense Easter Sunday sunshine. It reached the point where United’s supporters were ironically cheering their players stringing several passes together – a telltale sign that the honeymoon period was a thing of the past. Solskjaer felt compelled to apologise to the travelling fans. “They’re the only people with the badge on today who can hold their head high,” he sighed.


Everton 4-0 Manchester United

Date

21st April 2019

Man United manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ground

Goodison Park

Attendance

39,395

Everton scorers

Richarlison (13′), Gylfi Sigurdsson (28′), Lucas Digne (56′), Theo Walcott (64′)

Man United scorers

N/A

8 Watford 4-1 Manchester United

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waves to the travelling United supporters at Vicarage Road.


Despite overseeing numerous embarrassing defeats, Solskjaer managed to complete two full seasons in the United dugout before things finally came to a head in the first half of the 2021/22 campaign. A humiliating 4-1 reverse away to a Watford side destined for relegation spelt the end of the Norwegian’s reign. He was sacked the following day.

Goalkeeper David de Gea grimly described the match as “nightmare after nightmare after nightmare”. It also served as a fitting depiction of United’s darkest moments since Ferguson’s retirement. The Spanish shot-stopper saved a first-half penalty from Ismaila Sarr but could only stem so much of the tide as United wilted at Vicarage Road.


Watford 4-1 Manchester United

Date

20th November 2021

Man United manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ground

Vicarage Road

Attendance

21,087

Watford scorers

Joshua King (28′), Ismaila Sarr (44′), Joao Pedro (90+2′), Emmanuel Dennis (90+6′)

Man United scorers

Donny van de Beek (50′)

7 Brentford 4-0 Manchester United

David de Gea places his hands on his hips after conceding for Manchester United while Cristiano Ronaldo attempts to rally his teammates.


Erik ten Hag is the latest managerial saviour to arrive at Old Trafford and there was plenty of optimism at the beginning of his tenure. Supporters were quickly brought down to earth after watching their side get outclassed at home by Brighton on the opening day of the season before things got a lot worse in their second match, away at Brentford.

The Bees relentlessly carved through Ten Hag’s disorganised outfit and found themselves 4-0 up after just 35 minutes. The Dutchman must have breathed a sigh of relief that they seemed to mercifully take their foot off the gas after that.

Brentford 4-0 Manchester United

Date

13th August 2022

Man United manager

Erik ten Hag

Ground

Gtech Community Stadium

Attendance

17,051

Brentford scorers

Josh Dasilva (10′), Mathias Jensen (18′), Ben Mee (30′), Bryan Mbeumo (35′)

Man United scorers

N/A


6 Manchester City 4-1 Manchester United

Manchester City fans hoist a sky blue 'Manchester' ban after watching their side beat Manchester United 4-1.

The first Manchester derby after Ferguson retired was the match that arguably marked the moment the balance of power in the city officially swung the way of United’s deadliest rivals. Manchester City had earned several impressive derby victories since Sheikh Mansour’s riches came in, but this particular demolition helped them on the way to their second Premier League title.


City’s ecstatic crowd serenaded United manager David Moyes, sarcastically praising Ferguson for his choice of successor. United slumped to their lowest-ever league position of seventh under Moyes during that season of contrasts. The Red Devils have finished below their noisy neighbours in every single campaign since.

Manchester City 4-1 Manchester United

Date

22nd September 2013

Man United manager

David Moyes

Ground

Etihad Stadium

Attendance

47,156

Man City scorers

Sergio Aguero (16′, 47′), Yaya Toure (45+1′), Samir Nasri (50′)

Man United scorers

Wayne Rooney (87′)


5 Crystal Palace 4-0 Manchester United

Manchester United players looking deflated

Erik ten Hag’s obdurate optimism in the face of his side’s dismal performances was finally punctured by a night to forget at Selhurst Park on the first Monday of May 2024. United’s 14th different Premier League centre-back combination of the season was torn apart by a Crystal Palace side whose burst of good form had taken them up to the heady heights of 14th in the table.

After grimly watching Casemiro thrash around without any sense of direction or purpose alongside the 36-year-old Jonny Evans, Ten Hag admitted: “Today we were easy to beat.” Michael Olise certainly encountered few obstacles while bookending the rout with a pair of startlingly easy goals in a 4-0 thumping.


Crystal Palace 4-0 Manchester United

Date

6th May 2024

Man United manager

Erik ten Hag

Ground

Selhurst Park

Attendance

25,190

MK Dons scorers

Michael Olise (12′, 66′), Jean-Philippe Mateta (40′), Tyrick Mitchell (58′)

Man United scorers

N/A

4 MK Dons 4-0 Manchester United

MK Dons striker Will Grigg celebrates scoring against Manchester United.


The Dutch coach Louis van Gaal had failed to win either of his first two matches in charge of Manchester United by the time his side travelled to face third-tier MK Dons in the second round of the League Cup in 2014. If the Dutchman thought this match would be a good opportunity to get his first victory on the board, he was sorely mistaken.

The Dons tormented a young, inexperienced United side and earned a 4-0 win to mark the most famous night in their relatively short history. MK Dons had spent less than ÂŁ500,000 constructing the team that conquered United on the same day Angel Di Maria’s arrival at Old Trafford was announced. The Argentine earned ÂŁ560,000 every fortnight.

MK Dons 4-0 Manchester United

Date

26th August 2014

Man United manager

Louis van Gaal

Ground

Stadium MK

Attendance

26,969

MK Dons scorers

Will Grigg (25′, 63′), Benik Afobe (70′, 84′)

Man United scorers

N/A


3 Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring at Old Trafford.
GettyImages

Any Liverpool fans reading this list for a chance to engage in some schadenfreude must have been wondering when their name would come up. The Merseyside Reds tore their rivals apart in October 2021, marking Man United’s heaviest-ever defeat at home in the fixture and the first time they had conceded five at home without reply in a competitive match since 1955.


Mohamed Salah scored the final three goals of the 5-0 rout, becoming the first Liverpool player to bag a hat-trick at Old Trafford since Fred Howe’s treble in 1936. Salah is the all-time top scorer in the long history of this famous fixture.

Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool

Date

24th October 2021

Man United manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ground

Old Trafford

Attendance

73,088

Man United scorers

N/A

Liverpool scorers

Naby Keita (5′), Diogo Jota (13′), Mohamed Salah (38′, 45+5′, 50′)


2 Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United trio Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Fred stand with their hands on their hips after conceding six against Tottenham.

This is the only entry in this list that took place during lockdown, which at least spared any United fans from watching their team crumble live in the flesh. On a bizarre Sunday, in which Liverpool were also thumped 7-2 at Aston Villa, the Red Devils shipped six at home to a Tottenham side managed by Jose Mourinho, who certainly enjoyed his return to Old Trafford.

At the time, it was United’s biggest-ever defeat since Sir Alex brought an end to his managerial career. Bruno Fernandes gave the hosts a second-minute lead, but Spurs equalised within 200 seconds and had elbowed themselves in front by the seventh minute.


Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur

Date

4th October 2020

Man United manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ground

Old Trafford

Attendance

0*

Man United scorers

Bruno Fernandes (2′ pen)

Tottenham scorers

Tanguy Ndombele (4′), Heung-min Son (7′, 37′), Harry Kane (30′, 79′ pen), Serge Aurier (51′)

1 Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes plants his face into the ground after missing against Liverpool.


Less than 10 years before this fixture, when Manchester United were easing to their 13th Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson, no one could have foreseen just how much they would one day capitulate at Anfield. The two great rivals contested an even first half, with Liverpool going in at the break 1-0 up, but early in the second half, it was clear the United players did not have the stomach for the ruthless Anfield atmosphere and the Reds were merciless in exploiting that fact.

Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all helped themselves to braces. Roberto Firmino also got to score in his final clash with the Red Devils, who suffered their worst-ever defeat in the 128-year-old fixture.

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

Date

5th March 2023

Man United manager

Erik ten Hag

Ground

Anfield

Attendance

53,001

Liverpool scorers

Cody Gakpo (43′, 50′), Darwin Nunez (47′, 75′), Mohamed Salah (66′, 83′), Roberto Firmino (88′)

Man United scorers

N/A


Stats via Transfermarkt.

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