Erik ten Hag's side looked to have turned a corner with wins against Burnley and Palace in the Carabao Cup, but Joachim Andersen's first-half strike turned the skies gloomy again for the United boss on Saturday. Courtesy of their nine-point haul and a -4 goal difference, this is Manchester United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season after seven games.

Sky Sports' Merson, who was watching the game on Soccer Saturday, felt United's play in the final third was too static.

He said: "I feel like when you're watching Man Utd, it's like watching Subbuteo. You blow the whistle to kick-off and at half-time, everyone is in exactly the same position as they were when they started the game. There's no movement.

"When you manage big football clubs, you're under pressure and you're under more pressure when the neighbours win. If they [Man City] had won today, then it really cranks up… it's a must for them to get into the top four this season."

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Merson added: "You watch Man Utd play and you just don't see the pattern of play. It's like if it comes off, it comes off. You watch Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City play, they have patterns of play. Someone will go in and come back out, but at Man Utd, it's get the ball out wide and hope that Rashford does something and if he does, we might score a goal.

"Amrabat was wasted out on the left in the end, he did come into the middle in the end but he should start off there. They need to dominate. It's too slow at Man Utd, they let teams get into the game, let teams settle, but they've got to go for them in the first 20 minutes. There's nothing like that.

"Disappointing and they didn't make loads of chances. They were lost for ideas for a lot of the game.

"Hojlund is playing up front on his own and you don't know if the wingers are going to cross it or not. It's hard for him. He doesn't get a lot of service. Mount, Casemiro and Fernandes don't really know where they're going or where they're playing.

"It's a big worry for Man Utd at the moment and another defeat. They're a million miles off.

"I don't see them turning it around at the moment. It might get to a situation where he might have to change the shape. He has a four at the back, he might need to go to a three just to mix it up.

"I just find that Mount and Fernandes look a bit lost and don't know where they've got to go. They're getting dominated and passed around. They put pressure on Palace, but Johnstone didn't have loads of saves to make."

Ten Hag: It's frustrating

Erik ten Hag speaking to Sky Sports: "It was simple, we conceded from three chances we conceded in the game, all from set plays. We are not confident enough to defend that. I think we created numerous moments in the final part of the game, and we made poor decisions. The quality was not good enough in that part of the game.

"The final part of the game we didn't play our best game.

"Of course, it's frustrating. We were close many times but we weren't clinical or sharp to go for the goal.

"Every occasion is different, sometimes it's composure, sometimes you need to be clinical, sometimes you need to be direct, sometimes you need an extra pass.

"We have to learn to do better in the final part of the game."

On the goal: "It wasn't necessary to make a foul there. Then the ball comes through the box, it's not good defending."

Analysis: Amrabat experiment malfunctions Man Utd

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:

"Fixing problems is a key trait of being a football manager in the Premier League. Injuries to Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Sergio Reguilon has given such a problem to Erik ten Hag, who tried to remedy the issue by selecting new signing Sofyan Amrabat in a hybrid role - like he did during United's comfortable first-half performance in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in midweek.

"The difference was the Crystal Palace in opposition was a different team to the one that rocked up on Tuesday. They played with bravery, physicality, and a huge amount of spark back in Premier League action. This gave Amrabat more defensive duties to undertake and he was given the runaround by the wily Jordan Ayew - a master of his craft at winning free-kicks and taking pressure off his defenders. He won five fouls off the desperate Amrabat, taking his tally to 25 fouls won over the course of this season - seven more than any other player.

"Time after time, Amrabat took the bait and was even yellow carded for a cynical handball after Ayew had ducked past him. A performance to forget in a season to forget so far for Manchester United."

What's next?

Up next for Manchester United is a Champions League group stage clash against Galatasaray on Tuesday; kick-off 8pm.

Their next Premier League clash is against Brentford on Saturday October 7; kick-off 3pm.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace face Nottingham Forest on Saturday October 7, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm.