Manchester United have made their worst start to a season on home soil for 48 years, with a goalless draw against Chelsea seeing a winless run stretched to three games.
The Red Devils opened their 2020-21 campaign at Old Trafford when taking on Crystal Palace and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side suffered a shock 3-1 defeat in that contest as they stumbled out of the blocks.
They then emerged victorious in three successive fixtures across all competitions on the road before returning to the red half of Manchester.
A disastrous 6-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham and former manager Jose Mourinho sent them into the October international break with their tail wedged firmly between their legs.
Solskjaer’s side responded positively to that setback when seeing off Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain in Premier League and Champions League action.
Success in their own backyard is, however, proving to be elusive and Chelsea were able to leave Old Trafford with a rare clean sheet on Saturday, with two heavyweight outfits cancelling each other out.
United have now dropped eight points from a possible nine at a venue that was once a fortress that few opponents relished a visit to.
Not since 1972 have the Red Devils been so ineffective in home fixtures, with there clearly room for improvement on that front over the coming weeks and months.
United – who also dropped points against West Ham and Southampton at the end of last season - are set to see their next two games take place at Old Trafford.
A European clash with RB Leipzig will be taken in on Wednesday, before then playing host to old adversaries Arsenal.
Solskjaer’s side will need a positive result in that contest as they already find themselves playing catch-up.
They did face a delayed start to their campaign, due to their involvement in the latter stages of the 2019-20 Europa League, and boast a game in hand on many of their domestic rivals.
A 15th-place standing after five matches is, however, not what an ambitious outfit would have expected after finishing last season so strongly.
Time is still on their side, with there a long way to go before any prizes and top-four finishes are handed out, but Solskjaer will be eager to see his team rediscover a spark sooner rather than later, with their last league triumph on home soil coming against Bournemouth on July 4.
