Red Devils are perfecting the art of falling behind | OneFootball

Manchester United entered last weekend's clash against Brentford looking to find momentum, only for a 3-1 defeat to the Bees to take the wind out of the Red Devils' sails - and the club's stats under Ruben Amorim reveal a very troubling trend.

Portuguese manager Amorim faced a fresh barrage of criticism after the loss in west London. Poor defending saw Brentford striker Thiago put the Bees two up inside 20 minutes and, despite Benjamin Sesko reducing the deficit, Brentford sub Mathias Jensen added a late third to bag all three points for the hosts.

United's misery was compounded by a second penalty miss of the season for their captain Bruno Fernandes - whose spot-kick was saved by Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher - and Amorim has plenty of food for thought ahead of his side's clash against Sunderland at Old Trafford this coming weekend.

Although United have posted some encouraging stats in the Premier League this season - the Red Devils currently top of the pile in terms of xG - there are plenty of less flattering data points for Amorim to ponder, and one of the most worrying concerns how often his team hand the initiative to their opponents.

Going back to Amorim's first game in charge of the Red Devils, Manchester United have conceded the first goal in more Premier League games than ANY other team. The Red Devils have, to be precise, shipped the first goal in 21 top flight games since Amorim's appointment, which is more than the likes of Wolves (20), West Ham (18) and Fulham (17).

If we look just at this season, United have lost all three games in which they have fallen behind and this tendency to give themselves a mountain to climb is something the Manchester club need to quickly correct if they are to alleviate the growing pressure on their manager.