Manchester United put in their worst performance for “three or four years” when suffering a 2-1 defeat at Istanbul Basaksehir, says Dion Dublin, with the Red Devils looking like “a very poor side”.
Despite struggling for consistency domestically in 2020-21, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side took in a trip to Turkey buoyed by their recent showings on a continental stage.
Impressive victories over Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig had seen United open their Champions League campaign in style.
They were, however, brought back down to earth with a bump in their latest outing, with another forgettable display put in on the back of a 1-0 Premier League reversal against Arsenal.
Pressure is now building on Solskjaer, with the Norwegian once again facing uncomfortable questions regarding his future.
He has refused to be drawn into that debate, with focus locked on delivering a reversal in fortune, but time may be running out.
Dublin admits that something needs to change at Old Trafford, with United regressing again after struggling to sustain any kind of forward momentum in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The former Red Devils striker told BBC Radio 5 Live: “That was a really poor performance from Man United.
“I'm hoping Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will stick the players in a room and make them watch that performance and then say ‘right, what did you think of that?’
“There's just too much walking about, the body language isn't great from the players.
“I've seen individuals play very well and they look incredible but when they all perform to this standard, they look a very poor side.
“The first half was possibly the worst performance I've seen from a Man United team for three or four years.”
Those inside the Red Devils camp are aware that standards have been allowed to slip again, with Bruno Fernandes conceding that Solskjaer’s side did little right against Basaksehir.
He has told MUTV: “Everything goes wrong, we did everything wrong.
“The intensity was not good since the beginning of the game. They found a goal early and, after, the game was complicated for us. We tried until the end but the problem was [that] I think we came later into the game.
“We can do much better; everyone feels that.
“We know we can't concede goals like that, but now it's time to look [at] what we did wrong, to make it better in the next game.”
United, who sit 15th in the Premier League table at present, will be back in action on Saturday when they make the short trip to Goodison Park for a meeting with Everton.