Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal suffered another blow to his hopes of saving his job on Saturday as his side fell to a 2-0 loss to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
The visitors fell behind early in the first half after Memphis Depay’s defensive error allowed the Potters to break through down the right flank before Bojan cooly slotted home the opening goal of the game.
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Van Gaal’s side went into the meeting under significant pressure after losing three consecutive games in all competitions, and it was undoubtedly a nightmare start for the Red Devils as they would have been desperate to get a footing in the encounter early on.
With Wayne Rooney on the bench, the visitors struggled to carve open any clear goalscoring opportunities, as the likes of Depay and Anthony Martial failed to threaten Jack Butland.
It wasn’t long before things started to look particularly bleak for the Dutchman and his players too as Marko Arnautovic added a second with a blistering effort that gave David de Gea no chance in between the United posts.
In turn, that piled the pressure on the Red Devils as they continue to slip further off the pace at the top of the Premier League table, with leaders Leicester City now having an opportunity to open up a 12-point lead over them this weekend.
However, the biggest concern for the Premier League giants at this stage is whether or not they will be searching for a new manager in 2016 as Van Gaal struggles to get the best out of his squad.
As reported by BBC Sport prior to the game, the former Ajax boss had conceded that it was vitally important that his side improve things “immediately”. Naturally, he would have hoped for a reaction after back-to-back losses to Bournemouth and Norwich City, but instead the pressure continues to build on him and he will likely face further difficult questions regarding his long-term future at Old Trafford as a result.
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