Manchester United's late loss at Arsenal on Sunday is the latest in a long line of disappointments on the road for the Red Devils under Erik ten Hag.
On this occasion, United can consider themselves unfortunate as Alejandro Garnacho saw what looked like being a late winner ruled out by VAR – and by the very finest of margins.
What came next was despressing but all too familiar for the Old Trafford outfit in the Premier League since Ten Hag's arrival as Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus netted in added time to seal all three points for the Gunners.
There was some fortune to Rice's goal too as a deflection took it past Andre Onana at the near post, but the statistics do not make happy reading for United away from home in the Premier League and that is an area Ten Hag will need to improve if his side are to challenge for the title any time soon.
While Manchester United have won both of their home games in the Premier League this season, Ten Hag's side have suffered back-to-back defeats on the road in 2023/24 – both in north London.
United lost 2-0 away to Tottenham in the second round of matches and their defeat at Arsenal on Sunday means they have not beaten any of the big teams on the road since Ten Hag took over in the summer of 2022.
Last season, United lost 6-3 away to Manchester City, went down 3-2 at Arsenal and were thrashed 7-0 by Liverpool at Anfield. Ten Hag's side were also beaten 2-0 at Newcastle, 3-1 at Aston Villa, 1-0 at Brighton and 4-0 at Brentford.
The Red Devils did claims draws at Chelsea (1-1) and Tottenham (2-2), but only beat one top-half team away from home in the Premier League all season and that was a last-gasp 2-1 win at 10th-placed Fulham in November.
Other wins away from home came against struggling sides: United beat relegated trio Southampton, Leeds and Leicester on the road, with wins at Everton, Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth as well.
In the two domestic cup competitions, United made both finals but were not drawn away from home once. Ten Hag's side did beat Forest in the away leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, though, en route to a first trophy under the Dutch manger.
And in Europe, there were wins away from home against Sheriff Tiraspol, Omonia, Real Sociedad and Real Betis (plus a draw against Barcelona), but a 3-0 loss at Sevilla in the quarter-finals saw United crash out 5-2 on aggregate.
This season has not started well either away from home and while Sunday's loss came despite a positive performance overall, it was the same old story for United in the end under Ten Hag on the road.
Unfortunate or not, it is an area the Dutchman will need to improve in if his side are to challenge for the biggest prizes this season and beyond.
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