Manchester United’s season went from bad to worse after their 3-1 defeat at Brentford.

The Red Devils were woeful again and ended up well beaten at the Gtech Community Stadium after a double from Igor Jesus and Mathias Jensen’s late thunderbolt in stoppage time.

Adding insult to injury, Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty on another afternoon to forget for Ruben Amorim, and the pressure will once again build on the Manchester United head coach.

However, there may be a bigger problem at Old Trafford after another lavish summer of spending.

Matheus Cunha is toothless and suffering at Man United

Matheus Cunha was United’s first arrival, joining from Wolves in a £62.5million deal. On paper, he looked a perfect addition for Amorim, whose system badly missed effective No 10s last season.

He is a maverick on the ball and can glide away from his opponents with ease, and already he has proven himself crucial at helping his side escape from their own half and get up the pitch.

But the stats don’t lie. He has started three out of United’s first five league games and is yet to chalk up his first goal or assist. Cunha is also blowing both hot and cold when he is on the pitch.

The forward took 45 touches against Brentford but was poor in the first half, hesitating for too long when in possession or making the wrong decision and killing attacks stone dead.

There was a slight improvement in the second half, and he did play a role in the penalty being awarded, but supporters have already begun to accuse him of being too selfish and lacking in cutting edge.

Cunha was recruited to fix these issues, but as of now, he has struggled to live up to the billing.

Man United are too reliant on Matheus Cunha

The nightmare doesn’t end there, though. For large periods against Brentford, particularly in the second period, United turned to Cunha to bail them out.

Listless in attack and lacking ideas of how to progress through the thirds, the visitors often lumped the ball up to the former Wolves man, who typically found himself surrounded.

Amorim’s system does not bring out the best in Cunha. He has not struck up a clear understanding with the wing-backs, and when he drops into pockets of space, he has consistently been ignored.

Make no mistake about it: he is the type of player who can produce magic from nowhere. But this is not a meaningful or effective approach for the long term, and right now, United just don’t have the answers.

A clear solution may involve a change in the dugout, and this could help Cunha rediscover the electric form which led United to swoop for him, but it is also down to him to do more during matches.

Amorim would do well to go back to the drawing board to get the best out of him – before it’s too late.