MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Manchester United's players were booed by their own fans after conceding two goals against Aston Villa inside 26 minutes at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Tuesday.
In the first game since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe agreed to buy a stake of up to 25% of the 20-time league champions, Erik ten Hag's team made a dreadful start.
In front of the watching Dave Brailsford, who is expected to play a prominent role in the running of United's soccer department as part of its new structure, Villa went ahead through goals from John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker in the 21st and 26th minutes.
Brailsford is sporting director of Ratcliffe's INEOS Sport and sat in the directors' seats at Old Trafford.
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He would have heard loud jeers after Dendoncker doubled Villa's lead, while the away fans chanted "Old Trafford is falling down."
Villa led 2-0 at halftime.
United went into the game without a win or a goal in its previous four matches in all competitions, having lost three times during that run.
The completion of Ratcliffe's investment could take up to eight weeks to go through.
The storied club has not won the league title since the retirement of former manager Alex Ferguson in 2013.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson