Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in attendance to watch Manchester United against Chelsea, and he did not enjoy the end.
While Sir Dave Brailsford has been at every single Manchester United game since the Ineos takeover, Sir Jim Ratcliffe made clear he would not be able to do so.
Last night was a game Ratcliffe could attend, visiting Stamford Bridge where he shared a box with Brailsford, and Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel.
An eventful game was heading in United’s favour, until a stoppage time collapse saw a 3-2 lead evaporate into a 4-3 defeat.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured when Manchester United were winning
Sir Jim Ratcliffe had looked in good spirits during the game, with Manchester United coming from 2-0 down to lead 3-2.
Alejandro Garnacho scored twice and Bruno Fernandes once, with Diogo Dalot and Antony providing an assist each.
United conceded two penalties, which were harsh, but also an impact of carelessness. Once again there was poor game management, with Erik ten Hag’s side failing to close out the game.
While they provided assists, Dalot and Antony both gave away penalties. It was a farcical defeat, which could be costly for United.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe pictured at full-time v Chelsea
Sir Jim Ratcliffe was also pictured at full-time, and his demeanour appeared to change completely.
The smile was gone, replaced with a grimace. He looked as fed up as the supporters felt.
This is a costly defeat for United and for Ratcliffe. The team’s hopes of Champions League qualification were hanging by a thread.
Ratcliffe had warned that qualifying for the competitionwas a ‘critical short-term issue’ for the club’s finances. It’s not looking great, and his face at full-time said it all.
Manager Erik ten Hag should be worried too. He presided over this collapse, with United allowing Chelsea a usually ridiculously high number of shooting attempts.
United or Ineos don’t want to have to rip it up and start again, but perhaps that is going to have to be necessary.