West Ham United fell to defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford to end a six-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.
A sense of malaise has crept into east London of late but the Hammers are still in a good position, seventh in the top-flight and perhaps unlucky to be behind at the break on Sunday afternoon.
But David Moyes' side crashed out of the FA Cup last month and have not won a game across any competition in 2024, with January signing Kalvin Phillips flattering to deceive once again.
Kalvin Phillips endures horror start to West Ham career
West Ham completed the six-month loan signing of Phillips from Manchester City after the England international's lacklustre spell with the Premier League champions.
In midweek, Phillips made an error minutes into his Irons debut to hand Bournemouth the lead at the London Stadium and was at fault again today, losing the ball in midfield before Alejandro Garnacho sealed the hosts' victory with a second goal of the game to make it 3-0 in the 84th minute.
Tackling
Aerial duels
Interceptions
Discipline
Blocking
Source: WhoScored
Despite only being on the pitch for 18 minutes, the 28-year-old also lost possession on seven occasions and won just two of his six ground duels, hardly producing the kind of rock-solid performance to stake a claim for a prominent role under Moyes and a spot in Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad in the summer.
He wasn't the only Hammer to struggle at the Theatre of Dreams, however, with starting right-back Vladimir Coufal at the epicentre of the defensive woes.
Coufal's performance v Manchester United by numbers
The Hammers right-back has been a bright spark this season and has posted five assists from 21 appearances in the Premier League, but his defensive frailties were on full show against Erik ten Hag's form-building squad.
Minutes played
72'
Touches
56
Pass completion
27/33 (82%)
Key passes
1
Crosses
2/6 (33%)
Possession lost
15x
Ground duels won
0/2 (0%)
Aerial duels won
0/2 (0%)
Dribbled past
2
Source: Sofascore
Hooked after 72 minutes, Coufal failed to win a single duel or make a single tackle against Manchester United, with Marcus Rashford succeeding with three dribbles down his offensive left side.
The experienced Czech, aged 31, did seek to influence the play from an attacking standpoint and made some decent moves up the flank, floating in six crosses, but it wasn't enough to justify a flimsy effort on the edge of the rearguard.
The Evening Standard's Malik Ouzia handed Coufal a 6/10 match rating but this is probably generous given that he struggled to make a meaningful defensive contribution, also yielding the lowest pass completion of any West Ham starter.
It's important to remember that the loss against Manchester United was the first in seven matches for Moyes' men, who still have a foothold on a European spot, but more mettle and fluency are certainly required to prevail in the push for prominence this season.
Especially with so many teams pushing hard to snatch the London club's spot.