Nightmare display shows depth of United's malaise

Middlesbrough 4 Manchester United 1

McClaren, though, was still floating in a diplomatic dreamland having seen his side embarrassingly sweep aside his former club, who are now 13 points, and several leagues in class, behind the League leaders, Chelsea.

He was not the only one struggling to awaken to the reality of what he had seen. Just after the fourth had gone in, Franck Queudrue bared his upper arm to his goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer. The stand-in centre-back had just seen Aiyegbeni Yakubu waltz past Rio Ferdinand to set up Gaizka Mendieta for his second of the game.

As Queudrue proferred his flesh he seemed to be saying: "Pinch me, am I dreaming - are we this good, or are they that bad?" In this dreamland, Mendieta, freshly recovered from injury, was cast as the perfect midfielder, scoring his first goals for 18 months. He had the perfect accomplices amonga solid defence and a persistent attack featuring Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, whose peskiness enabled him to rob Ferdinand for the second, and Yakubu, who nonchalantly rolled in a penalty.

But, wide awake, Manchester United were poor. In fact, they were bolt-upright-in-bed bad. "It was a shocking performance," said Ferguson. "We conceded some terrible goals. On that form, we couldn't beat anybody. Defensively, we were very disappointing."

Ferdinand was the fall guy, publicly executed with an 87th-minute substitution. But Manchester United's malaise goes deeper. It spread from their goalkeeper - Edwin van der Sar's soft hands let in Mendieta's first from 25 yards - to their centre forward - Ruud van Nistelrooy's control was poor throughout and it most seriously infected midfield.

The brave may dare to wonder whether it had touched the manager himself. Middlesbrough's ascendancy forced Ferguson into change after only half an hour when already two down. Phil Bardsley, the right-back, was removed to leave a back three - but then substitute Kieran Richardson somehow changed into a conventional left-back.

Most worrying of all, despite Wayne Rooney's gameness, there was nothing creative to match Mendieta's daring brilliance, Fabio Rochemback's crossfield passing or Hasselbaink's skilful slyness.

McClaren said: "Sir Alex knows football, its ups and downs and accepted this result like a gentleman. He knows you get days like this and have to move on.

"The one thing I know about the strength of that club is the way it bounces back. I'm pleased I'm not playing them next." In the Premiership, though, it is Chelsea who await. What was the score that McClaren remembered from 1999?

Goals: Mendieta, (2) 1-0; Hasselbaink, (26) 2-0; Yakubu pen (45) 3-0; Mendieta (78) 4-0; Ronaldo (90) 4-1.

Middlesbrough (3-5-2): Schwarzer; Bates, Riggott, Queudrue; Parnaby, Rochemback (Doriva, 64), Boateng, Mendieta (Morrison, 87), Pogatetz; Hasselbaink (Nemeth, 79), Yakubu. Substitutes not used: Jones (gk), Viduka.

Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Bardsley (Richardson, 31), Ferdinand (Brown, 87), Silvestre, O'Shea; Fletcher, Smith, Scholes, Park (Ronaldo, 60); Rooney, van Nistelrooy. Substitutes not used: Howard (gk), Rossi.

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire)

Booked: Middlesbrough: Pogatetz; United Van Nistelrooy, Fletcher.

Man of the match: Mendieta.

Attendance: 30,579.