Five low points why Moyes was sacked

David Moyes has been sacked as
Manchester United manager less than
year after taking over.
A short statement released on
United's official Twitter profile on
Tuesday confirmed the Scot's
departure, while thanking him for "the
hard work, honesty and integrity he
brought to the role".
Moyes was viewed by many as the
natural successor to club legend Alex
Ferguson and was hand-picked by the
72-year-old to succeed him following
his retirement.
But the faith shown in awarding the
ex-Everton boss a six-year contract
proved misplaced, with United
relinquishing their Premier League
crown tamely while also crashing out
of the UEFA Champions League, FA
Cup and League Cup.
Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Everton left
United in seventh place - some 23
points adrift of leaders Liverpool - and
with no chance of qualifying for next
season's Champions League.
Here we look at five low points of
Moyes' disastrous time in charge of
the 20-time English champions.
Manchester City 4 Manchester United
1:
Aside from a 1-0 defeat at Liverpool,
United had made a solid start to life
under Moyes. However, this humbling
at the hands of their closest
neighbours last September was a clear
indicator of the difference in quality
between the two sides, which was
showcased for a second time last
month when City strolled to a 3-0 win
at Old Trafford. Sergio Aguero scored
twice for Manuel Pellegrini's men,
while Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri also
found the net as the hosts ran riot in
a game that would prove to be just
the start of the nightmare for Moyes.
Manchester United 2 Sunderland 1
(3-3 agg, Sunderland win 2-1 on
penalties):
After losing the first leg of their
League Cup semi-final 2-1, United
needed a turnaround against
struggling Sunderland at Old Trafford
to set up a Wembley clash with City.
Moyes' men made a strong start and
took the lead through defender Jonny
Evans, but they could not find a
second in normal time and were
stunned in the extra time as Phil
Bardsley put the visitors ahead on
aggregate. Javier Hernandez
immediately levelled for United, but
that was followed by a capitulation in
the resulting penalty shootout, which
saw them miss four of their five
attempts and exit the competition in
embarrassing fashion.
Olympiacos 2 Manchester United 0:
One of the few positives of Moyes'
spell in charge of United was their
strong form in the UEFA Champions
League group stage. They progressed
from their pool without losing a game,
but made a humiliating start to the
knock-out rounds as the three-time
winners slumped to a listless defeat at
Greek side Olympiacos in the last-16
first leg. Alejandro Dominguez put the
hosts in front before a vicious long-
range effort from Joel Campbell gave
Olympiacos in command of the tie.
United turned things around at Old
Trafford as a Robin van Persie hat-trick
guided them into the next round, but
their meek surrender in Greece
against a side of relatively low stature
in the European game was for many
the epitome of the club's struggles
under Moyes.
Manchester United 0 Liverpool 3:
United's disappointing season will
have been made all the worse by the
outstanding campaign enjoyed by arch-
rivals Liverpool, who sit five points
clear at the top of the Premier League
with three games to go. The
Merseyside outfitt claimed home and
away league wins over United for the
first time since 2008-09 with a
comprehensive 3-0 triumph at Old
Trafford. United conceded three
penalties in a terrible performance,
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
scoring twice from the spot to put
Brendan Rodgers' men in command
before missing his other attempt from
12 yards. United skipper Nemanja
Vidic was sent off for conceding the
third penalty, and yet another abysmal
day for Moyes was capped off six
minutes from time when Liverpool's
talisman Luis Suarez found the net to
further United's misery, which was
deepened at the next home league
game as City delivered another
hammering.
Everton 2 Manchester United 0:
The final nail in Moyes' coffin came at
the home of his former employers,
who became the second Merseyside
team to complete a league double
over United with a comfortable 2-0
triumph at Goodison Park. Everton had
ended a wait of over 21 years for a
win at Old Trafford with a 1-0 away
success earlier in the campaign, but
this victory was far more emphatic as
Roberto Martinez's side completely
outclassed United in a superb display
of attacking football that kept them
firmly in the race for a UEFA
Champions League place.