Manchester United entered a new low following the defeat at Sunderland

On paper, it should not be a game they struggled against the bottom team of the league, but this is what makes football interesting. Unlike video games, it is not only about ratings of the team. It is about how much you want the match. Manchester United seems yet to recover from New Year's eve hangover and is still searching for their first victory in 2014. Three defeats in a row has put the Red Devil in a new low point under the Chosen One, David Moyes.

While both managers have sent on their best lineup available, Gus Poyet obviously took the pride to momentarily forget about their blue in Premier League. The presence of John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Phil Bardsley might have further spiced up the momentum, as they have something to prove to their former employer. The latter two combined to force an own goal by Ryan Giggs to give David Moyes a miserable end to the first half.

For the first twenty minutes of the game, Sunderland dominated the possession. A disciplined Lee Cattermole inspirationally led a midfield of high work rate. Although not much was created to support lone striker Steven Fletcher, the home fans were definitely lifted by the spirit. Sunderland players appear to be more encouraged by these dead-or-alive cup ties, but lose the focus in Premier League the marathon race. At their current position, they could not afford for this to happen and have to treat every single league game as if a cup final to replicate their spiritual performance tonight and that against Chelsea last round.

Does he know why it's not working?

On contrast, United was edgy, sloppy and unmotivated. Injury is not a valid excuse to clubs like Manchester United. It was unfortunate to miss both Rooney and Van Persie, as well as Nani, Fellaini and Rio Ferdinand, but they have the quality and depth in the squad to cover. More worrying was the display on the field, notably Patrice Evra. Looking rather uninterested to play, he was always second best to the ball, not to mention his lack of contribution in attack.

The other source of disappointment was Tom Cleverley. With United desperate for central midfielder, this should be the season Cleverley strives to prove his worth to the team. His development, though, has significantly slowed down in the last two years, going from a potential Paul Scholes' replacement to merely a role player. The clumsy challenge on Adam Johnson that gifted the penalty concluded his horrendous night.

United will count themselves lucky to at least retain the service of a regular right back coming weekend. Rafael could have easily been sent off with bookings on either side of Fabio Borini's penalty, two days after 

his twin brother Fabio foolishly was sent off.

Welbeck (right) was isolated up front 

Even with five midfielders, the support to the red hot Danny Welbeck was scarce. Playing with two wide players, there was not enough body in the box to threaten Vito Mannone. At 40 years old, you really could not rely on Giggs to be running up and down all the time. When Adnan Januzaj, undoubtedly the best United player of the night, shifted to the centre, the away side began to look more dangerous. However, the absence of a speedy striker to keep Wes Brown and John O'Shea on the back feet limited the damage to Sunderland. While the intention of keeping Javier Hernandez on the bench was understandable, it would make sense to release him after interval, or at least more than the three regular minutes he got to play.

When you lose the battle of midfield, the confidence of opponents grow and more pressure is put on the defence. Ultimately it buckles. Everything is just not right for David Moyes at the moment and again they have very little time to recover, having to face Swansea at home six days after Wilfried Bony denied their progression in FA Cup in the same stadium. Rooney's return could be crucial, but first of all Moyes has to find a way to reignite the fighting spirit of the Red Devil.