Rafael heavily criticised for Manchester United defeat

Rafael was singled out for criticism (©GettyImages).

Manchester United defender Rafael was singled out for criticism during the dressing room bust up that followed the Red Devils' humiliating 5-3 defeat against Leicester on Sunday, according to the Daily Mail.

Louis van Gaal's side were humbled as they shipped four unanswered goals in the second half at the King Power Stadium having taken a 3-1 lead. The defeat leaves them with just five points from their first five games ahead of their fixture against West Ham this weekend.

Battle

Soon after the game reports began to emerge that Van Gaal had torn into his team for their sloppy performance. The Daily Mail claimed that he'd read his players the riot act, while some players had then fought back, questioning why he had opted to substitute the in-form Angel di Maria with around 15 minutes remaining.

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However the paper also add that Rafael was the subject of some heavy criticism from his Manchester United dressing room. The Brazilian full-back gave away the penalty which gave Leicester a route back into the game at 3-1 and helped spark the comeback - and it seems his team-mates weren't shy at laying the blame at his door.

Turnaround

The latest revelation is another headache that Van Gaal could have done without as he tries to turn around Manchester United's fortunes. He's got just one competitive victory to his name since he took over at Old Trafford, and has come under fire for failing to buy a specialist centre-back in the transfer window.

The Red Devils splashed around £150 million on six high-profile players - but none of them were a specialist centre-back. Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind are capable of operating in that position, but following the departure of both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic over the summer they now seem short of options at the back.

Options

Van Gaal must also try and balance his wealth of attacking options. Juan Mata was dropped for the game on Sunday, while Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and deadline day arrival Radamel Falcao all started.

Mata and Rooney have since publicly apologised for the performance against Leicester, while Van Gaal admitted that Manchester United supporters should expect better from their team.

"We created a lot of chances and made superb goals but you have to do that over 90 minutes, not 60 minutes. It was not enough today," he said. "You have to kill the game and we didn't do that."