Manchester's bad stats go all the way back to 1931
Reading Time: 4min | Fri. 03.11.23. | 14:08
United's current plight looks even worse when you look at the statistics
“I think Ten Hag’s done a fantastic job. He’s grabbed it, he’s brought his own players in and if he gets the centre-forward ready quickly, I think they’ll be a really good side. He’s got great experience in the defence, with Varane and Martinez, and experience in midfield, with Eriksen and Casemiro, so there’s a foundation there. The foundations are always completed by your goalkeeper and your centre-forward. The new goalkeeper is very athletic and the new centre-forward, hopefully he’s fit quickly”. These were the words of Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of the new season. And who wouldn’t agree with him at that point?
The best United manager ever came to see the opening game against the Wolves, which ended with a 1-0 win after a huge VAR controversy for the guests, who should have taken at least a point in that game. And it basically came downwards from that game on for the Red Devils. Astonishingly, Erik ten Hag, who was supposed to improve after his first season (Top 4 finish, Carabao Cup trophy), has failed miserably so far, as multiple defeats happened, and currently, his team is miles from good form, top four finish looks like a dream and the Red Devils look like Chelsea during the last season (and this one is not much better either). The situation in which the Dutch coach is right now looks even more troublesome if we look at the statistics.
Manchester United had more players wearing the captain’s arm band (3) than they had shots on target (2) against Newcastle 😲 pic.twitter.com/9r3Z42H7ze
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) November 2, 2023
After a defeat from Manchester City (0-3) at Old Trafford came an even more painful defeat from Newcastle United on the same ground, with the same result, but this was additional bad since the Magpies played with reserves and had five full-backs and no recognizable striker in the first 11. The loss to Newcastle was United's eighth defeat in 15 games this season, making this their worst start to a campaign since 1962-63! While we speak about defeats, the Red Devils lost 5 of their ten league games, which is more than Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa together.
One of the reasons for so many of those defeats, which got them into the eighth place, 11 points behind league leaders Tottenham and eight behind fourth-placed Liverpool, is the fact that they only scored 11 goals so far, which is the same number of goals Erling Haaland scored alone for Manchester City. United’s best scorer so far is Casemiro, with four goals in all competitions, even though he missed three matches (and won’t play against Fulham). Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho, Anthony Martial, Antony and Jadon Sancho have combined one goal and one assist in the Premier League this season.
‘Theater of dreams’ is long gone. United were undefeated at Old Trafford for 31 games, and that streak has now ended. United have lost five of their first ten home games for the first time in 93 years! Two consecutive defeats with the same score happened last time in 1962. Even scoring goals at the home ground is a problem now (only five of United's last 16 goals have come at Old Trafford). Under Ten Hag, United haven't beaten any of the current top 10 teams in the Premier League away from home. They are yet to beat the ‘Big Six’ away from Manchester. United conceded a combined 18 goals on trips to the Etihad, Anfield, the Emirates and Tottenham last season and have already lost 3-1 away at Arsenal this term. Erik ten Hag has to change something fast.
PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 11
Saturday
15:30: (3.40) Fulham (3.50) Man.Utd. (2.25)
18:00: (2.85) Burnley (3.15) Crystal Palace (2.60)
18:00: (2.20) Brentford (3.50) West Ham (3.45)
18:00: (3.80) Sheffield Utd (3.50) Wolverhampton (1.98)
18:00: (3.30) Everton (3.60) Brighton (2.25)
18:00: (1.10) Man.City (11.0) Bournemouth (18.0)
20:30: (2.75) Newcastle (3.30) Arsenal (2.60)
Sunday
17:00: (4.40) Nott.Forest (3.50) Aston Villa (1.85)
19:30: (11.0) Luton (7.00) Liverpool (1.22)
Monday
23:00: (2.20) Tottenham (3.50) Chelsea
***odds are subject to change***
