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55 goals have been scored in the Premier League so far this season and Manchester United have buckled the opposition net just the once to contribute to that statistic.
It is early days, of course, but this is not a new problem. The Red Devils haul of 58 scored last term made them comfortably the most goal-shy members of the top six, hitting the back of the net only seven times more than relegated Leicester City.
The lack of a centre forward is an obvious problem – one that Erik ten Hag will desperately be hoping that summer signing Rasmus Hojlund can somewhat alleviate upon his return from injury. But with the 20-year-old considered something of a developmental signing, a return of ten league goals would probably be around about a fair expectation to have. With that in mind, another centre forward would be a welcome addition, but there is also another way to increase Man United’s threat.
Set Pieces
Of the 1,084 scored in the Premier League last term, set pieces (not including penalties) accounted for 217 goals – around 20.6%. Looking specifically at Manchester United, their five goals from set pieces is lower than any other team in the league, and makes up just 8.6% of their total goals scored stat.
Had Ten Hag’s side been just average at converting from set pieces rather than simply terrible, they would have scored 12 goals from such situations, based on the 20.6% figure previously stated. An extra seven goals in the right places might have had United mounting a genuine title challenge – even a win, in the most incredibly fortunate of possible circumstances.
Data analysts often earn their money at top clubs by identifying ‘low-hanging fruit’ that is ripe for the taking. This is a prime example.
Recruitment
How Manchester United got here is in the first place is worth assessment. The season before Erik ten Hag’s arrival, United were slightly better at set pieces, scoring seven such goals. That is not to say that the coaching of them has gone backwards by any stretch – towering players such as Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic were offloaded, while Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire both saw their gametime dramatically reduced. The team’s greatest indirect set-piece threat from the 2021/2022 season, Cristiano Ronaldo, also left the club as a matter of necessity.
Coming in, Antony, Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, and Lisandro Martinez are all under six feet tall, limiting the threat from corners and indirect free kicks. As Gary Neville remarked during his commentary for Sky Sports’ coverage of the match against Tottenham Hotspur, the only players that really need marking in Ten Hag’s squad are Raphael Varane and Casemiro. The Brazilian, also recruited last summer, was the only United player to score from the initial contact of a dead-ball delivery in Erik ten Hag’s maiden Premier League campaign.
In the door this summer, the club have recruited two outfield players – Hojlund and Mason Mount. Hojlund may well have an impact as a threat in the box, but the former Chelsea player is unlikely to move the needle all that much. While he is another option for deliveries, United already have plenty of those – Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, and Luke Shaw are all proficient takers, with the first two even having been regarded as specialists prior to their arrival at Old Trafford.
The team has become a more coherent pressing unit with some eye-catching displays on the ball during Ten Hag’s tenure, but Man United may need to adjust their recruitment strategy to take into account the necessity of having multiple penalty-box threats if they are to improve upon their woeful record from set plays. Links to players such as Amadou Onana and Ryan Gravenberch start to make a lot more sense when looked at through this lens.
Mentality and Preparation
While the profile of players in the team is the most obvious reason for the paucity of set-play threat, there is also the possibility of a deeper issue. Five goals from dead balls is bad enough, but only managing to score such a goal once playing away from home is horrendous for a team of Manchester United’s ambitions.
It is perfectly normal for teams to score more goals from set pieces on their own turf than someone else’s – maintaining control of the game is more difficult and referees are notoriously susceptible to crowd response. Both of these factors are doubly true in the Premier League, and Ten Hag’s woeful away record has been discussed in detail by The Peoples Person here.
Control and mentality may well be the key factors behind the inability to take advantage of corners and direct free kicks. But a solitary goal away from home across the season – that goal having been Lisandro Martinez’s reaction to a poor punch from Aaron Ramsdale in a 3-2 defeat – raises the question of whether or not set pieces are being given proper attention, or if they are the first thing to fall by the wayside when time on the training ground is reduced.
This hypothesis starts to look more convincing in light of the fact that, in all competitions under Ten Hag, more than half of Man United’s corner kick goals have been scored by the initial contact from a delivery into the box.
As former Spurs set-piece coach Gianni Vio told The Athletic in a recent interview, “around 80 per cent of the goals scored from corners are from the second ball.” It is yet another set-play statistic in which United are lagging behind the competition. More worryingly, however, it suggests that the team simply are not as intricate in their routines as their rivals are, with only the most rudimentary of strategies prepared for.
Eric Ramsay has overseen an improvement in the team’s ability to defend set plays since his appointment in 2021, but it is apparent that he has done little to improve their proficiency in the opposition penalty area. Bringing someone into the club to help the team make more of dead-ball situations and giving them time to work their magic in training (by the way, Mr. Murtough, Vio is available), would likely be the most cost-effective way of getting more goals in the side.
Final Thoughts
Manchester United need more goals – that much is clear.
But solving this problem is not simply a matter of signing a 30-goal-a-season forward or creating more chances in open. Arguably, Ten Hag actually has the team creating more than enough chances to win games and last season he did have a 30-goal attacker. It just wasn’t enough.
Issues over profligacy will need addressing sooner rather than later, but with United so far behind the Premier League standard in the quality of their set plays, it is clearly the most obvious avenue to getting more goals in the team.
(All stats taken from WhoScored, with the exception of the corner-specific stat, which was observed in this video)
The post Erik ten Hag has obvious card to play to fix Manchester United’s goal woes appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.
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| Article Name | Ten Hag has obvious card to play to fix Man United's goal woes - Analysis |
| Description |
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| Author Name | Candyboy |
| Published On | August 23, 2023 |
| Post Category |
Man Utd
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