In a season where Louis van Gaal's men have been criticized from many quarters and serially given no chance of winning the league, Manchester United are just 2 points off the leaders going into the international break. Call this a mirage or anything you want, but the facts suggest that the Red Devils are quietly getting better every game. History shows that the last time United started comparatively better was in the 2012/2013 Premier league season, which coincidentally was Sir Alex Ferguson's last season in charge. The Reds gathered 27 points in their first 12 games on their way to being crowned champions.
Manchester United's haul of 24 points in 12 league matches is 5 points better than at this stage in the 2014/2015 season and 3 points better than in the 2013/2014 season. By this stage last season, Louis Van Gaal's men were 13 points adrift of leaders and eventual champions, Chelsea, and as such were effectively ruled out of the title race. Have the Red Devils improved this season? Absolutely, the points build-up seems to agree. After all, 'it's the three points that matters'.
United kept their fourth successive clean sheet in their 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion and have the best defensive record in the league. In 1080 minutes of football last season, United had already conceded 15 goals (7 goals less than the total they have conceded this season). The Red Devils have also kept 8 clean-sheets in 12 games (in contrast to the 3 they kept last season in the same amount of games). It's common knowledge that David De Gea had to pull ridiculous saves to rescue United from losing points on numerous occasions in the 2014/2015 season following costly defensive blunders. This season, however, defensive errors seem to have scaled down. A total of 11 errors with 2 leading to goals was conceded last season as compared to the 4 errors conceded this season. On top of that, Romero (who kept the first 4 games) and De Gea have had to make a combined average of 2.4 saves per game compared to De Gea's average (3.0) last season. Clearly, this shows that the defense has improved.
Chris Smalling has arguably been the best central defender in the league this season. Credit must be given to the English International for rising up to the challenge after being singled out as the odds on favorite to be sold after his sending off against Manchester City last season. His ability to read a game has improved tremendously well, he has made a total of 24 tackles, 26 interceptions and 75 clearances. These statistics are only bettered by Jan Vertonghen. What is more impressive is that the 25 year old has matured into that leader that the club severely locked after Vidic and Ferdinand left, organizing the defense efficiently Strangely enough, Louis Van Gaal, the United gaffer keeps referring to him as 'Mike', maybe even he is surprised at how good Smalling has become.
It's not only Smalling, Daley Blind has also been good in a position where initially he was uncomfortable. The Dutch international's ability long balls to play long incisive balls from defense has added more bite to the team's attack. Let's not forget that it was the Blind's exquisite long ball that allowed Malta to set up Depay's goal against Sunderland. The fullbacks, Darmian and Rojo (who came into the squad after have been decent. Remember that Rojo, who, according to reports, had fallen out with Van Gaal, only came into the side after that horrific injury to Shaw. They have provided width on both flanks without putting a foot wrong in their defensive duties. The defense has ensured that the Manchester United's results don't suffer despite team's inability to score too many goals.
Chants of "Attack! Attack! Attack!" has been heard in recent games. Such has been the frustration of the Manchester United fans, who not long ago were rated as the best support group in England. Seven teams have scored more goals than Manchester United (16) this season and 15 teams have taken more shots per game. In fact, this season United has scored fewer goals and averaged fewer shots per game than in any of their 3 previous campaigns. A drop in scoring chances created per game from 10.8 in Van Gaal first season to the current average of 7.5 suggests that the problems of the United attack go beyond underperforming strikers.
Manchester United rank 17th in the Premier League for the number of chances created (90), only West Bromwich Albion has created fewer. It's fair to say Manchester United's attacking potential has steadily declined since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Last year, at this stage, the Reds had created 129 chances. That's 39 more than the output seen this season. The fact that United has taken a higher percentage (49%) of their shots from outside the penalty than in any of the previous three season's highlights the inability of Louis van Gaal's men to effectively break teams down.
One top journalist thinks that Van Gaal has prioritized the defense over attack and that he is protecting the team's 'Champions League place' rather than going for the title. Whilst there may be some elements of truth in that statement, I have to state categorically clear that the United attack has been inconsistent and frustrating so far. To sum up, the defense and midfield look good, however the attack still looks inadequate to challenge for the title.
No comments:
Post a Comment