Manchester United fans will have felt an all too familiar feeling this season as the club yet again fails to find results on the pitch. But with the changes we’ve seen since 2023/24, what are they missing? Following the dismantling at the hands of Liverpool just before the international break, you would have been forgiven for writing off the Red Devils entirely for this campaign.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, we have seen real glimpses of an improved side since then.
Defensively, we have witnessed huge improvements since last season’s horror show. Erik Ten Hag’s team has kept a clean sheet in four out of seven of the club’s games in all competitions since the start of the Premier League season.
The problems right now are in the attack. So far, they have only scored more than one goal on two occasions.
Erik Ten Hag said: “We have to score more goals – that is the problem. The key area is to score more goals as a team. We have players across the team who have the ability to score, that is clear”.
United have missed more chances than any other team in the Premier League this season – meaning that while the creative players are giving the forwards chances, those in the front line are failing to put the ball in the back of the net.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have been United’s leading goal threats this season – with 7 out of the 14 in all competitions coming from the duo. But the latter has made most of his appearances as a substitute – as that is where he has been most effective.
Embed from Getty ImagesNew signing Joshua Zirkzee has been impressive in his overall play since joining – backing up his self-proclamation of being a “9.5” rather than a traditional striker.
But while the Dutchman can bring others into play, he is not a prolific goalscorer.
The United manager said: “I believe Zirkzee can be prolific. He is young, you see his skills. He’s a very good link-up player; he is creative.”
“The goal versus Fulham was a great action and finish. But in that area, he can definitely improve”.
Amad Diallo is also new to starting in the Premier League, and while he has performed well overall so far, he has not been a reliable scorer either, with only one to his name so far.
While the attacking structures aren’t perfect, the personnel are the main issue.
It’s clear enough that the trio of Rashford, Zirkzee, and Amad does not score enough goals. While it is a frontline with bags of potential, they are not there yet. Rashford is the only seasoned pro in the whole attacking contingent.
With all this in mind, United clearly needs to acquire another attacker in the January window, and based on what Ten Hag has said, he probably knows this.
The question that should be on United fans’ minds right now is why one wasn’t brought in sooner.
