Manchester United secured their first win of the season by beating Burnley 3-2 in the Premier League. But this wasn’t a reassuring victory.
There are a lot of eyes on Ruben Amorim right now, with Man Utd under pressure to perform. The Red Devils had endured one of the worst starts to the season possible, taking one point from their opening two league games. Not to mention the shock Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Grimsby Town in midweek.
People were already talking about when Amorim would be sacked. Defeat to Burnley would have tipped the scales according to some. Fortunately for Amorim, he did get his side over the line against the Clarets.
But there are still a lot of problems. Like Man Utd not knowing how to score goals. Which feels weird to say after a game in which they scored three.
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Man Utd’s big problem
The Red Devils have scored four goals in the Premier League this season, but only two have come from Man Utd players. And one was a penalty. Rodrigo Muniz put into his own net in last weekend’s draw with Fulham, while Josh Cullen scored an own goal in the win over Burnley.
Man Utd are the first side ever to see both of their first two Premier League goals of a season be own goals. Granted, both own goals came in the aftermath of shots, but that’s still a unique record to hold. Fortunately, the run did stop at two as Bryan Mbeumo opened his Premier League account for Man Utd after Lyle Foster had equalised.
But why are Man Utd struggling to score from open play?
It’s not from a lack of chances. Man Utd sit second in the Premier League for Expected Goals this season, with 6.69 from their opening three matches. Only Chelsea (6.74) have produced more.
The Red Devils managed 1.52 xG in their defeat to Arsenal, 1.63 xG against Fulham and 3.54 xG vs Burnley. When you break it down to per match, Man Utd average 2.25 xG. That’s very good.
Underperformance
The problem, quite simply, is with the placement of Man Utd’s shots. Man Utd have managed just 2.94 xG on Target this season, a drop of 3.75 from their xG. That’s the biggest xG to xGOT drop in the Premier League this season. Per match, that works out to a -0.1 difference, a change from -0.23 difference last season. And Man Utd sat top of the league for xG to xGOT difference then. So it’s not a new problem.
Against Burnley, Joshua Zirkzee was the main culprit. The Dutchman came off the bench in the first half to replace Matheus Cunha, who suffered an injury. Another problem Amorim didn’t need.
Zirkzee took seven shots against Burnley on Saturday, at least four more than any other player. His xG was also the highest non-penalty xG at 0.67. But he only hit the target once. Zirkzee’s xGOT was 0.34, meaning his shot placement lessened his chances of scoring by 0.33.
But we shouldn’t just focus on Zirkzee. This is a squad-wide problem. Excluding the two own goals — because there is no xG for those — Man Utd are the biggest underperformers in the Premier League this season. They’ve got a -4.69 difference between their xG and goals (excluding own goals), with Brighton and Hove Albion the next highest on -2.91.
That’s a -1.56 underperformance per match this season, which is a trend Man Utd cannot afford to continue.