It won’t surprise many people that a combination of a leaky defense and toothless strike force won’t deliver a huge amount of success on the pitch. No Man United players can be particularly proud over recent performances but there’s a certain unit who have been consistently poor.
This Tweet from OptaJoe shows United are on their longest run without an away clean sheet since 2002:
11 – Man Utd have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 11 away matches in all competitions, their worst run since conceding in 14 consecutive matches between April and December 2002. Faucet. pic.twitter.com/td0NYv15sW
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 22, 2019
It’s becoming a huge problem because their opponents now go into games knowing they will get at least one goal, so it emboldens them and puts more pressure on the United forward players to score more goals.
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The shocking poor defensive record is a major reasons why they haven’t won an away Premier League game since February.
The run was extended today as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men went down 2-0 away to West Ham in a game they never looked like winning.
If Liverpool can win their game in hand then the Old Trafford side will fins themselves 10 points from the top of the table after only six games. It suggests the title isn’t a realistic ambition for them at this point.
West Ham are a good side, this result takes them up to fourth in the table so the result isn’t particularly shocking when taken in isolation. It shows how far United have fallen since Sir Alex Ferguson retires when losing a game isn’t a surprise or even a big deal any more.
It looks like it will take more than just Harry Maguire to tighten up this back line.