From the September international break until the first thirty minutes of last Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Southampton at St Mary’s, Manchester United’s defense hasn’t really been put to the test.
There was hope that United’s defense would strengthen after the break after they had lost their previous two games, five goals each, to Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool. Matches against Southampton and Barnsley appeared to be perfect chances to accomplish so on paper, and that is exactly what happened. In 180 minutes, United scored 10 goals without receiving a response.
In Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup third-round match at Old Trafford, United was expected to defeat Barnsley with relative ease, but few probably thought Erik ten Hag’s team would easily defeat the League One team. Under the Dutchman, United had never before scored more than four goals in a single game.
But thanks to goals from Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho, and Marcus Rashford as well as an Antony penalty in the first half, United defeated the South Yorkshire club. Whether against League One opposition or not, the attacking performance was brilliant.
It makes sense that, in addition to the victory over Southampton, United’s offensive prowess would be the primary topic of conversation leading up to their trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday. After their recent impressive victories, United will be itching to prove themselves, but Palace should provide a tougher challenge.
Last season, United’s games felt like they were going to finish in many of them. Not that anyone has forgotten that the Reds gave up 660 shots in the Premier League the previous year—only Sheffield United gave up 671 more in the top five leagues in Europe.
Andre Onana, United’s goalkeeper, frequently had to be on guard as the goal was continuously under attack. Ten Hag downplayed the fact that his squad was frequently exposed in their own defensive third despite this.
When asked whether he was worried with his team’s shooting total following the 1-1 draw at Brentford in March, Ten Hag responded, “As long as we get results, no.” Our outcomes, in my opinion, have been rather steady since January. Although we give up shots, we don’t give up many goals.
