The 2021/22 season was a disappointing season to say the least for Manchester United, who limped to a 6th placed league finish. It was a great example of Murphy’s Law in that, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the first man to lead United to back-to-back Top 4 finishes in the league in the post-Fergie era, was sacked in November. United lost 5-0 and 4-0 to Liverpool, 2-0 and 4-1 to City, 4-1 to Watford, the list goes on.
But a huge reason for these disgraceful performances is of course, the woeful defending. United’s defence have come under fire from all sorts of pundits, journalists and fans for their poor positioning, mistakes, and general carelessness. The graphic below details how many goals United have conceded in the Premier League over each of the last 5 seasons, compared against their final positions.
Data obtained from transfermarkt.com
The data collected shows a clear trend, the more goals conceded, the worse the final position is. The one anomaly here is the 2020/21 season, where more goals were conceded than the previous season, but Man United managed to finish higher than the previous season. This can be attributed to a few results in the season, such as a 3-1 opening day loss to Crystal Palace, a 6-1 shock defeat to Tottenham and a 4-2 loss to Liverpool. These were eventually balanced out by huge victories such as a 9-0 win over Southampton and a 6-2 win against bitter rivals Leeds.
The 2020/21 season was also United’s most prolific season in front of goal in 14 years. They amassed 73 goals in the Premier League, and 121 in all competitions. It was an impressive feat, yet even then there was a suggestion that had the defence been stronger and more astute in high pressure moments, United could have mounted a more serious title charge. But a last minute 3-3 draw against Everton after being 2-0 up, a 2-1 loss to a Sheffield United side that would finish rock bottom and a 1-1 draw against West Brom who were also to be relegated killed this dream by February.
A solid defence should be the basis on which every successful team should build from. Keeping a clean sheet always gives a team the highest chance of winning, essentially only needing only 1 goal to win the 3 points.
The 2021/22 season was United’s worst defensively in the Premier League era, being the worst defensive showing in the league since the 1978/79 season. Overall, it was United’s worst season since the 1989/90 season, where they finished 13th and had a -1 goal difference. The 2021/22 season concluded with a 6th placed finish, as shown in the infographic, and a grand goal difference of zero.
Defenders who were mainstays in United’s high-performing 2020/21 season seemed to be peripheral figures in the 2021/22 season. Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were outstanding in the 2020/21 season, contributing with big defensive actions and several goal contributions across the board. But they evaporated in the following season. Many reasons were suggested, such as a Euros hangover for Maguire and Shaw, but that did not explain the underwhelming showings from Wan-Bissaka.
Regardless, Manchester United, like every team, needs to ensure that their defence is solid for the upcoming season if they want to improve to get to where they want to be. It is a new era at the club, with Erik ten Hag coming in as manager with a distinct style of play that he wants to implement. It will involve a high intensity style of football that includes pressing, having good defensive positioning and awareness, and fast-paced moving of the ball. With a high line being played in pre-season, it is clear that he aims to revamp the defence and ensure that they are as astute as they were in the 2017/18 season, or perhaps even better.
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