Erik ten Hag blames his STRIKERS for Man United’s early season struggles as he points to one key stat (which is wrong!) – but the Dutchman insists his current forwards CAN become killers in the box
- Ten Hag has claimed Man United need to improve their finishing in the box
- Man United are the worst performing Premier League side compared to their xG
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Under-fire Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag believes their difficult start to the season has been caused by their failure to take their chances, as he called on his forwards to become killers in the box.
Ten Hag’s side face a crucial week starting with an away match against Porto on Thursday night, before travelling to Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Dutchman is facing mounting pressure after the Red Devils suffered a dismal 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.
The result leaves Man United lying 13th in the Premier League with seven points from six games.
Man United have also scored just five times in the top flight this season, with three coming against 19th placed Southampton.
Erik ten Hag has stressed his side need to become killers in front of goal amid their poor form
Man United have scored just five goals in six Premier League matches so far this season
The Red Devils have the highest underperformance compared to their expected goals
Speaking ahead of Man United’s tie with Porto, Ten Hag pointed to Man United’s expected goals this season as a sign his tactics are working, but insisted the clubs forwards need to be decisive in the final third.
‘If we didn’t create chances then I should doubt [if players are following his tactics] but we create a lot of chances, but I think we have the third highest xG in the Premier League.
‘We have to be more effective, but it is also to do with the fact one of our top scorers has not been available until now, he [Rasmus Hojlund] has not had a start so far
| Team | Expected goals | Goals | Goals vs xG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 13.69 | 12 | -1.69 |
| Liverpool | 12.64 | 12 | -0.64 |
| Man City | 12.37 | 14 | 1.63 |
| Chelsea | 12.20 | 15 | 2.80 |
| Man United | 10.55 | 5 | -5.55 |
| Arsenal | 10.26 | 12 | 1.74 |
‘We have to improve the final third and our box game, be more killers there. Our strikers are capable of doing this.’
According to Opta, Man United are actually fifth in the Premier League for expected goals (xG) this season.
Tottenham lead the way with an xG of 13.69, followed by Liverpool on 12.64, Man City on 12.37 and Chelsea on 12.2.
Man United come next with 10.55, narrowly ahead of Mikel Arteta’s title chasing Arsenal side on 10.26.
The Red Devils, however, are the worst performing team in the top flight compared to their xG, with their haul of five goals down on their expected tally by 5.55.
| Expected goals | Expected goals | Goals | Conversion percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Zirkzee | 2.44 | 1 | 11.11 |
| Alejandro Garnacho | 2.31 | 1 | 9.09 |
| Bruno Fernandes | 1.86 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Amad Diallo | 0.57 | 1 | 16.67 |
| Marcus Rashford | 0.60 | 1 | 25.00 |
Marcus Rashford has only had four shots in the Premier League for Man United this season
Ten Hag hopes the return to fitness of Rasmus Hojlund can help with their goalscoring woes
Southampton follow with an underperformance of 4.69, with Crystal Palace next on 2.56.
Defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez are Man United’s next highest ranked players for xG on 1.12 and 0.78 respectively.
Amad Diallo and Marcus Rashford are currently outperforming their xG having both scored on goal this season, with the pair expected to have netted 0.43 and 0.40 times respectively.
Diallo has had six shots in the top flight this season, while Rashford has only had four attempts in six matches.
Ten Hag will hope the return to fitness of Hojlund can boost their fortunes in front of goal.
The Danish forward, who scored 16 goals in 43 matches in his debut season, has been restricted to just 43 minutes so far this campaign due to injury.
