by To give you an idea of the extent of Manchester United’s attacking crisis, Jadon Sancho, a player exiled by Erik ten Hag for the past three goals, was the last forward to score a goal at Old Trafford in the Premier League. – half a month.
That goal came all the way on the final day of last season, an equalizer in a 2-1 win against Fulham on May 28, when two defenders and five midfielders found the net at home in the league but found none of the six. attackers on whom that burden mainly falls.
It’s not like Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Anthony Martial or, until he was sent off, Sancho were much better on their travels either. Garnacho, Martial and Rashford, from the penalty spot after Bruno Fernandes handed over duties in recognition of his team-mate’s desperate need for a goal, all scored in last month’s 3-0 win over Everton.
Otherwise, the only goal United have scored in the league this season was Rashford’s goal in the 3-1 win at Arsenal on September 3, the same game in which Sancho was omitted and has not been seen since for discipline. reasons.
With Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have the best combined defense and second best attack in the competition, to face Anfield on Sunday, where they won 7-0 last season and have not won in eight visits, these are worrying statistics. .
United, by contrast, are the only team with a negative difference in the top eight and their 18 goals scored in 16 league games is the fewest in the top three competitions. lowest and Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, who are in 15th and 16th place respectively. . In other words, relegation-battling numbers.
Hojlund, the 20-year-old Danish striker signed for £72million from Atalanta in August, is yet to score a league goal and the dreadful form of last season’s top scorer Rashford saw him eventually drop to the 2-1 win . Chelsea.
Antony, the second most expensive player in United’s history at £85.5 million, has not scored a goal in 26 games since scoring against Forest on April 16.
Indeed, on Tuesday, with United trailing Bayern Munich 1-0 and needing a win to have any chance of staying in the Champions League, the Brazilian winger was withdrawn in the 75th minute and replaced by a youngster. center in Facundo Pellistri. , until then, he had 323 minutes of action to his name this term.
Garnacho is extremely talented, as his spectacular bicycle kick at Everton and fine display against Chelsea showed, but he is 19 and it is foolish to think that the burden should fall on such young shoulders, even if the one of the best of his attackers.
As for Martial, it has been five and a half years since Jose Mourinho demanded United sell the French striker and he is in a state of praise for his representatives these days.
United have had the sixth most shots in the league this season but are comfortably bottom for conversion chances (see chart below) and, despite achieving the most crosses, including corners , they have only conceded two goals – which explains why. they have the second lowest success rate of crosses after Burnley. Arsenal, on the other hand, have scored nine league goals from crosses despite making 13 less than United.
United also create the third most crosses from open play but have the fourth lowest success rate from them (see chart below). None of which might come as much of a surprise to Hojlund, whose frustration at the poor quality of the final ball – or lack thereof – was writ large on Saturday as he screamed at Diogo Dalot to pass to the United right. only. -back to shoot into the side netting from an impossibly tight angle. A few minutes later, Bournemouth would score their second in a 3-0 win.
Hojlund has received fewer passes than any other key substitute in the league this season, with Martial second in that category. United’s decision to put all their chips on the talented but raw and unproven Dane, instead investing £60 million of their budget on Mason Mount when those funds could have been diverted to recruiting a second striker with more more experienced, less negligent. he was naive.
But the isolation and lack of quality service to the centre-forward in this United team, which felt more prominent than ever for Hojlund against Bayern, means that the No. Another 9 pushing into them.
Hojlund should have broken his Premier League duck against Sheffield United or Luton Town, when he was gifted two golden chances despite superb saves from Wes Foderingham and Thomas Kaminski respectively. In fact, in the league alone, Hojlund is underperforming by 2.6 on his potential goals (xG), more than all but five top-flight players.
But there is plenty of frustration for United fans when teammates don’t find runs or get into Hojlund, who may also recognize a lack of connection between their most creative midfielder. the team and the first choice striker.
Fernandes will be missing against Liverpool through suspension but, while no other United player has surpassed Hojlund other than the captain, the striker is only the 12th most regular recipient of his passes.
For a direct team that wants to play in transition, United are not getting the most out of Hojlund through the middle or outside. And life may not be about to get any easier this weekend.
