This article tells you what problems are there in Manchester United s defense: ball control, intercepting opponents

A fan asked, what exactly is wrong with Manchester United's defense? As before, it naturally meets the needs of fans. However, in advance, I still dislike the uselessness of data. If the data is useless, you can persuade European wealthy families to dissolve their own data departments.

data is useful, but the interpretation and usage methods are different, depending on where you use them and what scenarios you combine. So, since you need to understand what problems with Manchester United’s defense from a data perspective, you’d better believe in the authenticity of the data, rather than covering up the content of the whole season by being impressed by a certain clip.

Goal conceded data: mid-level Premier League, few shots, and high shooting efficiency

Manchester United conceded 54 goals in the Premier League this season, which is the mid-level Premier League goal conceded. So does it prove that all Manchester United’s defense team are not good? It's really not necessarily the case. The data needs to be viewed in a coordinated manner, rather than in an isolated manner. Just like you score few goals, so you must have a poor center goal-scoring ability? What if the wingers occupy most of the shooting opportunities?

This season, Manchester United's opponents have won a total of 411 shots, which is the fifth-small level of the Premier League, only less than Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea. There are many goals conceded and few shots. What is this? Continue to look at the data. Manchester United has also had few shots, with only 145 shots, the fifth-smallest level in the Premier League.

The next key is. Several key factors: First, the shooting distance is 16.5 meters, which is very close to the goal. Everyone knows the truth that the closer the distance, the higher the shooting efficiency. Secondly, 14 goals were conceded on the set ball, and one-third of Manchester United conceded from the set ball. Finally, the opponent's shooting conversion rate reached 12%, which is the best in the Premier League.

Therefore, Manchester United's conceded goals are: the proportion of set pieces (of course, it is a minor meaning than Chelsea), the shooting distance is close, and the opponent's shooting conversion rate is high. These questions are summarized as characteristics, which are the characteristics shown by Manchester United's defense. So, what's the reason?

One reason: The ability to intercept passes

We continue to look for other data. Among Manchester United's 54 conceded goals, the opponent formed 36 assists through passing. We all know that many shots come from the players' personal abilities, and some of them come from the assists of teammates. Manchester United's opponents account for the proportion of assists conceded goals, which is actually a bit high.

, that is, Manchester United's opponents are prone to passing the ball to create goals. Again, 14 conceded goals are from set pieces. The number of passes that form a goal is 309 (key passes). Considering Manchester United's shots, although the total number of key passes ranks sixth in the Premier League, the number of shots converted by the opponent through key passes accounts for a very high proportion of Manchester United's total number of shots.

More importantly, the opponent has only 239 passes to Manchester United's penalty spot, the third-small in the Premier League. Originally, this data can be interpreted as it is difficult for Manchester United to allow their opponents to break into their core areas, but once the opponent scores, the efficiency of converting goals will be very high. What is the reason for this?

Reason 2: The core issue is in the frontcourt

Amorin said that Manchester United's performance in the game this season has improved, but it is not reflected in the results of the game. One of them is that Manchester United's ball possession rate and number of touches are increasing, while Manchester United's opponents are decreasing in the number of touches. Manchester United's opponents have indeed touched very few times in Manchester United's defensive third zone, and are one of the four teams in the Premier League at least.

However, the problem is that when Manchester United's opponents are happy to play against Manchester United, they use personal breakthroughs to create opportunities. They try their best in the top four in the Premier League. They enter Manchester United's defense three zones through personal dribbling. They are the sixth most in the Premier League, and are on the same level as Southampton, Ipswich, Leicester City and other relegated teams.

The key is that their dribbling mistakes are still very low, and they are the sixth-smallest in the Premier League. Combined with the previous data, it is very clear that Manchester United is easily dribbled, quickly penetrated into the third zone of the offensive through the midfield, and then quickly passed the ball to the teammates on the weak side to complete the shooting. In other words, Manchester United can still defend in positional battles, but if the opponent attacks quickly and Manchester United can't stop the midfield, then the opponent scores in the process of Manchester United's pursuit, or in the process of chaos in the defense line.

From this perspective, Manchester United and Manchester City's data model are the same, but Manchester United's defense is worse than Manchester City. There are actually several background factors that lead to the gap between Manchester United and Manchester City. First, after losing the ball, Manchester United's opponent quickly counter-snatched and regained the ball, the second most times in the Premier League; second, Manchester United's opponent intercepted Manchester United's passes and stole Manchester United's possession, which was at the mid-to-upper level.

The key is that they still have very few fouls. They like their bodies when dealing with Manchester United, but they don't fouls. Who doesn't like to do this? Moreover, Manchester United often gets his brains twitched and can be intercepted by people when passing the ball face to face.

Conclusion: The backflow of pressure

Manchester United's defensive problem is largely not caused by the personal ability of the defense line. It is largely due to the unfavorable control of the ball in the frontcourt, the inappropriate scene of losing the ball, and the chain reaction of the defense line caused by the failure of the midfield interception. Although Rashford, Sancho and Anthony have not played for Manchester United most of this season, Garnacho missed an excellent opportunity, one-third more times than the combined number of times Rashford + Sancho + Anthony. Although this is just shooting data, it reflects the casual handling of Manchester United's ball in the frontcourt.

Improving the efficiency of getting balls in the midfield can greatly alleviate Manchester United's defensive problems, because from the perspective of process data performance alone, Manchester United's defense is the top four in the Premier League, and I am talking about data performance.