After the 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, Ruben Amorim once saw this problem of Man United. The team has led their opponents many times but has also failed to maintain the score many times. According to the Portuguese strategist, sometimes in a leading position, Man United is too passionate about finding more goals to win more. They accidentally forgot to protect the goal, which was the key factor to preserve the victory.
Man United fell into such a state in the draws against Nottingham, Tottenham, West Ham and most recently Bournemouth. There is a common state that when Man United lose control in defense, the attack also loses the previous threat. This led to them not being able to score any more goals after being equalized by the opponent.
"Looking at the game (with Bournemouth), many people would think we dropped two points in the second half. In fact, Man United lost 2 points in the first half. We should have scored more in the first half and ended the game at that time" - Ruben Amorim shared.
This situation of Man United is shown by the numbers. This season, they have led 11/16 Premier League games. In these 16 matches, they have led their opponents up to 40% of the time. This is a ratio of only 2 leading teams, Arsenal (42%) and Man City (55%). One of the reasons why Man United lost points, as well as the above analysis, was that they were too passionate about attacking when they had scored. Normally, the "Red Devils" players still like to push up when their physical strength has declined, so their defense is very loose and often out of steam in the last 10 minutes.
A number that proves Man United did not hold the ball long enough when leading. Of the 10 passes that opened the ball up while leading, they only had an average of 4.4 passes to control the ball. This is the 9th lowest number in the Premier League this season. The lack of long ball controls made Man United easily lose the ball and therefore let the opponent counterattack.
In addition, short passes affect the defensive structure of the whole team. When the ball is brought up quickly, before the central defenders and midfielders can get into the counter-attacking defensive position, Man United will be vulnerable when they lose control of the ball.
This is clearly shown through the number of direct counter-attacks Man United have to receive while leading. Direct counter-attacks are defined as moves that start at home and result in a shot or touch in the opponent's penalty area within 15 seconds. In the matches Man United are leading, they have conceded an average of 2.8 direct counter-attacks per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, which is the 3rd highest rate in the Premier League.
The playing style of a team when leading decides the number of times they have to receive direct attacks. If you always defend deep after taking the lead, you will rarely concede from counter-attacks. However, on the other hand, you will lose control of the ball and create opportunities for the opponent to put pressure.
"We need to understand the games better because the way we play depends on each situation. Sometimes it is worth mentioning the fact that finishing a match with a good result is the final result to evaluate whether a perfect performance is good or not" - Ruben Amorim shared.
