Erik ten Hag’s philosophy leads to dramatic improvement in Man United’s vital statistics – Man United News And Transfer News

The pace at which Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is imposing his philosophy on his team is taking everyone by surprise.

Ten Hag took the reins at United in the summer but had a shocking start to the season, losing the opening match 1-2 to Brighton at Old Trafford and then getting hammered 4-0 by Brentford in London.

But progress since has been steady and the Red Devils will find themselves in the top four already if they win today’s home tie with West Ham.

Statistics published online by Sky and reproduced by @UtdPlug tells the tale of how much improvement has been made.

Speaks for itself 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/7RRsz6JVG7

— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) October 27, 2022

It shows that in the first four games of the PL season, United ranked 12th in the league in terms of possession, passes in the final third and shots on target.

They now rank fourth, second and second, respectively, in those key metrics.

Total shots has improved from 16th to second and the most dramatic improvement comes in possession won in the final third, increasing from 18th in the league to second.

The overall average improvement for the selected statistics is from 14th to second best in the Premier League.

What is even more impressive is the quality of the opposition in the last four matches is arguably much stronger than in the first four.

The Everton, Newcastle, Spurs and Chelsea games yielded the superstats, whereas the poor ones were registered against Brighton, Brentford, Liverpool and Southampton.

Another reason for fans to be excited is that these results were obtained in a period where a number of injuries and absences occurred, including Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams and Christian Eriksen (two games).

United will be hoping to keep the momentum going and end the pre-World Cup period in a strong position.

After today’s game, winnable matches against Aston Villa and Fulham means that nine points from three is not an impossibility, which would leave the Red Devils well-ensconced in the top four.

Points will be dropped by teams above them during that period, with Chelsea set to play both Arsenal and Newcastle.
 
 

United Matchday Magazine – be in the know about everything red!
Take your seat for the West Ham match and join the debate on the hottest United topics!

• Get all the match build-up, articles, news, puzzles, nostalgia and humour
• Online football content like you’ve never seen before
• No ads, no clickbait, no fake news – just 100% pure United
• Instantly delivered to your device with easy and secure online ordering
• Click Preview to see more or buy for just £1.25/$1.50
• Limited time offer: SAVE £10 on a season pass – use discount code SEASON35 at checkout.