Manchester United Have The Second Best Defensive Record In The Premier League

Manchester United’s last summer transfer business achieved a lot even though it was deemed to be too little.

Primarily, focus was placed on rebuilding the back four, an area where the Red Devils were deficient from years. Harry Maguire’s world-record acquisition was paired with Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s impactful addition.

Further, Victor Lindelof was finally able to shake off his initial woes and stamp his presence as a staunch centre-back. To complete the line, Luke Shaw returned to fitness after repeated spells of injury and made a consistent run of appearances.

This backline, while subject to plenty of criticism and still far from perfect, managed to nevertheless achieve this incredible stat.

https://twitter.com/StatmanDave/status/1255799051825508352

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has often been hailed to be a more attack-oriented gaffer and his initial spell of games did indicate an inordinate amount of effort and tactics being spent on the frontline.

However, this campaign’s success stories have largely stemmed from a reactionary style of football which has relied heavily on the the back four not conceding too many goals.

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While the lack of several cleansheets won’t fully indicate how good a job has been done, the absence of regular errors like in the past has been a marked improvement.

Likewise, huge losses and heavy concession don’t feature heavily in the pre-lockdown list of fixtures with the 3-1 derby loss against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup and the 3-3 draw against Sheffield United in the Premier League coming in as the leakiest instances.

This is still a largely developing defense with many seasons of perfection left to attain.