Red Devils on the rise
Manchester United kicked off 2023 in tremendous form, with a 3-0 win over Bournemouth that saw Erik ten Hag and his team move into fourth place in the Premier League table. Goals from Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford confirmed an easy evening for the Old Trafford side, as they quickly shook off the departure of Cristiano Roanldo last month and continued their march up the English top-flight table.
Despite some minor blips in his first few months on the job, Ten Hag has undoubtedly turned a corner at Man Utd and is now guiding the club back towards the top of English football. With seven wins, two draws, and just one defeat from their last 10 league games, Man Utd can boast of a points tally that only Arsenal and Newcastle can better. So what’s behind this turn in form for the Red Devils?
Casemiro, Martínez & Co. – Man Utd find defensive solidity
Perhaps the most notable change in Man Utd’s performances this season have come through the manner in which they’ve been far more defensively solid in the Premier League. Last season the club finished the league campaign with the 12th best defensive record in the top-flight, but that has improved dramatically this time around and to date Ten Hag’s side have only conceded 20 goals in 17 games – which puts them fifth in the league’s defensive standings.
Manchester United have yet to drop a single point after taking the lead in 11 Premier League games this season pic.twitter.com/8vWjcVPaoz
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) January 4, 2023
This, naturally, has had a very real impact on how many points Ten Hag’s side have picked up this season. In the previous campaign, Man Utd dropped a massive 13 points from winning positions due to conceding goals after going behind. But this time around Ten Hag’s side have won 11 out of 11 games they’ve taken a lead in. Which is in no small part down to some excellent defensive signings in the summer, such as Lisandro Martínez, Tyrell Malacia and, of course, Casemiro from Real Madrid.
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The departure of Ronaldo – and return of Marcus Rashford
However, it hasn’t just been Man Utd’s defensive solidity that has turned things around for the club. Ten Hag has also improved a number of facets of the club’s attacking line too and in turn that has seen the Red Devils shoot up the league table. Perhaps the most obvious example of the progress being made under the new manager can be found in the form of Rashford.
Last season the England international laboured to just four goals and two assists in 25 league appearances for the club. However, in this current campaign the striker has already bagged seven goals and three assists in 17 league games. When we break that down into per 90 minute averages, it means that Rashford’s goals or assists per game have jumped from 0.44 last season to 0.67 this time around.
Erik ten Hag has picked up more wins in his first 25 games at Man Utd than Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Jose Mourinho and even Sir Alex Ferguson pic.twitter.com/E71oo08cwi
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) January 4, 2023
Perhaps most notably, the forward has found a rich vein of form in recent match days, with three goals and an assist in his last three league games alone. Which may be in no small part down to a certain Portuguese striker departing the club and freeing up space for other forward players like Rashford to truly thrive.
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