Manchester United’s home misery: Football Whispers assesses why Jose Mourinho’s men are misfiring so much
Utd have hit just 15 Prem goals at Old Trafford this term, with Rashford, Martial, Mkhitaryan and Lingard the latest slated
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AFTER Manchester United’s latest draw at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho couldn’t hide his frustration with his attacking quartet of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard.
‘You have four creative players, four players who you need to score a goal for you, and they didn’t,” Mourinho told after his side’s blank against West Bromwich Albion.
‘They had flashes, they had glimpses, they had moments but they don’t have consistency, and we pay two more points for that.’
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Failure to score against Tony Pulis’ side leaves Man United with just 20 goals from 15 Premier League games at Old Trafford. Swansea City and Hull City, who are battling relegation, have scored more home goals than Mourinho’s men.
But why do United continue to struggle against ‘weaker’ teams? have taken an in–depth look at the Red Devils’ goalscoring struggles.
The Zlatan Ibrahimovic factor
He only arrived in the summer but Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s influence on the United team is all–encompassing. He is club’s top scorer this season with 26 goals and has undoubtedly been missed during his three-game suspension for elbowing Tyrone Mings.
Yet a deeper look into the stats suggest Zlatan hasn’t been the all conquering hero he’d like you to believe. Firstly, for a striker of his undoubted quality, he has proven to be incredibly wasteful in the Premier League.
He has 15 goals in the top flight, an impressive return for a 35-year-old striker playing in English football for the first time. But his average number of shots per goal is an astounding 7.3 compared to the likes of Harry Kane (3.4) and Romelu Lukaku (3.5).
Given United create an average 13.11 chances per game in league, that means over half of their opportunities tend to fall to Ibrahimovic when he’s on the pitch.
He is a chance vacuum. And while it would be unfair to suggest Zlatan is to blame for the poor goalscoring form of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Wayne Rooney and several other of United’s attackers, it certainly is a factor.
Last season Martial struck 11 Premier League goals while Rashford netted five times in just 11 top flight games. But the arrival of Ibrahimovic has seen Mourinho play both out wide.
Unsurprisingly, their goal output has significantly dropped – both have scored just three league goals this season.
Yet wastefulness isn’t a problem only Ibrahimovic suffers from at Old Trafford. United take an average of 19.3 shots on goal when they’re playing at home but fewer than seven of those hit the target.
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That perhaps explains why Juan Mata is United’s second highest scorer with ten goals to his name while Rooney, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard have 18 goals between them.
Mourinho’s limitations
There are few better managers in world football at setting up a defensive unit than Mourinho. But in taking the United job he knew there would be an onus on attacking football and that is simply not his forte.
Previous Mourinho teams have played on the counter attack. Down the years he has set up a compact defence and a frontline that could punish teams with pace and skill. Think Duff and Robben, Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria, Eden Hazard and Willian.
It’s perhaps why Mourinho has favoured using Rashford and Martial out wide but neither are specialists. They are square pegs in round holes and it shows when the Red Devils have the ball.
Away from Old Trafford there is more time and space - it's no surprise United's only counter attacking goal this season came on the road. But at the Theatre of Dreams, opposition sides are more than happy to come to sit back and take home a point.
The onus is then on Mourinho’s side to break them down but instead of quick interchanges around the penalty area, United are slow and ponderous when they attack.
On Saturday they ended up delivering cross after cross, 29 in total from open play, into the West Brom penalty area.
Rashford was playing as a lone striker and was up against Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans - it’s little surprise he was largely ineffective.
United’s lack of goals at home is problem Mourinho has to solve quickly because the Red Devils can’t continue to rely on Zlatan to be decisive. Yes, he may not be clinical, but at the moment his presence is vital and given his age that isn’t a sustainable solution.