Newly surfaced statistics have shed light on the extent of Manchester United’s struggles this season, highlighting the alarming nature of their performances.
This comes after United suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle on Sunday afternoon at St James’ Park.
The two sides entered the break on level terms after goals from Sandro Tonali and Alejandro Garnacho. However, United struggled to withstand the hosts’ relentless pressure in the second half, allowing the Magpies to pull away and secure all three points.
Harvey Barnes struck twice before Bruno Guimaraes completed the scoring courtesy of an Altay Bayindir mistake.
After the final whistle, Amorim blamed his players’ defensive lapses for the loss. The result saw the Red Devils drop down to 14th place in the Premier League table, one position below Everton on goal difference.
United’s latest hammering means that the club can no longer match their previous lowest-ever points tally of 58.
The situation is even worse than initially feared, with a set of new stats from the BBC underscoring the full extent of the Red Devils’ decline this term.
According to the news outlet, only Southampton (19) and Aston Villa (13) have made more errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season than United (12), who committed two against Newcastle.
United went a goal down in the 24th minute, meaning they have trailed in 19 Premier League games this season with only Leicester (27), Southampton (21) and Wolves (20) doing so more often. It’s also the joint-most games that United have conceded first in a single Premier League season alongside 2013/14, when David Moyes succeeded the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
Additionally, since Ruben Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November last year, only Southampton (59), Tottenham (53) and Leicester (53) have shipped more goals in all competitions than United (48) among Premier League clubs.
Finally, United’s 14 league defeats this season is their joint highest tally in a single Premier League campaign, also losing 14 games last season. The 20-time English champions last suffered more defeats in a top-flight campaign in 1989/90 (16 in 38 games).
These numbers serve as a stark indictment of how bad things are at Old Trafford and underscore the significant work required to restore the club’s fortunes.
United’s to-flight campaign is a write-off at this point but luckily, there is a chance to make amends by winning the Europa League and as an added incentive, qualify for the Champions League.
Featured image George Wood via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
