Why are Manchester United struggling to score goals in Premeir League this season?

The Red Devils have scored only five league goals so far this season.

Manchester United’s 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday was another soulless performance from the team under manager Erik ten Hag and now the Dutch manager’s job is on the line as the pressure is now over the roof.

Erik reflects on a point at Villa Park and looks ahead to the international break 💬#MUFC || #PL

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 6, 2024

The former Ajax head coach was given two games to save his job but in both matches, United were held to a draw and now things are looking worse as United’s failure to score goals in the league has become another cause of concern.

United are 14th in the league and after the October international, a decision could be made regarding Ten Hag’s future.

But the most important dilemma has remained why United have failed to score and in their last three Premier League matches they have failed to find the back of the net, drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace and then losing 3-0 to Tottenham Hotspur before another goalless draw with Villains.

What has been the reason for United’s lack of scoring this season in the league?

This season United have reinforced their attack with the signing of another striker, Joshua Zirkzee who has scored only one goal this season, while their past signings such as Jadon Sancho and Antony have been a massive flop.

Homegrown player Marcus Rashford has remained a struggling player who often fails to put up a convincing performance, while Alejandro Garnacho, who has become a regular starter has one goal.

But we really can’t blame them entirely when the midfielders have also been failing to create goalscoring chances as there is a lack of cohesiveness in the middle of the pitch. Another major reason is that players have failed to accommodate under the Ten Hag system.

This has been the major issue under the Dutch manager as his lack of identity has seen the club struggle to perform this season. They have scored only five goals in the league despite seven matches this season.

Manchester United are also underperforming their XG, which is 9.59 as the club’s attackers are missing good chances this season. They have also taken an average of 0.13 per shot in matches.

However, statistics reveal that there have been enough chances created but their key problem has been converting the chances, which implies that the last pass into the final third is being placed well, but the finishing is not there to complete the action.

Can United fix their goalscoring drought under Erik ten Hag?

United’s attacking style under Ten Hag has been the same which seems to have become predictable and is often countered by opposition defenders easily. Hence, he needs to try a different approach in the attack which allows more unity and smoothness when they are attacking.

PL goals this season. Manchester United 5 Danny Welbeck 4 pic.twitter.com/qoAuA00oii

— Jay Motty (@JayMotty) October 6, 2024

His attack has seen two midfielders dropping deep as the No.10, while the front three consists of two wingers and a striker.

Bruno Fernandes vs Aston Villa:0 goals0 assists0 chances created0 shots on target0 successful dribbles0 accurate crossesin 90 minutes. pic.twitter.com/LMjVetYJM7

— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) October 6, 2024

However, Ten Hag can bring changes given he has two strikers now and can use them to penetrate the opposition box to create overloads and more United players present in the box to finish off the chances.

But United’s main reason has been finishing as getting in the box has not been the big concern but lack of cutting edge in the box has seen their goals drying up in the league.

Their approach under Erik ten Hag has pushed them to reach the final third of the games but their finishing and decisions at that moment have led them down and once that improves United will start scoring goals soon.

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