Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is standing in front of a storm and the team is about to embark on the toughest schedule, which is a key time of success or failure. After seven rounds, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are just two points behind the top of the table, but have never faced a top six team in the Premier League before, and all of these teams will follow in the next month and a half.
Loyal supporters of the manager will stress that their team is better at playing strong teams, unfortunately, last season's data showed that Manchester United are second in the six big clubs in the minor leagues, but unfortunately it is the second to last, only slightly better than Tottenham. Last year, the only strong team with a strong record in the Premier League was Manchester City, mainly because Guardiola was too far ahead and made his tactical attempts at home.
In other strong dialogues, as long as United's opponents pay attention to defense, they can maintain a draw, and Chelsea have played two 0-0 draws with Manchester United. What's more, United's disorganized performances this season have brought even more criticism of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's ability.
Not only attacking, compared to Manchester United's excessive reliance on stars in attack, the team's defensive problems are even greater, the stubborn disease of dealing with set-pieces in the past still exists, and now it is also afraid of the opponent's counterattack. United have only kept one clean sheet in the last 18 games, relying on De Gea's saves and Wolves' striker not wearing shooting boots to win 1-0.
Over the next 45 days, United will face Leicester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal's attackers, who will further test the defence set by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
On Saturday, United first challenged Rodgers' Leicester City, and the Blue Foxes' recent record is worse than Manchester United's, arguably the weakest team in the future schedule. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also in trouble, with his defensive line-up not in order.
Although Maguire has resumed training and has just resumed training with the whole team, it is still unknown whether he will be able to compete, and in the next few weeks, French centre-back Varane will be free of charge for straining his groin in the UEFA Nations League final.
Data show that Since Maguire joined, Manchester United has not kept a clean sheet in the game without him, and although the recent 80 million iron guards have not been in good shape, his air superiority is crucial to the defense.
Since the start of last season, in all competitions, at Manchester United without Maguire, the expected number of goals conceded from corners and free kicks per game has been as high as 0.28 goals. During this period, United faced 59 set-pieces, 22 shots on goal and scored four goals. This includes maguire's injured battle this season, with Courtney House winning the header to help Villa beat Old Trafford 1-0.
It is worth emphasizing that before the international match, Everton's Mina also pushed the empty goal in the second attack caused by the set-piece, but was blown off because of offside.
United's substitute centre-back combination, if not surprisingly, will be Lindelev with Eric Bai. Among them, Swedish iceman Lindelev was still the main player last season, and Varane became Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's preferred substitute center-back after joining, making seven appearances so far this season.
Bai is its most likely centre-back partner, but it's not a combination that gives fans much confidence. Another stat shows that in the past year, Manchester United have not won 3 draws and 2 defeats in the match between Bai and Lindelev.
In the first of these games, In December 2020, Manchester United drew 2-2 with Leicester City, Bai made a cameo at full-back, playing alongside Maguire and Lindelef. Bai and Lindelof are centre-backs in the remaining four games, including last season's Europa League final and the recent 1-0 defeat to West Ham in the League Cup.
If the boss superstitiously wants to break this invincible combination, then he can choose Phil Jones. He has made an official comeback and, if played, would be his debut after 628 days. Of course, like Bai and Lindelev, he can't make the fans feel confident.
Of course, United's defense is not good, it is not simply a matter of the ability of defenders. Instead, the Red Devils have europe's top defender configuration and a goalkeeper in good form. But the clean sheet opponent is not simply defensive.
Nowadays, defense has long been the overall work of the whole team, the top team began to defend from the front, the midfield is equipped with one or two tough players to sweep, plus iron guards and goalkeepers, in order to be foolproof.
According to Opta data, Manchester United are 6th in the Premier League in the Premier League's "high pressing" and "high conversion" events, which means that the Red Devils are seeking to win the ball up front and attack closer to the opposing goal. To match this tactic, United's defence was pressed very high, with an average position tied for the highest in the Premier League.
Opta calculated that United's defensive starting position, like Liverpool's, was 44.5 metres away from goal. Unfortunately, United's frontcourt attackers do not have the ability to effectively suppress the opponent's backfield conduction, when their first line of defense is broken, the midfield also lacks barriers, the centre-back is also unable to block the opponent, De Gea often sees the opponent's fast horse.
In the last round of a 1-1 draw with Everton, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted That United dominated with 71% possession, but the opponent completed a full 10 shots in the Red Devils' box.
Opta defines Everton winger Townsend's counter-attack goal as United's first goal this season by an opponent's "quick attack". However, in previous games, the alarm bells had been ringing for a long time, and Wolves' Adama Traoré, Newcastle's Saint-Maximan and Almiron had all turned United's midfield upside down.
The data shows that Manchester United has been played by opponents in the third most fast attacks this season, which is not surprising, and it is naturally Leeds United, which has been beaten more than the Red Devils, and the relegation version of Newcastle, which has not yet been acquired by the Saudi consortium.
Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took office in December 2018, United have scored twice as many goals (eight) from their opponents and are 7th from 56 fast-break attacks.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's good friend Gary Neville reminded him that he can win the fans by attacking, but he must defend well to compete for the title. 'If you can't stop the other side's counterattack at Old Trafford, you certainly can't win the league title. Neville said, "The confrontation can't make you win the championship, you have to block the opponent's counterattack, you have to be defensive."
"People will talk about the possession of the team guardiola has, and their scores, but his team can also withstand the attack of the other side, and so can Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. United can't do it. Why? Maybe they have too many offensive players on the pitch and the strikers aren't alert enough or smart enough to spot potential dangers and prevent them as soon as possible (through fouls)."
Unfortunately, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's defensive construct will be severely tested, because so far in the 2018/19 season, no team has scored more fast goals than Leicester City and Liverpool, both teams have scored 21 similar goals, and Vardy, Salah, Mane and other forwards have sharpened their knives.
Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have always stressed progress and this time, they must improve defensively. Or in the words of Gary Neville, "Something has to change."