Manchester United’s woes in front of goal have been cleared up a little by an interesting statistic that has emerged.
Ralf Rangnick’s reign has been defined of late by a lack of goals scored despite the numerous chances being created in each game.
[How #EPL teams shoot, 21/22]
– #MUFC, Arsenal, Leeds are taking too many shots from distance
– Brentford, Palace take few shots but from closer
– As always #ManCity & #Liverpool are in a 'best of both' world of their own
– Norwich, Wolves, Watford struggling at both pic.twitter.com/C6U4JwDv3L— The Devil's DNA (@TheDevilsDNA) March 1, 2022
As can be seen by the graph, United are guilty of taking too many shots from unacceptable distances.
The good news is that Rangnick’s men are only fourth in the table in regards to the number of shots they take.
The statistics could be explained in a variety of ways depending on what other significant numbers fans look at.
Given how enough chances are being created then it seems to suggest the players are taking long-range shots out of frustration and not because of an inability to get closer to goal.
Players like Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Bruno Fernandes tend to take shots from distance and perhaps that’s what skews it a little.
It’s likely that due to the Red Devils’ difficulties in breaking down deep blocks in the past also plays a contributing factor.
That has changed under Rangnick but it will take a while for the numbers to reflect that.
It is also fair to say that even with the additional chances now being created, Manchester United aren’t the best team in carving open opponents.
The graph in the statistics suggests United have a sub-optimal attack and that’s probably the way a lot of fans would describe it.