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Manchester United conceded their highest ever xG at Old Trafford against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday evening.
In a vapid effort against the London side, they crashed to a 0-3 defeat where they were outplayed for massive stretches of the game.
The Lily Whites snatched an early lead as Micky van de Ven waltzed through the United defence and picked out an unmarked Brennan Johnson to tap in the easiest of openers.
In a poor first half, United were cut to ribbons numerous times and in truth, lamentably came into the game more when they were reduced to ten men after Bruno Fernandes received his marching orders in the 42 minute of play.
All in all, United conceded 24 shots on goal and ten on target as Andre Onana had to make a string of stops to prevent an even more traumatic result.
The Mirror report that Spurs’ dominance was shown by the fact “they had the highest xG – 4.67 – of any away side ever in a Premier League match at Old Trafford.”
Incredibly Spurs midfielder Dejan Kulusevski created nine chances, which is more than any other visiting player at Old Trafford in Premier League history.
To put how bad this xG statistic is in context, Liverpool only had one of 2.91 when they beat United 7-0 in March 2023.
Liverpool (2.91) 7-0 (0.92) Man Utd
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) March 5, 2023
To think this performance could have and probably should have resulted in numerous more goals for Spurs and that it took place at Old Trafford is a humbling experience for the United faithful.
In truth, there is nothing abnormal about these types of results any more, as under Ten Hag United have been turned over numerous times by opposition in and around them, never mind significantly better teams like Manchester City and Liverpool.
In an absolutely damning statistic, this was the 25th time United have conceded 3 plus goals in a match under Erik ten Hag’s management.
In other words, having been in charge of the side for 123 games, he has conceded 3 or more goals in 20% of his matches, therefore United are doing this in one of every five games they play.
Even the least ambitious United fan could scarcely defend such ineptitude from the coach and players in what was another embarrassing day in the recent history of the once-feared global giant.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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