We are only in mid-December but Manchester United have already been eliminated from the Champions League and League Cup.
They have also struggled in the Premier League, losing seven times in 16 games.
The Red Devils have been abysmal in almost every department. Their fragile defence, unstructured midfield and toothless attack have put Erik ten Hag’s job under the spotlight.
United have struggled to score goals this season, bagging just 18 times in the English top flight.
No team in the top 14 of the Premier League has scored fewer goals than the Red Devils.
Ten Hag has two designated strikers at his disposal – Rasmus Hojlund and Anthony Martial.
Hojlund has featured 12 times in the league but has yet to score a goal, while Martial has scored just once in 13 appearances.
Two critical attributes for any centre-forward are touches in the opposition’s box and the number of goals scored.
The struggles of Hojlund and Martial are evident as both forwards are in the bottom portion of the chart.
They have managed only around three touches in the box per 90 minutes. This is a very low number for any striker.
The fewer times they have the ball in the penalty box, the lesser the probability they will score a goal.
They are well behind Callum Wilson, Erling Braut Haaland and Heung-min Son, who have secured an outstanding balance between these two attributes.
Ten Hag will want his side to pick up some winning momentum, but that cannot be done until his side executes more effectively in the final third.
