Clinical but not enough shots on target.

[KennyBurner]

We have made quite a decent start and being 3 points better off against 2 teams we struggled with last year. To score 5 goals in 2 games is not too shabby either.
Then you look at shots on target. According to the BBC we had 5 against Chelsea and 2 against the Wanderers. We dominated possession in the first half against the Wanderers, but the goal was the only time we worried them in front of goal.
How do we improve this as we wont be this clinical all season. When you look at the other top teams, which we aim to emulate, they get a lot more shots on target and the more shots on target obviously the better your chances are to win.
Do we drop the ineffective Lingard and bring in Gomes or Greenwood? Do we change formation to accomodate 3 strikers? Is the midfield the problem? Any thoughts?

This doesn't always give you the full picture. Shots on target doesn't equate to total chances. Lingards mishit volley didnt count as a chance. Im pretty sure Rashford cross to martial also didn't register as a created chance. My point is we created a good amount and were in control of a difficult game. My biggest concern is that we didn't see any action in the first 15 minutes and were too passive in possession.

its also good to note that we dont need to score as many goals as City as long as we dont concede many. If we can score 1 or 2 per game while keeping a clean sheet we will challenge.

I've only been shouting this for over a year. I'm still looking for all these chances that died at Lukaku's feet last season.

Lukaku was a big reason the ball couldn't even get passed the halfway line. These things matter when trying to get it to him further up the pitch. Now that martial is competent at holding the ball up we will see more chances created in possession and on the counter.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Versus Chelsea we played very poorly and so created little. Obviously with he game very open we managed to get a few chances late on.

Versus wolves we were very dominant but they sat very deep. Pogba played quote poorly while it was nil nil and wolves were tight. He played 1 pass but rashford was far more creative. When we went ahead the game opened up and we looked like we could create again but we need to improve when the game is tied. Think some of this falls on all of our different players, versus a parked bus I think it has to fall on pogba when he is the only player that will have space in cm, in looser games like Chelsea we need more from our front 4 in terms of cutting edge and quality. We will have a lot more tight games than loose games this year though so our form will depend massively on what pogba can do from deep

 

[adexkola]

Lukaku was a big reason the ball couldn't even get passed the halfway line. These things matter when trying to get it to him further up the pitch. Now that martial is competent at holding the ball up we will see more chances created in possession and on the counter.

Ok.

 

[adexkola]

Versus Chelsea we played very poorly and so created little. Obviously with he game very open we managed to get a few chances late on.

Versus wolves we were very dominant but they sat very deep. Pogba played quote poorly while it was nil nil and wolves were tight. He played 1 pass but rashford was far more creative. When we went ahead the game opened up and we looked like we could create again but we need to improve when the game is tied. Think some of this falls on all of our different players, versus a parked bus I think it has to fall on pogba when he is the only player that will have space in cm, in looser games like Chelsea we need more from our front 4 in terms of cutting edge and quality. We will have a lot more tight games than loose games this year though so our form will depend massively on what pogba can do from deep

It can't only fall on Pogba.

It remains to be seen what happens with the right wing. None of James or Andrea or Mata has shown they can consistently be a threat on that side. And Lingard hasn't kicked on in that number 10 role except in limited situations.

 

[GifLord]

Go back to creating gifs buddy.

And you need a reality check if you think this donkey was decent for Utd.

 

[TheRedHearted]

Pogba used to shoot it a lot from long range, he hit the woodwork so many times in his first season but over time he just stopped doing it as much. Now that he is deeper, it'll be even more rare of an occurence.

You’d be surprised- when a player comes from deep and can slide into an opening they can score many long rang shots that way. It should honestly be our plan with Mctominay

We badly lack a creative number ten that can unlock a tight defence.

Initially would I see is Erikson be that player (getting him on a free) but I think what’s more important is a CDM like Kante who can cover so well and another creative player like Coutinho or Erikson on the right. Basically so Pogba can be pushed up higher

 

[AshRK]

It can't only fall on Pogba.

It remains to be seen what happens with the right wing. None of James or Andrea or Mata has shown they can consistently be a threat on that side. And Lingard hasn't kicked on in that number 10 role except in limited situations.

Too soon to judge him. He is still raw but he looked decent for his first start. He has pace and doesn't shy to take on and his crossing his also not bad, just needs to work on decision making and we might have a solid player.

 

[STYLOISRED]

Two things to add first: 1) when the OP starts saying that Wolves were only troubled once in the first half, it’s such a misgivimg that it makes me wonder if there is an agenda. I can go along with a discussion on the departure point that we have few shots on goal so far, but claiming that Wolves are not troubled by Martial needing only to complete his movement and put the leg out to have a shot on goal from five yards from Rashfords cross, or when he is past the keeper and steps on the ball, it’s just meaningless.

2) if we want to compare just shots on goal, it’s more relevant to compare with shots on goal away to Wolves or at home to Chelsea. I’ve not the time for a full study on this, but a quick look tells me arsenal, liverpool and chelsea had respectively 1, 2 and 3 SoT at Molineux last season. So it’s not particularly good, but neither is it necessarily the sign of a big problem.

My opinion is that United have been the better team on the whole in two consecutive games, two challenging games to boot, so based on this things are going in the right direction rather than the wrong. You ask: Have we produced few SoT because we have Jesse Lingard in the team? You could ask: Have we played better than Chelsea and Wolves because we have Lingard in the team?

This!!! Over and over again.
People want to see us creating chance after chance and dominating opposition like a Pep team forgetting this important factors. The season just began and we didn't play against easy opposition.
The simple fact that in these two matches our players didn't crumble when pressured but managed to take back control is a huge positive and shows that we are headed in the right direction. All those hoping for total transformation in the way we play are going to be disappointed am afraid.

 

[adexkola]

Too soon to judge him. He is still raw but he looked decent for his first start. He has pace and doesn't shy to take on and his crossing his also not bad, just needs to work on decision making and we might have a solid player.

Yeah I don't mean that as a final judgement regarding James. He definitely has the raw tools, that if put together, would solve a lot of those issues. Was more speaking of the present state.

 

[Amerifan]

We've played Chelsea and away to Wolves. These aren't games you create buckets of chances in. We did more than enough to win both games, while denying both sides clear-cut opportunities. If the same thing happens against Palace and Southampton then perhaps it's worth discussing, but not yet.

I agree. If we had a lot of shots on target the last two games we’d be competing for the title, and we probably aren’t quite there yet. Nothing to worry about, though.