Man United are actually twice as good as last season in problem area despite Twente draw, Erik ten Hag deserves credit

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Manchester United’s concerning start to the season continued on Wednesday evening with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Twente.

It is now three wins from the opening eight games of the season for Manchester United after taking just one point from their opening Europa League fixture.

Erik ten Hag made three mistakes against Twente and the Dutchman slammed his players for being “complacent” during the drab draw.

The Red Devils looked as though they were taking control of the clash after Christian Eriksen scored his third goal in four games, but the Dane then made a costly error which led to Twente’s equaliser in the second half.

United were left ruing missed chances just as they were in the frustrating 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, and they now enter a tricky run of fixtures starting with a visit from Tottenham on Sunday.

Man United defensive improvements

It seems a bizarre topic to discuss after United were split open by Twente for their equaliser on Wednesday, but the defence has drastically improved this season.

Eriksen and Harry Maguire made a costly individual error which allowed Twente to cut through and score, but the underlying figures show United are making progress at the back.

United had kept three consecutive clean sheets heading into the Twente match, and Sam Lammers’ second-half goal was the first conceded by Ten Hag’s side in over 300 minutes of football.

That is a huge upgrade on where United were defensively this time last season.

United have conceded seven goals in their opening eight games of the season and kept four clean sheets. At this stage in 2023/24, United had conceded 14.

Last season, they shipped three goals to Arsenal and Brighton and four to Bayern Munich in the opening Champions League clash.

It shows that United have been twice as good at keeping the ball out of their net this season compared to last. Instead, United’s problems now lie at the other end of the pitch.

Ineos and Erik ten Hag deserve credit

To put it plainly, United’s defence last season were nowhere near good enough.

United conceded far too many shots on goal and they ended the Premier League season with a -1 goal difference having conceded 58 times.

Ineos went to work improving United’s backline in the summer with the £52m signing of Leny Yoro as well as a £50m double deal for Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.

READ MORE: Dutch press react to Man Utd performance vs FC Twente, make Wolves comparison

When Luke Shaw returns from injury he will add to United’s improved back line. Ten Hag has certainly made mistakes this season but he does deserve credit for addressing the defensive issues, as do Ineos for their fantastic transfer business.

If United’s front line can find their shooting boots and United keep it steady at the back, hopefully results will soon start to follow.