£44m Man United star leads the Premier League in one area, Erik ten Hag now has a new problem to solve

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Manchester United have suffered their worst ever start to a Premier League season after drawing with Aston Villa.

The Red Devils were only able to take a point from Sunday afternoon’s trip to Villa Park, meaning Manchester United have picked up a measly eight points from their opening seven league matches.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
14	Man UtdManchester United	7	2	2	3	5	8	-3	8

That is statistically United’s worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign. The second-worst? Under Erik ten Hag last season.

It is the club’s lowest tally in their opening seven matches of a league season since 1989-90, when United ended up finishing 13th under Sir Alex Ferguson.

It may not feel like it, but there has been one silver lining to United’s start this season.

Andre Onana leads the Golden Glove race

Very few members of United’s squad can be proud of their performances early on this season, but Andre Onana is one player who has really impressed.

United’s £44m signing from last summer has really settled in this season and has spared United’s blushes on multiple occasions.

Onana has been a clear MVP for United this season, and his incredible form has been acknowledged after he was nominated for a Premier League award in September.

He has hugely overperformed between the sticks, so much so that he is one of the highest overperforming goalkeepers across Europe in terms of preventing goals.

Another statistic that Onana will be most proud of is the four Premier League clean sheets he has kept this season – the most of any goalkeeper in the top flight.

United have now kept clean sheets against Fulham, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. Onana kept nine clean sheets last season so is on track to beat his record from 2023/24.

Erik ten Hag now has a new Man United problem

Onana’s four clean sheets certainly does not mean United’s defensive problems are fixed – 3-0 losses to Liverpool and Tottenham make that very clear.

But there has been major improvements in United’s defensive stats with the team conceding much less than they were under Ten Hag last season.

READ MORE: Paul Scholes baffled by two Man Utd stars and remains fully unconvinced after Aston Villa draw, they lack ‘proven quality’

However, Ten Hag’s biggest problem now lies at the other end of the pitch with United really struggling in front of goal.

United have missed too many big chances this season, but against Villa the side struggled to create which is an even bigger worry.

The Red Devils have now scored just five goals in their opening seven league games with the last coming in the 3-0 win over Southampton on 14th September. It has now been three successive league games without a goal, and that will be a huge worry for Ten Hag.