Erik ten Hag must still be scratching his head wondering how Manchester United left the London Stadium emptyhanded.
The Red Devils dominated much of the game despite losing 2-1 to West Ham, especially in the first half when Manchester United created an abundance of chances.
However, in what is quickly becoming a very frustrating trend, United were made to pay for their poor finishing.
Alejandro Garnacho was “infuriating” to watch as he rattled the crossbar just a few minutes into the match, while Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund also missed big chances.
But the biggest blunder of the match – and the entire season – goes to Diogo Dalot after he took the ball over the goalkeeper before firing his shot over the bar of an empty net.
It ended up costing United priceless points with VAR making a “horrendous” penalty call in injury time which allowed Jarrod Bowen to win the game for the Hammers.
Man United are the worst finishers in the Premier League
The fallout from Sunday’s defeat will lie with Erik ten Hag – that is the nature of being a manager. But frankly, he set up his side well enough to beat West Ham on Sunday.
Poor finishing let down United – and Ten Hag – again. The visitors should have been out of sight by the half-time break.
After the horror show in front of goal, United have returned to the top of the ‘big chances missed’ table.
United have now missed a staggering 22 big chances this season. Given that they have only scored eight goals in nine games, it makes that statistic nothing short of embarrassing.
But after the West Ham defeat, United have also climbed to the top of another telling statistic. The Red Devils have now hit the woodwork seven times this season – more than any other Premier League side.
To have hit the woodwork almost as many times as you have scored this season is unforgivable.
Erik ten Hag may have a point
United have only won once in their last eight games across all competitions so it is no surprise that Ten Hag finds himself under huge pressure.
Ineos have already turned down two chances to sack Ten Hag and they risk facing the wrath of fans if they make the same mistake again.
Fans do not want to hear from Ten Hag that United played well after yet another defeat, but the numbers show that he might have a point.
After the full-time whistle, Ten Hag said: “I think we played very good football, the first hour it was really enjoyable to watch our team – so dynamic, so much variation, so creative, so many chances.”
On another day – if United could finish – they would have been three or four goals up. It certainly doesn’t mean Ten Hag is blameless, but his players let him down on Sunday.
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