Four reasons Man Utd’s start to the season isn’t as bad as everyone thinks as stats give fresh hope to Amorim

“THE good times are coming.”

That was the promise of Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim after the season finale at Old Trafford in May.

It came after the club’s worst season in the Premier League, with a 15th-place finish to boot, before the Red Devils then sank to a new low by losing to Tottenham in the Europa League final.

After a £200million splash on new players this summer, fans might be forgiven for thinking that promise looks a little empty at the moment.

One win from three in the league, which was an injury-time winner over newly promoted Burnley, alongside a dismal defeat to fourth-tier Grimsby in the second round of the Carabao Cup, has not painted a pretty picture at the Theatre of Dreams.

However, under the surface of the opening games, Amorim might actually be slow-cooking something appetising for the United faithful.

That’s because, for all the negativity around the Red Devils already this season, the numbers suggest there is finally light at the end of the tunnel after nine months of “suffering” under their Portuguese manager.

United rank first in four key attacking metrics.

Yes, believe it or not, first – above Liverpool, above Arsenal, above Chelsea and above Manchester City.

Firstly, United have taken more shots than anyone else.

Opta data says United have taken 58 shots, 14 more than the next best teams in the Premier League, Chelsea and Bournemouth.

United are also getting closer to goal and lead the way for touches in the opposition box with 99, with the next best team in Bournemouth having 87.

Indeed, these have also helped to achieve the best Expected Goals value in the league with 6.78 xG.

However, their attacking wastefulness comes to the fore with the four times they have hit the woodwork, putting them top on that unfortunate stat too.

Only one team in the division has been more wasteful than United when comparing their xG to the goals they have scored, with Brighton holding a negative value of -3.21 compared to -2.78 for the Old Trafford club.

The reasons to be positive also stretch away from purely attacking stats.

United are top in the league for fast breaks with eight, second for duels won with 173 – top for ground duel success rate at 54.4 per cent – and third for successful crosses from open play.

There is work to be done – and three games is a small sample size – but it suggests United are trending in the right direction, and that patience could be the aim of the game.

Tough tests against City, Chelsea and Brentford await after the international break, and United and Amorim will need the numbers to start counting in their favour to ease fan expectations.