Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has come under fire this season for the lack of goals that his side have scored, and here is an example of why.
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As reported by Sky Sports, the Dutch tactician revealed that he has become worried by his side’s shortage of goals this season, and bemoaned their lack of clinical finishing particularly in the first half against PSV in their Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
While the likes of Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Memphis Depay have all faced criticism at various points of the campaign for their lack of goals, the clip above perhaps suggests that building play is the biggest issue in this current United side.
Van Gaal fielded Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin in the two deeper midfield positions on Wednesday night, and based on the particular passage of play above, their lack of presence in terms of being in a position to start attacks is a glaring problem.
Michael Carrick arguably fits the bill perfectly, but as reported by The Telegraph, the veteran is currently sidelined through injury thus creating a problem for the Red Devils.
The England international’s ability to change the pace of the passing in the side and push them forward as a whole as well as his directness shifts the tempo and momentum.
In his absence, United look even more methodical and slow than usual, and ultimately it leads to the likes of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind playing out from the back but facing these specific situations where there is no outlet coming short.
The forwards will have to take their share of the blame as they need to come short and link the lines, but if there is no direction in United’s play and a lack of creativity in midfield and the final third, it certainly makes their lives much more difficult.
United have the worst goalscoring record out of the top seven teams in the Premier League after scoring just 19 goals in 13 games so far this season. Unless Van Gaal finds a solution to the problem in the coming weeks, the frustration is likely to continue.
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