Manchester United stats: Improvement in two key areas sees hope rising for next year

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Louis Van Gaal’s side have been better in defence and made more successful passes, but relied heavily on long-balls.

With David Moyes’ reign deemed a disaster, there is clearly a rebuilding process underway at Old Trafford.

Louis Van Gaal was brought in and spent heavily in the summer in an effort to return them to the Champions League. While the signing of Angel Di Maria has been a disappointment thus far, elsewhere things have worked out well – with Ander Herrera proving to be a star buy.

A fourth-placed finish sees them achieve their aim of returning to Europe at the first time of asking, while finishing with six more points and four fewer losses is not to be sniffed at. The three extra draws, however, are a concern. Let’s take a look at their other stats to see how they’ve improved, or regressed, in key areas.

In defence, things have stayed consistent with their tackling success remaining at 74%, with their number of tackles increasing by 9% and their number of successful tackles increasing by 8% as well. That improvement has seen them concede six fewer goals in the process.

In midfield, passing has improved with their success rate going up from 84% to 85%, while they have increased their number of passes by 12% and their number of successful passes by 13%. Incredibly, they have seen the number of long balls they play increase by a remarkable 42%, giving credence to those long-ball United claims.

Up front, their shooting accuracy has increased from 34% to 35%, although their number of shots has fallen by 2% while their number of shots on target has also fallen, this time by 1%.

Improvements across the board for Manchester United, with up front their worst area but only by small margins. With a forward likely to arrive in the summer, that is sure to improve next year, although the long-ball football will unquestionably be a worry for fans.