It is fair to say that Manchester United have been extremely poor this season. The Red Devils are currently languishing in mid-table after claiming just seven points from their opening six Premier League games.
The pressure is on manager Erik ten Hag, and it has been reported in recent days that the Dutchman is on extremely thin ice as Red Devils boss. Whilst his position as boss is not yet untenable, there will be a meeting between United’s owners and new footballing hierarchy on Tuesday, following the game against Aston Villa, as per Adam Crafton.
United’s stats in 2024/25
United’s underlying numbers show just how poor they have been this season. When looking at the Red Devils’ start to the 2024/25 campaign, it is clear to see that they are severely underperforming. Their seven points to date in the top flight have come from two wins against Fulham and Southampton, and one draw away to Crystal Palace. Their other three games were all defeats.
Indeed, it is the losses that have been the most devastating of their results this season. Their first defeat came away to Brighton & Hove Albion, a 2-1 loss at the death thanks to a Joao Pedro winner. They then lost 3-0 at Old Trafford against Liverpool on the first day of September, before Tottenham Hotspur repeated the feat last weekend.
Those results, coupled with draws in the Europa League against FC Twente and Porto, have certainly not helped Ten Hag’s case. United were particularly fortunate to draw against Porto, having been 3-2 down before Harry Maguire rescued a point in stoppage time.
As per Understat, the Red Devils’ stats are not a sight to behold. United have scored just five goals this term, from an expected goals tally of 10.81. Extraordinarily, Southampton are the only team who had scored fewer goals all season prior to the weekend, with three.
Stat
Number
Points
7
Expected points
8.63
Goals for
5
Expected goals for
10.81
Goals against
8
Expected goals against
13.10
Clean sheets
3
It has been a disaster of a season so far for United. Ten Hag has not exactly covered himself in glory this term, although some players are not helping his case, either. One of those players is Lisandro Martinez.
Martinez's stats in 2024/25
Ridiculed for his height by many when he first moved to Old Trafford, Martinez quickly became a fan favourite amongst the Red Devils faithful. However, after an injury-riddled season in 2023/24, in which he missed 42 games and 188 days for club and country, he has struggled to find his best form.
So far, the World Cup winner with Argentina has played 68 times in the famous red shirt, scoring once – against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in 2023 – and one assist. He has helped keep 26 clean sheets, with three of those coming this season.
Journalist Alex Turk, who covers United, suggested that the Argentine defender is having “a seriously stinky season” in 2024/25. However, he did also argue that the centre-back is being “massively exposed” by Ten Hag, who also coached him at Ajax.
Ten Hag has recently deployed a system whereby full-back Diogo Dalot, tucks into midfield and advances higher up the pitch when his side have the ball. That leaves Martinez, the left centre-back, to defend wide areas of the pitch and cover lots of ground.
Given his height at 5 foot 9, the 26-year-old arguably faces an uphill struggle to match the speed or large stride patterns of other centre-backs to cover such ground. Martinez is far better in tight spaces and covering short distances.
Hence, Ten Hag exposes some of his biggest weaknesses. This happened on Thursday night in Porto and played a part in the Portuguese outfit scoring their third goal of the night, as shown by the clip below.
It might be that the Dutchman decides to drop Martinez for United’s trip to Villa Park this afternoon. Not only does he play him in a system where he is exposed, but he has not been playing particularly well. Perhaps some time on the bench could help Martinez refocus as he looks to rediscover his best form and help United’s season get back on track.