Man United: Why 113 shots have produced only five Premier League points

Manchester United have taken more shots than any other Premier League side this season, but Michael Carrick's team have collected only five points - and a closer look at the numbers helps explain why their apparent attacking dominance has not translated into results.

United have endured a difficult opening to the 2026-27 campaign, winning only once in the Premier League while also suffering an early EFL Cup exit to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Their five points from five league matches represent their joint-worst start at this stage since 2014-15, a striking contrast with the momentum Carrick generated last season.

Carrick is already facing scrutiny only months after being handed the permanent job following an impressive spell in interim charge.

Yet one statistic appears completely at odds with the results.

United are averaging 22.6 shots per Premier League game, the highest figure in the division, and have already attempted 113 efforts.

On the surface, that suggests a team regularly overwhelming opponents.

The reality is rather different.

United's 113 shots are not creating 113-shot danger

United's problem is not getting into positions from which they can shoot.

It is the quality of those positions.

A significant proportion of their efforts have come from outside the penalty area, reflecting the difficulty Carrick's side have experienced when attempting to break through compact defensive structures.

That distinction matters when assessing their expected-goals numbers.

United have accumulated 9.89 xG in the league, a total that appears relatively healthy, but 4.77 of that figure came in the victory over Ipswich Town alone.

Almost half of their overall attacking output by that measure was therefore concentrated in one match.

The pattern was visible again against Fulham.

United again dominated several attacking metrics at Craven Cottage, but still needed a late Matheus Cunha equaliser to escape with a 1-1 draw.

The result is a team capable of generating impressive shot totals without consistently creating opportunities of equivalent danger.

Their conversion rate has also suffered as a consequence.

Benjamin Sesko's physical problems have reduced Carrick's options through the middle, while Matheus Cunha has often been asked to operate as a false nine.

Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Rashford provide pace and individual threat from wider positions, but the attacking unit has yet to develop the combinations required to dismantle deeper defences regularly.

Bruno Fernandes remains central to almost everything.

Since the start of last season, the captain has been responsible for 44% of United's assists and 42.5% of their big chances created, making any decline in his own output particularly damaging to the side as a whole.

Carrick has lost the balance that worked last season

The attacking issues cannot be separated entirely from what is happening without the ball.

Carrick earned the permanent job after transforming United during the second half of last season, guiding them from the bottom half of the table to a third-placed finish and Champions League qualification.

His initial success was built around quicker, more vertical football and greater positional rotation.

Managing a full campaign across several competitions has presented a different challenge.

Mbeumo and Rashford have not always provided enough defensive protection for Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw, leaving United vulnerable in wide areas.

Several of the goals conceded this season have developed from situations in which a full-back has been isolated against an opponent before support arrives from elsewhere.

The squad construction has also contributed to the imbalance.

United's major summer investment was concentrated in midfield, with Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba arriving as part of an overhaul in that area.

Baleba completed a move worth an initial £65m after Santos and Tielemans had already arrived, taking United's investment in the centre of the pitch well beyond £150m.

Other positions received considerably less reinforcement.

In attack, injuries to Sesko and Amad Diallo have quickly exposed the lack of depth, leaving Joshua Zirkzee among the few senior alternatives when Carrick needs to change a game.

Shaw also remains the only recognised senior natural left-back, with Patrick Dorgu increasingly used further forward.

United's financial position partly explains the restraint after another year in which the club posted a significant loss, but the consequence is a squad that currently looks stronger in some departments than others.

That helps explain the contradiction between the statistics and the table.

United can take 20-plus shots, accumulate possession and spend long periods around the opposition penalty area without necessarily looking like a side in control.

The numbers suggest attacking activity.

What Carrick now needs is greater attacking clarity.