Analyzing the performances of the top 6 teams in the Premier League

#6 Manchester United – Sixth Place

United have done well, its just that Manchester City has been far better

2016/17 Season: Last season was a strange one for Manchester United as they finished as low as 6th place, but still bagged 2 trophies including the Europa League which secured Champions League football for next season.

Chances were being created at Old Trafford but finishing was the issue for the Red Devils last season despite the presence of the talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic. United scored just 54 goals last season, lower than 9th-placed Bournemouth.

In addition to that, Zlatan and United led the ‘Big Chances Missed’ table last season with 18 and 50 respectively. However, fans were delighted by the improved quality of play and team synergy, compared to previous seasons.

2017/18 Season So Far: Not as good as City - that is the summary of Manchester United’s season so far. A points tally of 41 from the first 18 games would have been enough for United to top the table in each of the last ten seasons, but the Red Devils find themselves second best so far this term. Pogba has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 3 and assisting 5 in just 8 appearances this season, but United’s over-dependence on him has proved to be harmful as all but 4 of their dropped points have come from matches that the Frenchman had missed through injury and suspension.

Back to back draws against Leicester and Burnley have severely harmed United’s title chances as they have fallen 15 points behind Man City.

Young guns Martial and Rashford have also excelled this season with the duo bagging 10 goals and 8 assists combined. The month of December has seen a sharp upturn in the form of Jesse Lingard, with the Manchester boy scoring braces against Arsenal and Burnley to take his season tally to 6 goals and 4 assists.

New signings Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku have been in good form with the former anchoring the midfield and the latter scoring 10 goals in the league. David De Gea has been absolutely sensational this season and has proven to the world that he is one of the best goalkeepers.

Top Scorer(s): Romelu Lukaku (10)

Top Assister(s): Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkhitaryan (5)

Key Players: Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba, David De Gea, Nemanja Matic