Manchester United news: Red Devils have the best shooting accuracy stats in the in Europe's big-five leagues, according to a study

What's the story?

Premier League club Manchester United might not have had a great season so far, but they have emerged the best in Europe when it comes to the shots that have been on target, according to sports statistics organization CIES.

The International Centre for Sports Studies, known mostly by the initials CIES, has published in its weekly post the stats compiled over the season for the total number of shots taken by a team and the shots which actually hit the target.

Surprisingly, Manchester United have emerged as the sharpest shooters in Europe, with their percent of 48.6% shots on target, giving them the bragging rights ahead of La Liga giants Barcelona, who marginally missed the spot.

In case you didn't know...

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered the first defeat of his interim charge at Manchester United against their arch-rivals Arsenal in their latest PL fixture, ending the Norwegian's unbeaten run.

The club has scored 50 goals in the league this season, which is the fifth-highest in the league, but a far cry from their city rivals Manchester City, who lead the European goal-scoring charts alongside PSG with 79 goals in their domestic competitions.

The heart of the matter...

After pulling off an unlikely win in the injury time against PSG in the Champions League Round of 16 fixture, United faced Arsenal at the Emirates.

But the hosts proved too good for them and they lost 2-0 to the Gunners, in a game where their reliable keeper David De Gea had been criticized for letting in the first goal of the match.

David De Gea has conceded 6⃣ goals from outside the box in @premierleague this season - only conceded more than that once in his 8 seasons at @ManUtd (conceded 9 from outside box in 2013-14)#ARSMUN pic.twitter.com/I8OBWOJ0Rp

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) March 10, 2019

Though this defeat means they remain outside the top four, for now, they must be content with the fact that they are ahead of the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Manchester City with the best shot accuracy across Europe's top five leagues.

5 Premier League clubs make it into the top 20 accurate shooters in Europe (Source: Sky Sports)

What's next?

Having suffered the first defeat of his Manchester United career, Solksjaer is likely to make some changes to the team that he has made a genuine contender for a Champions League spot next season.