Manchester United: Three areas that the club need to improve in to transform their season

Manchester United are placed fourth in the Premier League table, ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea, but it still doesn't take away the fact this has been their joint worst start to a Premier League campaign after collecting only five points from their first four games, before a narrow win in their last match. On paper, it could have been a lot worse even in their opening game of the season against Chelsea when the scoreline ended up being 4-0 in their favour.

Losing to Crystal Palace at home in the manner that they did coupled with defensive lapses against Southampton and Wolves exposed the dark cloud of last season. A 1-0 win over Leicester City, courtesy Marcus Rashford's penalty, did little to inspire confidence. Yes, the team created some chances but were not clinical enough. A better defensive performance and David De Gea enabled United to preserve the clean sheet.

Without Paul Pogba, United showed that they didn't have another midfield player who could take charge of the game. Nemanja Matic stabilised the ship but his advancing age came into play as he was unable to stay sharp for the full 90 minutes thus substituted. A few adjustments could get United performing better which should be enough to beat some of the teams that cause them problems with each passing week.

Marcus Rashford is one designated set-piece taker for the club.

#3 Set pieces

In tight games, it is set pieces that can get a team over the line. Manchester United need to find set piece routines and takers that work for them. In a match they could have all of Harry Maguire (6 ft 4), Scott McTominay (6 ft 4), Nemanja Matic (6 ft 4) and Paul Pogba (6 ft 3) as target men in the box.

Maguire, in particular, poses an aerial threat and he is sometimes spotted as trying to direct the set-piece taker on where he wants the ball played. This is a testament to the fact that he is a leader and wants the ball. Being more clinical in set pieces including converting penalties can give United more goal options.

Harry Maguire is a good target man from set-pieces.

#2 Man-marking and positioning

United still have a relatively leaky defence.

This has been a huge problem for the Red Devils. Solskjaer has introduced a system of playing out from the back like what Manchester City, Barcelona and Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri did last season. It is clear that United players are not comfortable under the ball but are yet to be caught out. When the nature of opposition improve then they may be pushed back into their own territory which creates room for mistakes to happen.

To counter this, better man-marking and positioning is imperative, Consider the Crystal Palace game, for example. Maguire should have been better positioned the first goal as the last man to cover any loose balls that evaded Victor Lindelof.

This also applies to the second goal that they conceded. Positioning and man marking helps to anticipate the danger and gives players a better chance to deal with those situations. With these adjustments, United should display a better brand of football than what we have been accustomed to in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era.

#1 Formation

To flourish offensively, Pogba needs cover behind him.

It is no secret that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has set his team under variations of a 4-3-3 formation since the start of the season. He banks on the pace and youth of the front three to look for goals. When this fails, then the team is in trouble in terms of being vulnerable defensively. So much speed and energy is spent on the counter that the team is exposed when they lose the ball. Full back Aaron Wan-Bissaka pushes forward a lot and so does Luke Shaw.

In a 4-3-3 formation, with Pogba and Scott McTominay as central midfielders, United are vulnerable defensively because they do not have a midfield protector. The one player who could have done the dirty work, Ander Herrera, was shipped to France after contract negotiations broke down. Matic, the other viable option in midfield, is past his peak.

Solskjaer needs to fix this by switching to a 4-4-2 when defending and 4-3-3 on the attacking. How this can be achieved is by having a dynamic midfielder like Fred come in to support Pogba and McTominay. By doing so, he will free Pogba to do more Pogba-like things such as joining in the attack, assisting and scoring.

Ander Herrera has left the club.