With almost one-third of the Premier League season gone, it's a good time to take stock and look at some of the key statistics to have emerged so far.
It hasn't been the best of starts for Manchester United in 2023/24, although we do head into the international break as the form team in the top-flight, having won four of our last five matches in the competition.
That places us sixth in the table, on 21 points from 12 games, as we sit seven points behind defending champions Manchester City, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa all jostling for position.
Our last two victories - against Fulham and Luton Town - have been clinched via a 1-0 scoreline and Andre Onana is faring well in the bid to succeed David De Gea as the winner of the Premier League's Golden Glove award.
The prize is given at the end of the season to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets and those two shutouts, coupled with blanks for Wolves and Burnley earlier in the season, mean the Cameroonian is hot on the heels of Sam Johnstone and Nick Pope.
The Crystal Palace and Newcastle United stoppers currently lead the charts with five clean sheets, while Onana is tied with several other keepers - Alisson, Ederson, David Raya and Guglielmo Vicario - on four.
United's solid first season under Erik ten Hag was built on not letting the opposition through and De Gea ended the campaign unbreached in 17 of his 38 matches but it is a team effort, as Andre was keen to point out.
"You improve with the team. When the team is winning, you will improve as well. At the end of the day, it's about the team," Onana told club media recently.
"I always say a clean sheet is not for me. It's for all of us, you know? I'm the big man in the back wall. I manage my defenders, you know. We always have to improve."
Official stats emphasise how the former Internazionale man is adjusting to life in the Premier League, as his 45 saves from the opening dozen matches can be beaten by only three keepers, in Wes Foderingham, Bernd Leno and Neto.
According to FBRef.com, Onana has saved 76.7 per cent of the shots he has faced, with only Alisson and Vicario preventing more goalbound efforts from finding the back of the net.
Comments