Manchester United suffered defeat against Arsenal but the Red Devils were anything but boring at Old Trafford.
Riccardo Calafiori scored the only goal of the game on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United lost 1-0 to Arsenal.
Once again, set pieces were United’s achilles heel, with Ruben Amorim’s side dominating much of the play but struggling to score past a resilient David Raya.
New signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo impressed, while Benjamin Sesko made a promising debut off the bench. The Red Devils came excruciatingly close to scoring, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo shake hands
Photo by Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Man United matched feat from 8-2 win over Arsenal
It has been 14 years since United’s legendary 8-2 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side embarrassed Arsene Wenger.
Since then, United’s record against Arsenal has been strong but has fallen off in recent years. Sunday’s defeat marked six losses in the last nine meetings.
However, Amorim can be proud of United’s performance against the Gunners, and one stat proves he was unlucky to not pick up any points on the opening weekend.
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As per BBC Sport, United recorded 20 shots in a single Premier League match against Arsenal for the first time since that iconic 8-2 victory.
In total, United took 22 shots against Arsenal, with David Raya making seven saves – the most of any goalkeeper on the opening weekend.
Man United showing signs of improvement
After last season’s 15th-placed finish in the Premier League, the only way is up for Amorim’s side. Despite the defeat, there were plenty of positives to take from Sunday’s result.
Not only did United dominate Arsenal in terms of shots, but the Red Devils bested the Gunners in almost every area.
United dominated possession with 62% and the expected goals stats prove Amorim’s side were unlucky.
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United created enough chances to expect to score 1.35 goals compared to Arsenal’s 0.29.
Instead of sitting back and counter-attacking, United took the initiative and pressed Arsenal high to force errors. Without a sloppy set-piece mistake, it easily could have been a very different result.