Manchester United registered yet another win on the board on Thursday evening as Alejandro Garnacho’s first-half strike against Real Sociedad was enough to secure three points.
The win was not enough to seal top spot in the group but there were still many positives to take and Erik ten Hag will be looking at the grand scheme of things.
The Dutchman is now unbeaten in his last nine games in all competitions and there’s a real sense of optimism at the club now – a far cry from the negativity surrounding Old Trafford just two months ago.
There are still improvements to be made all over the pitch and most notably in attack but one aspect has been especially impressive in this run.
Ten Hag has completely transformed United’s defending and that was confirmed by the win against Sociedad, with one stat standing out.
The 1-0 win means that United have now kept six clean sheets from their last seven games in all competitions and the only goal conceded was a late penalty at Stamford Bridge.
That means that no team has been able to find the net against United through open play for over 630 minutes of action – a truly outstanding record.
The addition of Lisandro Martinez and return of Raphael Varane have certainly helped the cause but more importantly, you can see that there’s a clear structure in place. Additionally, United’s resilience has coincided with Casemiro coming into the team.
Ten Hag will be keen on overseeing similar improvement in other areas of the pitch but setting a solid foundation at the back is always the first step.
It looks like United have struck gold in that department and it’s now up to the coaching staff and players to replicate that for the rest of the season.
