3rd Oct 2013 | Football
Manchester Losses A Glimpse Into The Future?
It is a rare weekend when both Manchester United and Manchester City lose. We examine whether they were just freak results or signs of underlying weakness.
It was long odds that both Manchester teams would lose last weekend but football is a sport adept at causing surprises.
Performance Judged Results
Adjusted scores if every 3.6 shots on target resulted in a goal
Using ‘shots on target’ as a proxy for performance, you can argue Man City were the more unfortunate of the two sides. City registered 7 shots on target compared to Villa’s 4 and had 13 more shots in total.
If you analyse the quality of the shots, Man City again come out on top; 12 of their shots were from inside the box, Aston Villa only had two. A moment of brilliance from Leandro Bacuna plus some uncharacteristic defensive lapses cost City the game, but overall the result can be stored in the ‘freak’ category.
On the other hand, Manchester United’s defeat at home to West Brom should concern David Moyes. In terms of total shots and shots on target there was very little to split the teams. As for quality of chances West Brom edged it, with their six chances in the box all coming from central positions.
Moving into the next round of fixtures Man City are 4/6 (BetVictor) to shake off a freak result and beat Everton at home, whilst Man United still have plenty to prove despite being 13/20 (BetVictor) to win at Sunderland.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 10:54 3rd Oct, 2013 but subject to change
