Manchester United stats Louis van Gaal won't want to see
By Peter Smith
Last Updated: 18/05/16 1:00pm
Manchester United have finished the Premier League season outside of the Champions League qualifying spots - and here are some stats under pressure boss Louis van Gaal won't want to see.
The Dutchman was booed by some United fans on Tuesday night, following his side's 3-1 win over Bournemouth.
The result was only good enough to secure fifth-place in the league and, despite an FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday, speculation over Van Gaal's future is rife.
Here, we take a look at some of the numbers behind a frustrating season for United…
Man Utd's best and worst Premier League seasons
| Rank | Season | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999/00 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 97 | 45 | 91 | 1st |
| 2 | 2008/09 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 68 | 24 | 90 | 1st |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 22 | 2014/15 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 62 | 37 | 70 | 4th |
| 23 | 2015/16 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 35 | 66 | 5th |
| 24 | 2013/14 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 64 | 43 | 64 | 7th |
POINTS
Manchester United finished the season on 66 points. Only once before have they ended a Premier League campaign with fewer - the 64 points they managed under David Moyes and Ryan Giggs in 2013/14.
United recorded their joint-lowest number of wins in a Premier League season. They were victorious just 19 times - the same total they managed in that 2013/14 Moyes campaign.
United were beaten 10 times in the Premier League - only the second time they have reached double figures in defeats. They lost 12 times in 2013/14.
GOALS
Perhaps Manchester United's most obvious problem this season has been goalscoring. United have set a new club record for the fewest goals scored in a Premier League season after netting just 49 times in 2015/16.
United's previous low was 58 in 2004/05, while their best goalscoring season in the Premier League was in 1999/2000, when they found the back of the net on 97 occasions.
Moyes/Van Gaal v Fergie
Sir Alex Ferguson's last two seasons in charge of Manchester United saw the club score a total of 175 goals. The three seasons since he left have yielded the same number.
United's 49 goals this season ranks them 10th in the Premier League for goals scored.
Anthony Martial finished as United's top scorer with 11 goals. That matches the lowest total scored by Manchester United's leading scorer in a season - Wayne Rooney scored 11 in 2004/05.
Man Utd top scorers in Premier League this season
Anthony Martial - 11
Wayne Rooney - 8
Juan Mata - 6
CHANCE CREATION
Manchester United's forwards may point to a lack of service for their low goals total. Van Gaal's side conjured up 312 openings this season - only Watford, Aston Villa and West Brom created fewer chances.
Of those United chances, Opta deem 44 of them to have been 'big' chances. In contrast, Arsenal made twice as many (88).
As a result, Manchester United had 430 shots on goal - ranking them 15th out of the 20 Premier League clubs in this measure. Tottenham had the most - 229 more than United.
Manchester United produced these low shot and chance creation numbers despite having more possession on average than any other team in the Premier League (58.47 per cent).
STRUGGLES AGAINST THE STRUGGLERS
Manchester United took 27 points off teams in the top half this season. Only West Ham (30) and Leicester (29) won more. But United's problem was beating teams at the other end of the table - four of their nine Premier League defeats came against teams which finished in the bottom seven.
LACK OF EXCITEMENT
Even Van Gaal admitted he was sometimes bored by United's play this season and his side finished the campaign with the most 1-0 wins (eight) and joint-most 0-0 draws (five, same as Man City) in the Premier League.
United failed to score in 10 Premier League games and 12 of their 19 wins were by a one-goal margin. Only Leicester (14) had more wins by a one-goal margin.
On top of that, Old Trafford saw fewer Premier League goals than any other stadium in the division - just 36 goals were scored at the Theatre of Dreams this term.
Twenty-seven of those goals were for the home side - never before have Manchester United scored fewer goals at Old Trafford in the Premier League (previous low was 29 in 2013/14).
Premier League grounds - fewest goals
| Home team | Stadium | Number of goals (PL rank) |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | The Emirates | 42 (t-17th) |
| Crystal Palace | Selhurst Park | 42 (t-17th) |
| Swansea | Liberty Stadium | 40 (18th) |
| Watford | Vicarage Road | 39 (19th) |
| Man United | Old Trafford | 36 (20th) |
CASE FOR THE DEFENCE...
One area where Van Gaal's side did excel was in defence. United finished with the joint-best record in the Premier League after conceding just 35 times - the same number as Tottenham.
United also recorded the joint-most clean sheets (18, tied with Arsenal) and goalkeeper David de Gea came second in the Golden Glove standings behind the Gunners' Petr Cech.