Out-run? Walking too much? Man Utd's running stats examined
Man Utd drew 1-1 at Fulham on Sunday thanks to a late deflected Matheus Cunha shot; Michael Carrick's side were criticised for their intensity and stats show they rank bottom in the Premier League for high-speed runs this season and were out-run at Craven Cottage
Manchester United's intensity levels are back in the spotlight after their 1-1 draw at Fulham in the Premier League.
Matheus Cunha gave a damning view from inside the squad, telling Sky Sports : "They put in more energy than us, we cannot accept this."
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said: "I've never seen a Man Utd team walk out of possession as much as that."
So what do the stats say about United's work-rate at Craven Cottage - and how big a problem is it for Michael Carrick?
Man Utd rank joint-bottom in the Premier League for high-speed runs, according to Opta.
They are level with Man City on 1691 high-speed runs - but their neighbours played with 10 men for the majority of the derby at Old Trafford, which needs to be factored into their figures.
Man Utd spent 52.98 per cent of their time out of possession at Fulham walking.
Seven teams have posted a higher figure this term, although it is the highest percentage Man Utd have recorded this season.
United's average for this campaign of 51.13 per cent ranks them 17 th in the Premier League.
Since the start of last season there have been 30 times a team has spent a greater percentage of time walking out of possession in a Premier League match than Man Utd did at Fulham.
That includes the 54.59 per cent United recorded in their 3-0 win at Brighton on the final day of last season.
Man Utd ran 110.2km on Sunday - the second-lowest total of the Premier League weekend, behind Liverpool's 108.4km figure at Bournemouth.
United ran 6.5km less than Fulham - the second biggest difference between teams this season when both keep 11 men on the pitch. (Arsenal out-ran Coventry by 6.8km on the opening night of the season).
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.skysports.com — the content belongs to Sky Sports Football.