After conceding a record-breaking 57 goals in the Premier League last season, few would have tipped David de Gea to be a leading contender for the Golden Glove this time around.
However, the Manchester United goalkeeper moved to the top of the Premier League's clean sheets chart after registering his 14th shutout of the campaign in Sunday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Goals either side of half-time from Antony and Diogo Dalot sealed a comfortable victory for the Reds, who were excellent on the banks of the Trent.
The win over Forest marked United's third successive clean sheet in the Premier League, meaning they have thwarted Brentford, Everton and Forest in their last three outings. Prior to this mini run, United had kept just one clean sheet in three.
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However, when you zoom out and analyse United's recent form from a distance, they have now kept six clean sheets in their last eight league outings. It is an impressive record and one that manager Erik ten Hag and his players ought to be proud of.
The clean sheet that was earned at Forest on Sunday deserves extra praise and recognition. Although they were up against a poor and out of form Forest side, who have not won since February 5, United were without Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw - all of whom have been excellent this term - through injury. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof started together at centre-back while Dalot was tasked with operating as an emergency left-back in the absence of Tyrell Malacia, who also missed out through injury.
Having the knowledge that he can now piece together any back-four and still watch his side keep a clean sheet will no doubt please Ten Hag and inject yet more confidence into his veins. United look strong and stable at the back nowadays, event though they were guilty of suffering a momentary blip against Sevilla in the Europa League last Thursday evening.
Nevertheless, the Reds have now kept 24 clean sheets in all competitions this season, 21 of which have been earned by De Gea. To have registered 24 clean sheets in 51 matches under Ten Hag is a phenomenal achievement, particularly when you assess the calibre of opposition that United have faced this season and the amount of injuries they have had to contend with throughout the campaign.
United were a defensive calamity last season, conceding 57 goals in the league alone, marking their worst defensive campaign since 1978/79. They kept just eight clean sheets in the Premier League and ten in total across all competitions. An improvement of 14 with up to another 14 games still to be played before the end of the season, depending on their progress in both the Europa League and the FA Cup, is impressive to say the least.
They have conceded 37 league goals this season, but it is fair to acknowledge that 17 of those were shipped in just three games [4-0 vs Brentford, 6-3 vs Manchester City and 7-0 vs Liverpool]. If you take those three games out of the equation for a moment, United have conceded just 20 goals in 27 games. It is an encouraging tally.
As has been well-documented throughout the campaign, United have struggled to score goals at a rapid rate of knots this season, meaning they have heavily relied on their defensive solidity for good results. They have scored just 46 Premier League goals this term - the lowest tally of any club currently camped inside the top five in the table.
Defensively, however, particularly at Old Trafford, United have been a tough nut to crack, and that should serve them even better next season if they manage to recruit the world-class striker that Ten Hag is craving. Powered by the Dutchman's no-nonsense approach and incredibly high standards, United now pride themselves on keeping the ball out of their own net and racking up clean sheets.
They boast a 47.06 clean sheet percentage under Ten Hag and that is as a result of his management style and determination to restore pride. United are often well-organised at the back - regardless of who plays - and can often be hard to break down.
From De Gea between the sticks to Casemiro taking up residency in front of the back-four, it has so far been a collective effort that everyone within the squad can be proud of. United are a different beast nowadays and their ever-increasing clean sheet tally is testament to that.
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