Combining every season — this one is larger, give it a moment.
Team reportPremier League 2026
Man Utd
A possession-dominant side, aggressive high-press out of possession, with a high-volume attack. Currently #16 of 20 on 7 points (1-4-3, 10:13). Tactical profile below is built from 8 matches of ball-by-ball event data, contextualised against the league.
In one read, what kind of team is Man Utd and how good was the season?
Read. Man Utd currently sit #16 of 20 on 7 points (1W-4D-3L, 0.88 pts/game), scoring 10 and conceding 13 for a goal difference of -3.
On the ball they are a possession-dominant team (60% field tilt, #5 in the league); off it they defend with a aggressive high-press (#11 of 20 for press intensity).
Across the 8 matches of event data, they create 1.61 xG/game (#4) and concede 1.11 (#4), a net of +0.50 xG/game — the underlying performance matches the actual goal difference.
Season Context — the league table
The question
Where did Man Utd actually finish, and against whom?
The authoritative final table (full season), centred on Man Utd.
#
team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
13
Bournemouth
8
2
3
3
12
13
-1
9
14
Tottenham
8
2
3
3
8
10
-2
9
15
Fulham
8
2
2
4
8
10
-2
8
16
Man Utd
8
1
4
3
10
13
-3
7
17
Crystal Palace
8
2
1
5
9
19
-10
7
18
Nottingham Forest
8
1
3
4
6
10
-4
6
19
Coventry
8
2
0
6
6
15
-9
6
Match Momentum — when they create and concede danger
The question
Across a whole game, which periods does Man Utd actually dominate for chances — and which periods hurt them?
Net xG (created minus conceded) in each 15-minute window, summed across the whole season's matches — above the line is time they dominate for chances, below is time it hurts them. Real on-clock shot timing.
dominant (net xG for)conceding (net xG against)
Vision AI Model Insight
Man Utd tend to come alive after the break — first-half net xG -1.03, second-half +5.06. Their strongest period is 61-75' (net +2.11 xG); their most dangerous period to face is 16-30' (net -0.61 xG against them).
xG Race — the season, match by match
Expected goals piling up over 8 matches: Man Utd against what their opponents created. A line pulling away upwards is a side creating more than it gives away; the gap at the end is the season’s balance (+4.0 xG). Hover a point for that match.
Man UtdOpponents against Man Utd
Tactical DNA
The football question
In five genes, what is Man Utd's footballing identity?
Each gene is a 0–100 score — the team's league percentile across the metrics that define that phase of play. It distils the whole report into an identity fingerprint: the taller the gene, the more that trait defines them.
75
Build-Up
possession control from the back
92
Progression
moving the ball upfield with threat
83
Creation
manufacturing chances
60
Press
winning the ball high & hard
80
Solidity
resisting the opponent's threat
Genetic identity
Man Utd are defined most by their Progression DNA (92/100 · elite at moving the ball upfield with threat), and least by their Press DNA (60/100). Percentiles vs the 20 teams in the league.
The Playstyle Wheel
Fifteen style metrics across five domains — Possess, Disrupt, Finish, Press, Defend — each a percentile against the rest of the league. Metrics marked ~proxy use the closest available event-data signal where the standard definition needs data this feed doesn't carry (explicit pressure events, offside/keeper-sweep incidents).
Possess
Deep buildup
43%
Possession
70%
Field tilt
74%
Disrupt
Central progression ~proxy
48%
Dribble tendency
9%
Progressive passes
96%
Finish
Final-third patience
9%
Shot quality
30%
Open-play xG
91%
Press
Forward press ~proxy
52%
High regains
35%
Pressing efficiency ~proxy
65%
Defend
Def-mid press ~proxy
61%
High line ~proxy
30%
PAdj defensive actions
65%
Man Utd is defined most by Possess (62% in the league) and weakest on Finish (43%). Percentiles vs the 23 teams in the league this season.
In possession
In possession
How they keep the ball, build up, progress, create and finish, and where their attacks die.
How much of the pitch does Man Utd actually control, relative to the rest of the league?
Field tilt = share of final-third touches between the two sides across Man Utd's matches, the standard proxy for territorial dominance. Plotted against points per game for every side in the league — the real question isn't just who controls territory, it's whether that control actually converts into results. Dashed lines mark the league average on each axis; Man Utd highlighted. Hover any dot for the team.
Vision AI Model Insight
Man Utd post 60% field tilt, ranking #5 of 20 in the league — comfortably above the league mid-point for territorial control, and their 0.88 points/game sits below the league-average return — a real disconnect: their territorial control isn't showing up on the scoreboard the way it should.
Where the time goes — how long each phase lasts
The question
When Man Utd has the ball, how much of that time is spent building, progressing and creating?
The share of Man Utd's time on the ball spent in each phase of play, in the order the phases happen. A phase is where the ball is on the pitch (own third, middle third, final third); a transition or a set piece skips the build-up and is counted on its own.
Phase
Share of the time
Build-up
21.2%
Progression
47.5%
Chance creation
29.1%
Attacking transition
2.3%
Vision AI Model Insight
Progression is where Man Utd spends most of its time on the ball (47% of its time on the ball).
Passing Network
The question
Who actually plays with whom — the real on-pitch connections, not just average positions?
Every pass linked to its likely receiver (the next same-team touch), aggregated into player-pair combinations at each player's average position. Line width = how often the pair combines; colour = threat generated per pass (blue low → red high). Hover a line for the pair, or click a player to isolate their connections.
width = passes between the paircolour = xT per pass: low → high
Top 10 combinations
Maguire ↔ Martínez
90p · -0.7xT
Fernandes ↔ Mainoo
86p · 0.7xT
Fernandes ↔ Tielemans
83p · 1.0xT
Shaw ↔ Martínez
78p · -0.8xT
Tielemans ↔ Mainoo
71p · 0.4xT
Martínez ↔ Mainoo
69p · -0.1xT
Martínez ↔ Lammens
67p · -0.5xT
Maguire ↔ Tielemans
65p · 0.4xT
Fernandes ↔ Mbeumo
61p · 1.9xT
Maguire ↔ Dalot
60p · -0.5xT
Vision AI Model Insight
Busiest connection: Harry Maguire ↔ Lisandro Martínez (90 passes). Most dangerous per pass: Bruno Fernandes ↔ Bryan Mbeumo (0.03 xT/pass over 61 passes) — the combination that hurts opponents most when it fires, not just the one used most.
Touch Density — where Man Utd had the ball
Every touch across 80 matches. Brighter means more touches.
Which Zones Do They Attack Through?
The question
Across the whole pitch, where does Man Utd actually do its on-ball work?
Passes on one map, carries (the ball travelling with a player) on the other. Each is binned into the 15 pitch zones (three thirds × five vertical lanes) and shaded by its share of that kind of action; the arrows are the real actions.
Passes
the ball moved by a pass
4586
ACTIONS
Carries
the ball moved with a player
1173
ACTIONS
Vision AI Model Insight
Their single busiest zone is the centre of the middle third (13.5% of all actions). 67% of actions run through the inside lanes (centre + both half-spaces) versus 33% down the two wings — an inside-dominant, half-space build. By third: 23% defensive, 50% middle, 27% attacking.
Attack Sides
Which channel they attacked through this season: the share of every action made in the opponent’s half, down the left, through the middle and down the right. Man Utd spread it evenly (no channel above 36%). The bars under the pitch put the league’s share beside theirs.
Man Utd
36%28%36%
League
39%24%37%
Final-Third Entries
Every completed pass or carry that took the ball from outside the final third into it, by the channel it arrived in. Man Utd made 471 this season (58.9 a match); 26% came into the left wing. Longer, bolder arrows mean more entries. Entries by carrying the ball in count as well as completed passes; dribbles are not counted.
Channel
Entries
Per match
Share
League share
Left wing
122
15.2
26%
31%
Left half-space
77
9.6
16%
16%
Centre
84
10.5
18%
13%
Right half-space
78
9.8
17%
14%
Right wing
110
13.8
23%
27%
Build-up2 sections
Build-Up — the pass map
The football question
How does Man Utd progress possession from defence into attack — and who runs it?
Build-up passes grouped into 5 real categories — not the old zone grid, not raw individual lines: CB (passer is a centre-back), Wide→FB, Central, Long Wide, Long Central. Each gets its own panel below, so nothing competes for attention. Arrow width = volume, labelled with the exact count; hover for the top passer.
1057build-up passes attempted
81%completed
29%reach the middle third
2%go long into the final third
Pass types
397CB · 46%
38Long Wide · 4%
4Long Central · 0%
317Wide → FB · 37%
104Central · 12%
Sequence success — build-up
71build-up sequences this season
14%succeed — reach the next third or a shot
38%turned over with nothing to show
CB397 · 46%
Long Wide38 · 4%
Long Central4 · 0%
Wide → FB317 · 37%
Central104 · 12%
◆ Vision AI Insight
Man Utd build predominantly down the left, with Lammens as the fulcrum (153 build-up passes). Only 31% of their build-up passes actually advance a third — the rest is lateral circulation, the hallmark of a possession-controlling side that circulates patiently in midfield before progressing. Their single most-repeated pattern is LHS def → C def (66×).
Pass Explorer
Every pass of Man Utd’s last 8 matches as an arrow, theirs first and the opponents’ with other team, each side attacking left to right (solid = completed, dashed grey = failed). Eight families per team — click any map to open it wide, then filter by channel or third, from one to another (or click a cell of the flow grids), by outcome, half, minute and passer. Channels: right wing, right half-space, centre, left half-space, left wing.
From channel
To channel
From third
To third
Outcome
Minutes
Channel to channel · click a cell
Third to third · click a cell
Progression4 sections
How They Progress — the mechanism
Not just how many progressive passes, but where they start, who plays them, and whether they actually penetrate. 413 progressive passes across 8 matches (51.6/game).
Origin lane
Right wing
25%
Right half-space
15%
Central
11%
Left half-space
15%
Left wing
33%
Progression is left-dominant: 40% right side · 11% central · 48% left.
Who generates it
Bruno Fernandes
62 · 15%
Diogo Dalot
40 · 10%
Lisandro Martínez
37 · 9%
Youri Tielemans
33 · 8%
Luke Shaw
29 · 7%
Top two — Bruno Fernandes & Diogo Dalot — account for 25% of all progression.
PROGRESSION
51.6 prog passes/game
mostly left
→
PENETRATION
25% reach final third
21% reach the box
→
THREAT
the other 75% is recycled
progress ≠ danger
What came of it.25% of progressive passes reached the final third and 21% the box; the rest was recycled in front of the block. 25% of the progression ran through two players, mostly down the left side.
Which lanes actually create the threat
Share of passes played from each lane against its share of the threat (xT) they add. Efficient = more threat than volume, sterile = lots of the ball, little damage.
Per lane — volume vs threat
Right wingbalanced
Right half-spacebalanced
Centralbalanced
Left half-spacesterile
Left wingbalanced
Progression — the pass map
The football question
Once Man Utd have the ball in midfield, how do they actually break into the final third — and who carries that job?
Progression passes grouped into 5 real categories: CB, Wide→FB, Central, Long Wide, Long Central. Each gets its own panel below, so nothing competes for attention. Arrow width = volume, labelled with the exact count; hover for the top passer.
2253progression passes attempted
88%completed
18%break into the final third
10%go backward into the defensive third
Pass types
691CB · 35%
57Long Wide · 3%
6Long Central · 0%
905Wide → FB · 45%
334Central · 17%
Sequence success — progression
79progression sequences this season
39%succeed — reach the next third or a shot
37%turned over with nothing to show
CB691 · 35%
Long Wide57 · 3%
Long Central6 · 0%
Wide → FB905 · 45%
Central334 · 17%
◆ Vision AI Insight
Man Utd progress predominantly down the left, with Maguire the busiest midfield outlet (255 progression passes). Only 18% of passes that start in midfield actually break the final-third line — the rest (73%) is recycled back into midfield or (10%) played backward, the hallmark of a side that carries progression itself through midfield rather than just passing through it. Their most-repeated pattern is RHS mid → C mid (111×) — press that lane and midfield progression stalls.
Decision Quality — not all completed passes are equal
A 90% pass completion can hide a sideways habit. Grading every pass by the threat it adds separates value creation from safe circulation.
Excellent (high xT gain)
15%
Progressive
1%
Neutral / sideways
47%
Safe / backward
37%
16% of passes are progressive-or-better; the remaining 84% keep possession without advancing it. A control-first side — safe in build-up, reliant on a few players for the incision.
Where does Man Utd actually progress the ball with their feet, not a pass?
279 progressive carries this season across the whole squad (24% of 1173 tracked carries total), grouped into up to 4 spatial patterns by where each carry starts and ends together — not just its origin zone. Median 15m, longest 43m. Most active carrier: Maguire (53). Filter to one player below.
First (89)Second (78)Third (66)Fourth (46)grouped by carry pattern (start + end position), largest group first
startendown goal left, attacking →
Chance creation4 sections
Chance creation — how the shots come
The question
Where do Man Utd's chances actually come from?
Every shot sorted twice. First by the kind of attack: an attacking transition (the shot came within 15 seconds of winning the ball), a settled attack (open play after the team had the ball), or a set piece. Then by how it was set up: a cross, a cut-back, a long ball, a pass into the box, or no pass at all (the player created it himself). So a cut-back from an attacking transition is counted apart from a cut-back in a settled attack.
155shots
12.9xG
0.08xG per shot
5big chances (0.3+ xG)
9goals
#1key passes / game in the league
#4box entries / game in the league
Kind of attack, then how the shot was set up
Shots
Goals
xG
xG / shot
Attacking transition19% of shots
30
2
2.37
0.08
Cross
3
0
0.22
0.07
Long ball
6
1
0.58
0.10
Pass into the box / short pass
16
1
1.30
0.08
Own creation (carry, dribble, rebound)
5
0
0.27
0.05
Settled attack58% of shots
90
6
7.91
0.09
Cross
14
2
1.65
0.12
Cut-back
8
1
0.91
0.11
Long ball
3
0
0.17
0.06
Pass into the box / short pass
46
2
2.53
0.06
Own creation (carry, dribble, rebound)
19
1
2.65
0.14
Set piece23% of shots
35
1
2.61
0.07
Corner
31
0
1.75
0.06
Free kick
3
0
0.06
0.02
Penalty
1
1
0.79
0.79
Every attempt to create — and what came of it
Every pass into the box, every cut-back and every pass before a shot. Red led to a shot, gold to a goal; grey ones were tried but no shot came: solid found a team-mate, dashed lost the ball. Filter by outcome, type or player; tap an arrow for the detail.
Who sets the shots up
Player
Set-ups
xG created
Goals
Matheus Cunha
11
1.19
2
Bruno Fernandes
10
0.90
1
Youri Tielemans
9
0.81
1
Diogo Dalot
13
0.78
0
Bryan Mbeumo
10
0.73
0
Who takes them
Player
Shots
xG
Goals
Bryan Mbeumo
26
3.34
4
Bruno Fernandes
23
2.54
3
Matheus Cunha
17
1.24
1
Marcus Rashford
13
0.90
0
Patrick Dorgu
6
0.78
0
Vision AI Model Insight
The biggest source of Man Utd's chances, by xG, is settled attack (7.9 of 12.9 xG, 90 of 155 shots), mostly own creation (carry, dribble, rebound). 30 of the 155 shots (19%) came within 15 seconds of winning the ball. 35 of the 155 shots came from set pieces; 9 goals from 12.9 xG (-3.9).
Chance Creation — the pass map
The football question
How does Man Utd consistently create dangerous chances — from which zones, and who creates them?
Key passes (the pass immediately before a shot) grouped into 5 real categories: CB, Wide→FB, Central, Long Wide, Long Central. Each gets its own panel below, so nothing competes for attention. Arrow width = volume, labelled with the exact count; hover for the top creator.
Pass types
22CB · 20%
8Long Wide · 7%
10Long Central · 9%
36Wide → FB · 32%
36Central · 32%
Sequence success — final-third
61final-third sequences this season
26%succeed — produce a shot
39%turned over with nothing to show
Danger Funnel — which service carries threat
Every key pass pooled by where it was played FROM, then drawn with its arrow width set by total xT rather than by count. A zone that produces a lot of cheap balls shrinks; one that produces a few decisive ones dominates. Where this disagrees with the volume map, the volume map is the misleading one.
0 key passes shown● low threat● mid● high threatarrow width = total xT, not count
CB22 · 20%
Long Wide8 · 7%
Long Central10 · 9%
Wide → FB36 · 32%
Central36 · 32%
Who creates — volume × threat
16Fernandes
14Dalot
12Mbeumo
12Rashford
10Cunha
9Tielemans
6Mainoo
112key passes #1 of 20
16.2box entries/game #4 of 20
45.5final-3rd entries/game #1 of 20
1.61xG/game #4 of 20
9goals #10 of 20
-3.9finishing vs xG #18 of 20
◆ Vision AI Insight
Man Utd lean right — 40% of their key passes come from that flank and its half-space (45 of 112), most often from Dalot (10). They funnel chances into the c of the final third, most often via RHS att → C att (12 key passes, most often from Mbeumo). Fernandes is the primary source overall. They generate 1.61 xG a game and finish it wasteful — they under-perform their xG, led by Bryan Mbeumo (4G), Bruno Fernandes (3G), Benjamin Sesko (1G).
Crosses & Cutbacks — squad-wide
The question
How does Man Utd deliver into the box from wide areas, and what comes of it?
137 crosses: 46 found a team-mate (34%), 20 led to a shot (15%). 31 cut-backs: 11 found a team-mate (35%), 7 led to a shot (23%). A cross starts wide and is aimed into the box; a cut-back starts near the byline and is squared back. Grey ones were tried but no shot came: solid found a team-mate, dashed lost the ball.
Crosses by Territory
The question
Which part of the final third does Man Utd actually cross from?
137 crosses this season (the same crosses as the map above), split into fifteen territories — five channels (both wings, both half-spaces and the centre) by three depths from the halfway line to the byline. 26% come from one territory, the byline right wing; 12 come from the half-spaces and 0 from the centre.
Territory
Crosses
Share
Led to a shot
byline · right wing
36
26%
4
advanced · left wing
28
20%
4
byline · left wing
27
20%
2
advanced · right wing
21
15%
5
deep · left wing
7
5%
0
deep · right wing
6
4%
1
advanced · right half-space
6
4%
2
byline · left half-space
3
2%
2
advanced · left half-space
2
1%
0
deep · right half-space
1
1%
0
Finishing3 sections
Shot Map
155 shots for 12.9 xG (1.61/game, #4 in the league). Click an area of the box to see who shoots from there; filter by outcome, player or match.
High-volume attack. 19.4 shots/game at 0.083 xG/shot. Box entries 16/game (#4). Threat created 12.9 xT/game (#1).
Goal Sequences
The move behind each of Man Utd’s 10 goals this season, from the moment they got the ball to the finish. Pick a goal from the list, then step through it or press Play: numbered circles are passes and touches, dotted lines are carries (the ball travelling with a player), dashed grey is a pass that was lost, the star is the shot.
Each goal’s possession, rebuilt from the raw event feed — 10 goals traced.
How Do They Score?
The question
Where do the goals actually come from — open play, dead balls, which foot?
Every goal Man Utd scored across the loaded matches, broken down by how it was created and finished.
By situation
Open play
8 · 89%
Set pieces
0 · 0%
Penalties
1 · 11%
By finish
Right foot
3 · 33%
Left foot
5 · 56%
Header
1 · 11%
Vision AI Model Insight
9 goals scored. 89% come in open play; set pieces add 0%. Open play is clearly their main route to goal.
When they lose it1 section
Ball-Loss Map — where attacks die
Every turnover has a location and a cause. This is a rate, not a raw count — the share of pass attempts from each zone that end in a turnover, so a zone they simply play through more often doesn't automatically look riskier. Grey cells are real zones with too few attempts to trust a rate.
Loss rate by zone
How they lose it
Incomplete pass — attacking third
288
Failed forward pass
187
Failed take-on
75
Lost in the defensive third
197
Their weakest zone is the left half-space in the attacking third: 26% of 209 pass attempts there are lost (55 times). Separately, 39% of all losses happen in the attacking third — a fair share happen deeper, which invites transitions.
Out of possession
Out of possession
How they press, where they win the ball back, and how they concede.
How hard does Man Utd press, where, and does it actually work — beyond a single PPDA number?
A composite Pressing Index built from four event-derived dimensions, each ranked against the league. Not one metric — intensity, height, effectiveness and opponent disruption together. The pitch shows every defensive action (the only five events this data records); the white line is the average height that feeds the score. Toggle by action type below, hover any dot for the player.
41
Pressing Index /100 · average
Intensity22
PPDA, high-press share, high-zone actions
Height30
how high up the pitch they defend
Effectiveness62
high recoveries & high-regain share
Disruption50
opponent completion & progression allowed
Every defensive action & where it happens
Where they win the ball back — by lane
RW
15%
RHS
25%
C
23%
LHS
23%
LW
15%
By third (high / mid / low regain)
Def 47%
Mid 40%
Att 13%
Read
Ranked #11 of 20 for press intensity, this is a high press. 53% of defensive actions happen in the middle & attacking thirds, at an average height of 38. Of recoveries, 52% are won high up the pitch.
Every pressing metric, ranked in the league
metric
value
rank
meaning
PPDA (opp passes per def action)
—
#11/20
lower = more intense; rank is what matters
Defensive actions / game
156
#10/20
High-press share
20%
#18/20
def actions won high up
Defensive-action height (0–100)
38.2
#14/20
avg pitch height of actions
High recoveries / game
24.1
#4/20
ball won in mid+att third
High-recovery share
52%
#11/20
share of recoveries won high
Opponent completion allowed
80%
#11/20
lower = more disruptive
Opponent progressive allowed
8.5%
#9/20
of opp passes, lower = better
Transition timing
This source carries per-event timestamps, so genuine transition metrics — counter-attack shots, press→shot conversions, time-to-recover — are measured; see the dedicated Transitions section below.
How long they keep it — passes and seconds until the ball is won
The question
Once the opponent has the ball, how many passes and how many seconds pass before Man Utd win it back with a defensive action?
Counted over the 291 opposition possessions that Man Utd ended with a tackle, interception, recovery or challenge. Fewer passes and seconds means the ball is won quickly (a press); more means the opponent is allowed to play before Man Utd step in. Man Utd win it after 5.6 opponent passes in the first half-hour and after 3.7 after the hour mark (sooner).
PASSES THEY GET
4.6passes
median 2 · before Man Utd win it
TIME THEY KEEP IT
13sec
median 5s · 36.4 wins per game
How many passes the opponent got in before the ball was won
51%
21%
17%
12%
0–2 passes3–5 passes6–9 passes10+ passes
Through the match — every 15 minutes
0–15′
6.0
19s
15–30′
5.2
14s
30–45+′
5.2
15s
45–60′
4.3
12s
60–75′
4.0
13s
75–90+′
3.5
10s
average passesaverage seconds
Attitude in each third
Every other style number here says how much Man Utd does. This says
how: wide or central, short or long, patient or direct. Bars are standard deviations
from the league mean for passes played from that third; a solid bar marks a dimension
where Man Utd are genuinely unusual, and a verdict is only written where something clears
0.85 sd — a side that is ordinary in a third is told so rather than given a label
for average play.
Build-up (own third) 1,057 passes
shorter passing
Width of use-0.3020.38
Wide-channel share-0.680.26
Side bias+0.512.07
Pass length-0.8819.55
Long-ball share-0.530.18
Forward gain per pass-0.369.89
Backward-pass share-0.560.17
Deep-pass share-0.530.24
Completion+0.250.82
Seconds between passes-0.333.12
Side used
left 29% · central 46% · right 25%
Progression (middle third) 2,253 passes
played inside, narrow, central
Width of use-1.1023.24
Wide-channel share-1.240.32
Side bias+0.592.39
Pass length-0.6416.33
Long-ball share-0.530.08
Forward gain per pass-0.053.53
Backward-pass share-0.580.31
Deep-pass share-0.600.13
Completion+0.550.88
Seconds between passes-0.163.12
Side used
left 35% · central 35% · right 29%
Final third 1,276 passes
narrow, central, played inside, safer
Width of use-1.0429.05
Wide-channel share-0.920.51
Side bias-0.09-1.07
Pass length-0.3914.87
Long-ball share-0.660.07
Forward gain per pass-0.80-0.02
Backward-pass share+0.690.43
Deep-pass share-0.460.07
Completion+0.910.77
Seconds between passes-0.533.00
Side used
left 38% · central 21% · right 41%
Reference measured across roughly 3,500 match-teams
in this competition, per third, so the comparison is with Man Utd's own league. The means
behave as football should: width of use grows 21.0 → 25.6 → 31.6 going forward,
pass length shrinks 22.7 → 17.2 → 15.5 m, and completion is hardest in the
final third. Tempo is integer-resolution because the feed records whole seconds.
Transitions1 section
Transitions — attacking & defensive
The question
When Man Utd win or lose the ball, what actually happens in the seconds after?
Reconstructed from the full timestamped event stream: real possession spells (not zone-clustered), and shots that follow a regain within a fixed window. This phase of play needs ordered, per-event timestamps — which every match here carries.
Direct play share16%
#17 of 20 · reaches final third in ≤3 passes
Patient build-up share28%
#8 of 20 · spells of 6+ passes
Tempo (possession length)17.6s
#11 of 20 · shorter = faster tempo
Passes per possession4.7
#8 of 20
Counter-attack shots /game1.15
#7 of 20 · shot within 12s of a regain in own half
Press→shot /game3.11
#7 of 20 · shot within 8s of a high regain
Speed to final third after regain11.6s
#4 of 20 · lower = faster break
Sequence success — defensive transition
14defensive transition sequences this season
71%succeed — reach the next third or a shot
7%turned over with nothing to show
Vision AI Model Insight
Man Utd are a patient build-up side: 16% of possessions reach the final third in 3 passes or fewer (#17 of 20), against 28% built patiently over 6+ passes (#8 of 20). Winning the ball back leads to a shot inside 12 seconds 1.15 times a game (#7), and a high regain converts to a shot within 8 seconds 3.11 times a game (#7 of 20) — a modest but real source of chances.
Defending the box2 sections
Vulnerability Map — how opponents hurt them
The report flipped: where do opponents create their threat against Man Utd? 302 opponent progressive passes and 87 shots faced (8.9 xG against) across the season.
Opponent threat by lane (attacking into Man Utd)
Right wing
31%
Right half-space
10%
Central
19%
Left half-space
14%
Left wing
26%
Where the danger came from. Opponents generated most of their threat through the right wing (31% of the danger conceded).
How Do They Concede?
The question
Where do the goals against Man Utd actually come from — open play, dead balls, and who supplies them?
Every goal Man Utd conceded across the loaded matches — the opponent's shots in Man Utd's own matches — plus every individual opponent key pass faced, each drawn as its own real arrow (not zone-clustered) with the % share of each zone behind it.
Where the goals go in
Every opponent key pass against them (64 total)
By situation
Open play
10 · 83%
Set pieces
2 · 17%
Penalties
0 · 0%
Vision AI Model Insight
12 goals conceded. 83% come in open play; set pieces account for only 17%, so dead-ball defending is not the main issue. 17% are headers — aerial defending is not where the damage comes from. Their supply line runs mainly through the left half-space of the attacking third (25% of key passes faced) — that is the zone to shut off.
Context
Shape and tactics
Set pieces, strengths and weaknesses, and who they resemble.
The tactical idea behind each phase of this team's play, written from the same numbers shown above — what they do in build-up, how they progress, where they create, and how they defend it.
How much of the goal threat is manufactured from dead balls — a route to goal that bypasses their open-play mechanism entirely.
Open play
8 g · 10.3 xG
Set pieces
0 g · 1.8 xG
Penalties
1 g
0% of goals come from set pieces (0 of 9), worth 1.8 xG from 34 shots. Set pieces are a secondary threat; the danger is in open play.
Where do Man Utd's corners go?
48 corners taken this season, split by which flag they were taken from — arrows from the flag, dots at the delivery point, shaded by % of that side's corners landing in each zone (same treatment as the concede map below). No swing-direction (inswinger/outswinger) data is recorded here, only a start and end point per pass, which cannot show how the ball curved — so this shows what is genuinely knowable: where it lands, and short vs actually delivered. Tap or hover a dot for who took it and the match; filter to one match below and the shading recomputes for just that game.
Right side (23)
Delivered into the box 91%Short 9%
Left side (25)
Delivered into the box 88%Short 12%
Where opponents attack Man Utd from set pieces
13 shots from opponent corners against Man Utd, 2 conceded, split by the flag the corner came from — arrows from the flag, dots where the shot was taken (gold = goal), shaded by the % of that flag's shots in each zone. Tap or hover a shot for who took it, the minute and the match; filter to one match and the shading recomputes for just that game.
Right flag (6)
Shot 6Goals 1
Left flag (7)
Shot 7Goals 1
Tactical Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths (top-third vs league)
threat created /game — 12.86 (95th pct)
shots /game — 19.38 (95th pct)
progression /game — 51.62 (90th pct)
xG created /game — 1.61 (80th pct)
xG conceded /game — 1.11 (80th pct)
Weaknesses (bottom-third vs league)
none stand out
Style Archetype & Similar Teams
Team archetype: High-press possession side. Their closest stylistic matches in the league (cosine similarity on style metrics) — sides that play a similar way.
Fulham
79%
Arsenal
77%
Man City
75%
Brighton
71%
Bournemouth
60%
Performance vs Opponent Styles
The question
Not just how Man Utd results against a high press or a low block — how does their own play actually change?
Every match split into three tiers by how hard that specific opponent pressed (opponent PPDA — lower means a more aggressive press), matching Man Utd's own passing behaviour to the result.
Results
opponent type
goals for/g
goals against/g
points/g
vs high-pressing opponents (2m)
0.50
2.00
0.50
vs mid-block opponents (2m)
1.50
1.50
1.00
vs low-block opponents (4m)
1.50
1.50
1.00
Behaviour — how Man Utd actually play against each
opponent type
retention
directness (long balls)
prog. passes/g
xT/g
box entries/g
vs high-pressing opponents
78%
14%
44
10.5
8.0
vs mid-block opponents
84%
9%
40
10.1
13.0
vs low-block opponents
86%
9%
61
15.4
22.0
Vision AI Model Insight
Facing a high press, retention drops to 78% vs 86% against a low block (8pt lower under pressure), and directness (long-ball share) sits at 14% when pressed vs 9% against a low block — a real style switch: they go noticeably more direct when pressed rather than trying to play through it.
Scouting Summary — the team in brief
In brief. Man Utd are possession-dominant with a aggressive high-press.
Their attack creates 1.61 xG a game and they concede 1.11 a game.
[Event-data based — no tracking, so off-ball structure and marking scheme need video.]
For each of ten match numbers, the one match this season that departed furthest from Man Utd’s own average, the eight biggest swings first. Bar right of centre means more than usual, left means less. It shows how much the way they play moves from game to game, and which opponent moved it.
Final-third entriesat Hull City · 0-2 · 2026-08-2286avg 59
On-Ball Value — who moved the game
Every pass, carry, take-on, shot and ball win is worth the change it made to the chance of scoring minus the chance of conceding in the next 10 seconds. This is Man Utd’s last 8 matches added up: where the value came from, who produced it, and the six biggest single moves. OBV only measures what a player does with the ball: it shows who added the most on-ball value, not who was the most important player (defending off the ball, positioning and pressing are not in it).
+11.6on-ball value, 8 matches
Where the value came from
Passes4586 actions+3.78
Carries1173 actions+0.45
Dribbles136 actions-0.00
Shots155 actions+5.54
Ball wins539 actions+1.82
Most on-ball value (OBV)
Actions
OBV
per 100
Bryan Mbeumo
380
+1.67
+0.44
Youri Tielemans
582
+1.36
+0.23
Lisandro Martínez
561
+1.34
+0.24
Harry Maguire
729
+1.19
+0.16
Kobbie Mainoo
562
+1.19
+0.21
Marcus Rashford
250
+1.04
+0.42
Diogo Dalot
482
+0.72
+0.15
Bruno Fernandes
603
+0.65
+0.11
Biggest single moves
OBV
1 Bruno Fernandes · shot
+0.642
2 Bryan Mbeumo · shot
+0.492
3 Youri Tielemans · pass
+0.376
4 Marcus Rashford · shot
+0.296
5 Noussair Mazraoui · shot
+0.243
6 Andrey Santos · shot
+0.227
Set Pieces by Player
Who delivers Man Utd’s dead balls and who finishes them this season. 48 corners taken, most by Bruno Fernandes (27); 34 shots from corners and free kicks, 0 goals. “Into the box” counts corners that landed inside the penalty area; free-kick takers are the players who shot from one, because this feed does not mark who delivers the others.
Player
Corners taken
Into the box
Set-piece shots
Goals
xG
Free-kick shots
Penalties
Bruno Fernandes
27
20 (74%)
2
—
0.04
1
1/1
Bryan Mbeumo
12
9 (75%)
2
—
0.06
—
—
Diogo Dalot
—
—
4
—
0.14
—
—
Lisandro Martínez
—
—
4
—
0.14
—
—
Mason Mount
5
5 (100%)
2
—
0.10
—
—
Marcus Rashford
—
—
3
—
0.06
2
—
Kobbie Mainoo
—
—
3
—
0.17
—
—
Harry Maguire
—
—
3
—
0.18
—
—
Matheus Cunha
1
1 (100%)
2
—
0.40
—
—
Amad Diallo
3
2 (67%)
1
—
0.02
—
—
Luke Shaw
—
—
2
—
0.05
—
—
Leny Yoro
—
—
2
—
0.20
—
—
Ayden Heaven
—
—
1
—
0.10
—
—
Patrick Dorgu
—
—
1
—
0.11
—
—
Top Performers
Ranked by Vision AI Score — the same tactical behavioural evaluation each player's own report page shows (min 216 minutes). Coloured chips are that player's strongest capability blocks.
Chance creation leaders — key passes /90 and box entries.
player
pos
min
key P /90
box entries
xT
Bruno Fernandes
M
671
2.15
33
14.4
Bryan Mbeumo
M
766
1.41
17
5.3
Marcus Rashford
M
362
2.98
12
4.0
Diogo Dalot
D
591
2.13
9
7.5
Youri Tielemans
M
605
1.34
12
10.6
Matheus Cunha
F
570
1.58
10
3.0
Luke Shaw
D
435
1.03
10
6.6
Kobbie Mainoo
M
465
1.16
2
6.9
Wide Delivery Leaders
Crosses and cutbacks — wingers and full-backs only (by real average position, not the raw D/M position code), ranked by combined volume.
player
pos
min
crosses (completed)
cutbacks (completed)
Marcus Rashford
W
362
13 (23%)
8 (25%)
Luke Shaw
FB
435
9 (56%)
9 (44%)
Patrick Dorgu
FB
196
0
3 (33%)
Leny Yoro
FB
285
0
1 (100%)
Defensive Volume Leaders
Who does the defensive work — tackles, interceptions, recoveries.
player
pos
min
def actions
tackles
intercept
recoveries
Harry Maguire
D
766
145
7
14
36
Diogo Dalot
D
591
119
14
9
36
Youri Tielemans
M
605
118
13
8
40
Kobbie Mainoo
M
465
96
11
7
50
Bryan Mbeumo
M
766
87
6
5
18
Lisandro Martínez
D
557
81
5
4
16
Matheus Cunha
F
570
68
9
2
21
Bruno Fernandes
M
671
64
7
1
29
Full Squad Data
Every player with 100+ minutes (20 players).
player
pos
apps
min
goals
xG
key P
prog
def
xT
Harry Maguire
D
8
766
0
0.4
3
26
145
10.5
Bryan Mbeumo
M
8
766
4
3.3
12
26
87
5.3
Senne Lammens
G
8
766
0
0.0
1
23
30
5.5
Bruno Fernandes
M
7
671
3
2.5
16
62
64
14.4
Youri Tielemans
M
8
605
0
0.7
9
33
118
10.6
Diogo Dalot
D
8
591
0
0.4
14
40
119
7.5
Matheus Cunha
F
8
570
1
1.2
10
13
68
3.0
Lisandro Martínez
D
7
557
0
0.3
2
37
81
10.2
Kobbie Mainoo
M
6
465
0
0.3
6
25
96
6.9
Luke Shaw
D
5
435
0
0.1
5
29
59
6.6
Marcus Rashford
M
6
362
0
0.9
12
23
41
4.0
Andrey Santos
M
5
287
0
0.1
3
8
63
3.4
Leny Yoro
D
5
285
0
0.2
2
15
61
3.6
Amad Diallo
M
3
229
0
0.3
1
9
26
1.2
Patrick Dorgu
D
5
196
0
0.8
3
13
38
1.5
Carlos Baleba
M
3
185
0
0.2
2
3
36
1.5
Ayden Heaven
D
3
165
0
0.1
0
6
34
2.1
Noussair Mazraoui
D
4
160
0
0.2
3
12
27
2.4
Mason Mount
M
3
130
0
0.2
4
6
24
1.7
Benjamin Sesko
F
4
105
1
0.3
1
0
13
0.2
Player Role Architecture
The question
Who does what — and what tactical job does each key player actually perform?
The nine most-used players (450+ minutes), each with the role their event fingerprint points to — not just their listed position.
Harry Maguire
Stopper / marker · Defender
minutes766
goals · xG0 · 0.4
prog passes /903.1
key passes /900.35
def actions /9017.0
pass accuracy89%
Senne Lammens
Goalkeeper · Goalkeeper
minutes766
goals · xG0 · 0.0
prog passes /902.7
key passes /900.12
def actions /903.5
pass accuracy72%
Bryan Mbeumo
Ball-winner / destroyer · Midfielder
minutes766
goals · xG4 · 3.3
prog passes /903.1
key passes /901.41
def actions /9010.2
pass accuracy78%
Bruno Fernandes
Creative forward · Forward
minutes671
goals · xG3 · 2.5
prog passes /908.3
key passes /902.15
def actions /908.6
pass accuracy77%
Youri Tielemans
Ball-winner / destroyer · Midfielder
minutes605
goals · xG0 · 0.7
prog passes /904.9
key passes /901.34
def actions /9017.6
pass accuracy88%
Diogo Dalot
Ball-playing defender · Defender
minutes591
goals · xG0 · 0.4
prog passes /906.1
key passes /902.13
def actions /9018.1
pass accuracy78%
Matheus Cunha
Ball-winner / destroyer · Midfielder
minutes570
goals · xG1 · 1.2
prog passes /902.1
key passes /901.58
def actions /9010.7
pass accuracy81%
Lisandro Martínez
Ball-playing defender · Defender
minutes557
goals · xG0 · 0.3
prog passes /906.0
key passes /900.32
def actions /9013.1
pass accuracy90%
Kobbie Mainoo
Ball-winner / destroyer · Midfielder
minutes465
goals · xG0 · 0.3
prog passes /904.8
key passes /901.16
def actions /9018.6
pass accuracy93%
Recruitment Intelligence — profiles to sign
The question
If you were sporting director, which player profiles would move the needle most?
Each recruitment target is derived directly from the team's weakest areas vs the league — the gap, why it shows in the data, and the profile that closes it.
Need — below-average: press intensity (PPDA) (45th pct)
Sign a high-energy presser to lift defensive intensity. The data flags this because the press is passive (5.10, 45th percentile vs the league).