Manchester United are running out of time to fix their biggest problem from last season

There were 96 teams competing in Europe's big five leagues last season.

Manchester United finished 95th for the number of shots conceded and only Sheffield United, who finished bottom of the Premier League with a measly 16 points, allowed more shots on their goal.

Sheffield United conceded 671 shots and United conceded 660. Erik ten Hag consistently denied it was a problem, but giving the opponent more opportunities on goal naturally means they have a higher chance of finding the net, regardless of where those shots are taken from.

It was fascinating to see Ten Hag play down the problem, on the basis they were low-quality chances, but there were some players in the dressing room who disagreed.

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Diogo Dalot admitted United were conceding too many shots when speaking to the MEN in the mixed zone after drawing against Bournemouth in April and contradicted his manager.

On the other hand, Andre Onana said it 'wasn't a big issue' because United scored enough goals themselves and explained it was a byproduct of being an attack-minded team.

The likeable Onana is great value when he speaks and regularly volunteers to speak to journalists, which is appreciated by club staff, but Manchester City and Arsenal were the Premier League's best attacking sides last season and had the best defensive records, showing there doesn't need to be a trade-off.

United have put last season behind them and there is a clean slate going into 2024/25, but there will be alarm bells ringing if a flurry of shots are conceded on the opening day.

The problem was down to tactical and personnel failures and