A Case For The Defence At United

David De Gea may have rightly swept the board at Manchester United's Player of Year awards following his incredible displays as our last line of defence during 2014/15, but the men in front of him also made a big contribution in securing one of the best defensive records in the league.

Opta statistics, focused on United's backline, have revealed which players pitched in with the most blocks, tackles and clearances.

Leading the way with the most blocks – 14 in all – was Chris Smalling. Fellow centre-back Phil Jones made the highest amount of clearances, with 165.

Two men who occupied the two full-back positions for large parts of the season – Antonio Valencia and Daley Blind – also featured in our defensive stats round-up, with Valencia making the most tackles (95), while Blind was the man with the highest number of interceptions (an impressive 81).

Unsurprisingly, the player who won the most aerial duels was Marouane Fellaini, with a whopping 111.