United's Defence Deserves Credit

Sunday’s 1-0 win over Everton means Manchester United have now kept more clean sheets than any other Barclays Premier League club this season – which is undeniably impressive, considering the injuries that have plagued the Reds.

Louis van Gaal's men frustrated the Toffees with an admirable defensive performance at Old Trafford, where Chris Smalling and Daley Blind both produced commanding displays against the physical threat of Romelu Lukaku. David De Gea was also typically alert in goal, making a fine save to deny Phil Jagielka from close range, while Dutch youngster Tim Fosu-Mensah later caught the eye as a second-half substitute after entering the action at right-back before moving inside to centre-back.

Anthony Martial eventually took the plaudits for his match-winning goal, and rightly so, but praise should certainly be directed at the defence that contributed to a 15th clean sheet. That is one more than top-four rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, and two more than league leaders Leicester City.

Yes, the points table is undoubtedly what matters the most for supporters, and nobody will celebrate the clean sheet standings on 15 May when this dramatic campaign comes to a close, but the Reds deserve credit for maintaining such solidity in defence amidst a run of terribly unfortunate injuries.

Luke Shaw began the season in excellent form at left-back but he has been missing since September with a broken leg, a problem that was worsened by further injuries to deputies Marcos Rojo, Ashley Young and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson. It hasn’t been any better on the right flank, either, with Antonio Valencia sitting out for large periods and Matteo Darmian suffering a handful of niggling issues.

Those injuries have prompted van Gaal to hand Premier League debuts to youngsters like Donald Love and Guillermo Varela, and in total the manager has been forced to use 14 different defenders in top-flight matches this season – which makes United’s clean-sheet record even more impressive. It's easy to ask questions in hindsight, but how might the season have unfolded without all of these problems?

Just look at Leicester City's improbable consistency this season. They have been inspired by Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, without doubt, but the Foxes also have a solid platform in a back-five that has rarely changed in Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Simpson, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth and Christian Fuchs. Together, they've collectively made 145 Premier League appearances out of a possible 160 this term.

Smalling and Blind have thankfully been ever-present for United and their partnership at centre-back could yet be invaluable in the pursuit of a top-four finish. They have already notched 92 appearances between them in all competitions and will surpass a century if they feature in the eight remaining fixtures.

With a number of teams jostling for Champions League qualification, in a race that is likely to run until the final weekend, you cannot underestimate the ability to keep clean sheets. It could ultimately prove to be the difference between success and failure this season.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be considered as representative of Manchester United Football Club.

Credit: Manutd.com