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Luke Shaw has been quite strong at helping United progress into the final third, playing a key role in the team’s ball progression phase via passes and, indeed, progressive carries.

Defensively, only four Premier League sides have conceded more goals than United (eight) so far this term, though they haven’t conceded a ton of shots (7.28 per 90, fifth-best).

At the back, their issue has been giving away a small number of big chances, leading to United having the highest xGA per shot (0.181) in the league in the first five games.

In terms of defensive duel success, United rank joint-seventh alongside Manchester City and Burnley on 63.7%.

There have been some bright performers in their backline who have helped the team to achieve those numbers, such as Amad Diallo, on 83.33% defensive duel success, Matthijs de Ligt on 80.56%, Diogo Dalot on 80% and Noussair Mazraoui on 76.92%.

Shaw is not one of those who has covered himself in glory through his performance in defensive duels, in particular, however, which is where things take a negative turn.

The two members of United’s backline with the most Premier League minutes this term are Matthijs De Ligt and Luke Shaw.

Luke Shaw’s defensive duel success rate stands at 57.14% at the time of writing, which is lower than that of all Man United defenders this term bar Leny Yoro, who is at 53.33%.

This Manchester United tactical analysis and team-focused scout report will analyse Luke Shaw’s defending this term to highlight where his defensive duel success has fallen down, how it’s had a negative impact on United, and how Shaw can potentially learn from his Old Trafford teammate Lisandro Martínez to improve on this particular weakness.

Nottingham Forest played their first European football match after 30 years of absence, but were not capable of getting the three points against the Spanish side Real Betis, who managed to snatch a 2-2 draw in the final minutes of the game.

Nottingham Forest did their best to win the game.

They showed some very positive attacking signs, especially during the first half, but they failed to convert the chances they created, especially after scoring their two goals.

Failing to add a third goal when they had the opportunity to do so was Nottingham Forest’s biggest mistake in this match, costing them two points.

The inability to end the game early kept Real Betis’ hopes alive and allowed them to come back later on and score the equalising goal despite not being able to dominate the game or consistently threaten Nottingham Forest’s goal during the second half.

Nevertheless, this did not stop them from scoring their second goal as they knew how to be clinical despite not creating as many chances as their opponent.

That said, the draw does not serve either team, as both were trying to start their UEFA Europa League journey with a win that would give them the advantage and allow them to approach their upcoming games with less pressure on their shoulders.

This tactical analysis of the match between Real Betis and Nottingham Forest at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, Spain, will focus on Nottingham Forest’s finishing issues and assess Ange Postecoglou’s substitutions and their impact on the game.

Bournemouth have been one of the major positives to begin the 2025/2026 Premier League season.

They are currently in fourth place with 10 points.

Since the 4-2 loss on the opening day to Liverpool, the Cherries have allowed only one goal in their last four Premier League matches.

Not only that, but only Newcastle United and Arsenal have conceded fewer expected goals than Andoni Iraola’s side.

Last season, Bournemouth were the best high-pressing team in the Premier League by a decent margin.

They led England’s top flight in PPDA, build-up completion percentage allowed, high recoveries, and goals directly from the result of high turnovers.

It was a difficult summer on the south coast as Bournemouth watched their three best defenders, Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi, and Milos Kerkez, move on to bigger clubs.

So, how in the world has Andoni Iroala kept Bournemouth one of the better out-of-possession teams in the Premier League after losing their three best defenders?

In this article, we will discuss Andoni Iraola’s high press, why it is so effective, and how the new additions to Bournemouth’s backline have allowed them to maintain the level of play we saw from the Cherries last season.

Bayern meet Werder Bremen on Matchday 5.

Under Vincent Kompany, improvements are clear, but key fixes remain vital if they want stronger Bundesliga form and a deeper Champions League run.

Dive into what those 2024/2025 issues were.

Strasbourg face Marseille on Matchday 6.

Liam Rosenior’s tactics have lifted them to fourth right now, and this analysis explores how his approach could spark a victory for them today against sixth-placed Marseille.

William Saliba is on the verge of signing a new long term deal at Arsenal.

Dive back in time to his OGC Nice 2020/2021 scout report and what we thought of him then.