TA: Manchester United’s corner kick attack has become the top in the Premier League, but its corner kick defense still needs improvement

Hupu News on November 10th The Premier League is paying more and more attention to set pieces, and this is also the case for Manchester United this season. They still have issues defending corners, but offensively they have become one of the best teams in the Premier League.

Defensively, United conceded 7.1 goals per 100 corner kicks - looking at the corner kicks per 100 stat to level the playing field among all teams as teams may face different numbers of corner kicks - this is the fifth-worst statistic in the Premier League this season. However, they score 14.3 per 100 corners, which is the highest score in the Premier League in the 2025-26 season. In addition, they also create 7.1 expected goals per 100 corner kicks, which is the second-best figure in the Premier League this season. In addition to the introduction of Mbemo, which improved the quality of Manchester United's corner kicks, the team's tactical intentions are clearer and the players' awareness is stronger.

Amorim's team mainly focuses on driving inswing balls to the central area and far post area of ​​​​the small penalty area. Bruno Fernandez is responsible for taking the left corner kick, and Mbemo is responsible for the right side. United's corner kicks often start at the far post, with their three centre-backs playing important roles. When Harry Maguire is on the pitch, he is the primary challenger, while De Ligt assists his centre-back partner or focuses on blocking the opposition goalkeeper. At the same time, Luke Shaw's task is to block an opponent's area defender and create conditions for tactical execution.

In the 1-1 draw with Fulham in August, Manchester United's central defenders were Yoro, De Ligt and Luke Shaw, while Cunha and Sheshko completed the outflanking at the back point. When Mbemo drove an inswinging corner to the back post, Luke Shaw pinned down Fulham defender Rodrigo Mouris in the area. Accordingly, Yoro was one-on-one with Basil in the target area. The French centre-back distanced himself from Barça and his header deflected off Mourinho into the net to give United the lead.

Manchester United's corner kick tactics this season are not complicated, but simple tasks that the players can execute perfectly are often effective in set pieces, especially when combined with precise crosses. Another example comes from this month's 2-2 away draw with Nottingham Forest. As is customary in the 2025-26 season, Amorim's team started from the back, with Dalot, Casemiro and Sheshko assisting the central defenders. When B Fee started to run up, Dericht moved towards the opponent's goalkeeper Seles, while Luke Shaw was close to Yates, and Sheshko was ready to attack the back point. In addition, De Ligt firmly blocked Seles while the ball was still in the air. Manchester United created space for Casemiro, allowing him to receive B Fee's inswing cross and rewrite the score to 1-0.

The role of the United attackers in corners will vary depending on the situation and available players. In the 2-2 draw with Tottenham, De Ligt's role changed from a blocker to one of the attackers. In the corner that United equalized in the final seconds, Tottenham used a mixed defensive system: Ter defended the short corner option or any player who dropped in near the penalty spot, Odo Bell protected the space outside the small penalty area, five zonal defenders stood in the small penalty area, and three man-marking defenders marked the back post. Another change to United's formation is the player responsible for blocking the goalkeeper, with Mason Mount taking over that role now that De Ligt has become one of the attackers. Before B Fee started his run-up, Dericht made a fake run and used the opponent's goalkeeper Vicario as a cover to get rid of Johnson.

Yoro's run took Van der Ven away from the back area and ensured that Manchester United had an attack point in the central area. Meanwhile, Mount prevented Vicario from attacking for a cross and Luke Shaw blocked one of Tottenham's zonal defenders, Bentancur, in the back post. In this way, Manchester United created space for De Ligt, leaving him unmarked at the back point. The central defender headed B Fee's cross into the top corner of the goal, grabbing a point for the team. De Ligt's header against Tottenham was United's sixth corner kick in the Premier League this season, meaning they are just one goal away from tying the record for the most goals scored from a corner kick in a single season since 2018-19.

Manchester United's improvement in attacking corners in 2025-26 is supported by the underlying statistics, looking at the team's 7.1 expected goals per 100 corner kicks, which is more than double that of any of the past seven Premier League seasons. Defensively, the arrival of Lamence provides protection for the goalkeeper position, but there is still work to be done. Amorim's side, on the other hand, have turned their attacking corners into a strength this season - a scenario that would have been unthinkable given the circumstances of the past seven years.