Manchester United's work‑rate has once again become a hot topic after their 1-1 stalemate with Fulham in the Premier League. The conversation intensified when Matheus Cunha, speaking to Sky Sports, offered a stark assessment from within the squad: "They put in more energy than us, we cannot accept this." His comment was echoed by former United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who observed, "I've never seen a Man United side walk out of possession as much as they did in that game." This raises the question: what do the objective statistics reveal about United's effort at Craven Cottage, and how significant is this issue for manager Michael Carrick?
According to Opta data, United sit joint‑bottom of the Premier League for high‑speed runs, tallying 1,691 such sprints – a figure that matches Manchester City. However, it is worth noting that City played a large portion of their recent derby at Old Trafford with ten men, a circumstance that skews their numbers.
When we look at the broader picture, United spent 52.98% of the time they were out of possession at Fulham simply walking. Only seven clubs have posted a higher percentage this season, but it remains the highest proportion United have recorded in the current campaign.
Their season‑average for walking while defending stands at 51.13%, placing them 17th overall in the league. Historically, a walk‑percentage above 50% is relatively rare. Since the start of the 2022‑23 season, only 30 Premier League matches have seen a team spend a greater share of out‑of‑possession time walking than United did against Fulham.
One notable example is United's own 54.59% walk rate in their 3‑0 victory over Brighton on the final day of the previous season – a match in which they dominated despite the high walking figure. In terms of total distance covered, United ran 110.2 kilometres on Sunday, the second‑lowest total across the league that weekend, trailing only Liverpool, who covered 108.4 kilometres at Bournemouth. The gap between United and Fulham was 6.5 kilometres, the second‑largest disparity this season when both sides fielded a full eleven. For context, Arsenal out‑ran Coventry by 6.8 kilometres on the opening night of the campaign.
United have also been out‑run by Hull City, Ipswich Town and Everton at various points this season. The only side they have covered more ground than is Manchester City, who were reduced to ten men after Phil Foden's early dismissal. Possession‑related statistics further underline United's defensive posture. Fulham were allowed to commence their passing sequences, on average, just 36.9 metres from United's goal – the shortest distance any opponent has started from in the Premier League over the past weekend.
This indicates that United were sitting deep and giving the visitors a very compact defensive shape. By contrast, United were permitted to start their own attacks from an average of 43.4 metres out, the third‑highest figure among all teams in that round of fixtures. Neville highlighted Fulham's propensity for longer build‑up play.
The London club recorded the most "10+ passing sequences" that culminated in a shot or a touch inside the opposition box, surpassing every other side over the weekend. This suggests that while United were defensively disciplined, they struggled to disrupt Fulham's sustained possession and were forced to defend in deeper zones. After the match, Carrick dismissed the notion that his side lacked energy, directly addressing Cunha's remarks.
"The way we finished the game it didn't look like that for me," he said in the post‑match press conference. Supporting his view, United's "progress" metric – which measures metres gained per passing sequence – topped the league for that round, showing that whenever they won the ball back they were able to advance the ball quickly up the pitch. Moreover, United logged 36 entries into the opposition penalty area, the highest total of any team in a single Premier League match this season. Offensively, United were prolific.
They fired 29 shots at Fulham, including two that struck the woodwork in the first half. Their season tally now stands at 113 shots, the most of any side in the competition. Their Expected Goals (xG) figure of 10.24 places them third in the league, indicating that they are creating quality chances despite the defensive constraints. Nevertheless, these positive attacking statistics are clouded by United's overall results.
After five games, they have collected only five points – a disappointing start for a squad that entered the campaign with optimism after finishing third last season. The combination of underwhelming results and low‑ranking running metrics has amplified criticism of Carrick's approach. Looking ahead, a failure to beat bottom‑placed Tottenham Hotspur after the international break could condemn United to their worst ever start to a Premier League season, prompting even harsher scrutiny of Carrick's tactics and the team's fitness levels.
The club will need to address both the perception of walking too much and the tangible data that suggests they are being out‑run by several opponents if they hope to reverse their fortunes and meet the expectations of their supporters.