Paul Pogba was right… Manchester United are behind rivals in attack

The chant of 'attack, attack, attack' has grown into one of frustration. Paul Pogba echoed those cries in his post-match interview after Manchester United were held to a draw by Wolves.

'When we are at home we should attack, attack, attack,' said United's £89million record signing. 'That's Old Trafford. We are here to attack. I think teams are scared when they see Man United attacking and attacking. That was our mistake today.

'We were winning 1-0 so it was positive for us. Then we tried to defend a bit more against the counter-attack. We stopped playing forward like in the first half and we didn't put them in trouble.'

It has become a common problem for United, who have struggled whenever newly promoted sides come to town under Jose Mourinho.

But just how flawed is their attacking approach? Sportsmail has taken a look at the figures and the stats back up the idea that the World Cup winner is right in his criticism.

The expected goals statistic provided by Opta is one of the best ways to look at how a team does in an attacking sense.

It ranks the quality of shots at goal and chances created, rather than simply totting them up.

And by Opta's ranking, United are 10th in the Premier League when penalty goals are not factored in.

They have an xG for — the number of goals they are expected to score — rating of 7.07.

That places them below Wolves, Bournemouth, Fulham and Southampton.

On a simpler level, United also rank ninth in the Premier League for goals this campaign, with nine.

Compared to Manchester City's 19, that reflects badly.

They are also struggling to convert shots when compared to the rest of the division. They are 12th in the Premier League at 10.6 per cent of shots converted.

That places them below Brighton, Burnley and Leicester.

On the plus side for Mourinho, his side are taking plenty of shots, at 85. That's sixth in the top flight. The issue comes when that figure is combined with the xG stat.

It means that while they are firing the ball at goal on a regular basis, they are not doing so from positions in which they are likely to score.

That is a damning indictment — it means their method of attacking is not particularly effective.

And that, more than anything, is why they keep dropping points — fail to attack properly and goals will not come.