How unlucky are Man Utd?

Jose Mourinho described Manchester United as “the unluckiest team in the Premier League” after their 1-1 draw with Arsenal, but do the stats back him up?

Juan Mata’s second-half goal appeared to be sending United to a well-deserved victory at Old Trafford on Saturday, only for Olivier Giroud to pull Arsenal level with their only shot on target.

It was a bitter blow for United, who dominated the game for long periods, and it prompted Mourinho to rue his side’s misfortune. “I am really happy with the team, but at the moment I consider us the unluckiest team in the Premier League because it is the reality,” he told Sky Sports.

“If you analyse the last three matches. Against Stoke we have to win 5-0 or 6-0 and we draw. Against Burnley we have to win 5-0 or 6-0 and we draw and today we have to win 2-0 or 3-0 and we draw.”

So does Mourinho have a point? Or is he making excuses? From key decisions to hitting the woodwork, we examine the evidence…

Refereeing decisions

Mourinho rarely bites his tongue when it comes to decisions going against his side and this season there have been a number of flashpoints. The United boss was angered by two decisions during the Manchester derby defeat to City back in September.

First, there was Claudio Bravo’s lunge on Wayne Rooney, then an Antonio Valencia cross struck Nicolas Otamendi on the elbow. Mourinho criticised Mark Clattenburg for failing to award penalties in both cases. Former referee Dermot Gallagher agreed with Mourinho about the Bravo incident in his weekly column for Sky Sports, but he felt Clattenburg was right to overlook the Otamendi incident.

In United’s following game against Watford, they conceded the opening goal after Anthony Martial was robustly dispossessed by Miguel Britos. Mourinho described the decision to let play continue as “ridiculous”, while Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said the Watford defender had “kicked through his left leg to …

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