Eighth in the Premier League table and with just one win from four matches, there is perhaps good reason for Manchester United supporters to feel disappointed.

But if you listened to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's post-match interview after the 1-1 draw away at Southampton on Saturday, you may have thought nothing was overly wrong. 'We had loads of chances, created loads of openings but the last bit is just missing.' Solskjaer said.

The statistics show there is some sense to his comments. United have in fact created the third highest number of 'best' chances in the top flight. According to expected goals (xG), a metric used to assess every chance in a game, United rank high with 7.4 goals for the four games played so far.

Only West Ham (7.67) and champions Manchester City (11.17) rank higher than United.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has remained positive despite only one victory

There is also some good news where expected goals against are concerned. The addition of Harry Maguire in defence has helped Solskjaer's defence become much tighter and more organised.

The proof is there in the number of goals United have conceded (four) and that they have restricted their opponents to the second-best number of chances against over the four games played so far: 3.25.

Only Leicester - with 2.79 - have a better record. Again, it is a sign that United are much closer to once again being a team that is defensively disciplined and effective.

Marcus Rashford has scored twice in his four Premier League starts this season

OLE ISN'T WRONG ABOUT UNITED CREATING PLENTY OF CHANCES SOURCE: OPTA Team Expected Goals Manchester City 11.17 West Ham United 7.67 Manchester United 7.4 Liverpool 6.64 Southampton 6.07 Bournemouth 5.97 Tottenham Hotspur 5.71 Chelsea 5.62 Arsenal 5.33 Watford 5.33 Sheffield United 5.06 Norwich City 5.04 Burnley 4.88 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4.6 Brighton and Hove Albion 4.53 Everton 4.43 Aston Villa 4.14 Leicester City 4.13 Crystal Palace 3.75 Newcastle United 3.18

The addition of Harry Maguire has helped United become much tighter in defence

UNITED'S NEW, TIGHTER DEFENCE IS DIFFICULT TO GET PAST SOURCE: OPTA Team Expected Goals Against West Ham United 8.91 Bournemouth 8.39 Tottenham Hotspur 6.83 Aston Villa 6.82 Arsenal 6.41 Watford 6.29 Norwich City 6.28 Crystal Palace 6.28 Brighton and Hove Albion 5.54 Everton 5.23 Chelsea 5.13 Newcastle United 4.96 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4.81 Liverpool 4.74 Burnley 4.58 Sheffield United 4.57 Southampton 4.56 Manchester City 4.27 Manchester United 3.25 Leicester City 2.79

While all the above points towards United being in a league position that doesn't flatter their overall play, undoubtedly it is their finishing which is stopping them from flourishing.

WHAT IS xG? Expected goals (xG) is a metric that was introduced by Opta. 'Expected goals' (xG) for a match, every shot must be analysed and given an 'Expected goal value' (EGV). The EGV of a shot assumes it is being taken by someone of average ability in the league. The value is determined on a number of factors, such as where the shot was taken from, the proximity of defenders, and the nature of the attack (i.e a direct free-kick or a penalty). All of the information is used to create a percentage chance, on average, of a particular shot going in with all those factors taken into account. Advertisement

United have had 63 shots in the league this season but only 18 have been on target. That is a shooting accuracy of 29 per cent.

It is time for United's attacking line to sharpen up. Daniel James is their current top scorer - something he no doubt wouldn't have expected to happen at any point of the season.

He has had a brilliant start to life at Old Trafford. Unfortunately, those around him aren't firing. Marcus Rashford has started all four games this season but only has two goals - one coming from the penalty spot - to show for his efforts. Indeed, out of Rashford's 16 shots, only five have been on target.

Anthony Martial, in a more central position than before, has scored two in three starts. He's had eight shots with three on target.

Solskjaer is confident it will all click soon.

'It's getting there, though,' he said. 'We have to learn to get those scrappy goals, not just the worldies. We do push teams back now and we do get around them.

'What is pleasing is that we didn't just resort to panicky crosses and long balls and we played, and we should have scored to be honest. We feel numb and a little bit disappointed. In the last three games we've lost points that we definitely deserved to win.'

The chances are being created, it's up to United's attack to take them.