Manchester United endured another disappointing outing in the English Premier League after Tottenham Hotspur held them to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The result meant that Manchester United’s sole league win so far has come against Ipswich Town in the second gameweek, when they defeated the newly-promoted side 5-2.
The Michael Carrick-managed side are currently reeling in 12th place with six points from as many matches (one win, three draws and two losses).
Senne Lammens’ start to the 2026-27 season has presented Manchester United with a mixed outcome to the adaptation to the demands of Premier League football.
The Belgian goalkeeper has established himself as the club’s regular starter, but his early-season numbers show that clean sheets and consistent results remain areas for improvement.
Lammens started each of United’s first five league matches before facing Tottenham, with 450 minutes played in the competition according to Opta Analyst. Across those five matches, he conceded eight goals from 20 shots on target.
After the match against Tottenham, he has played a total of 540-plus minutes (Including stoppage time), and has conceded nine goals from 23 shots on target. He made two saves against , taking his total number of saves to 19 in the Premier League this season.
That translates to a save percentage of 67.9. These figures translate to approximately 1.50 goals conceded per 90 minutes, which is significantly more than the 1.20 goals conceded per 90 minutes during the 2025-26 Premier League season.
The wider match statistics also provide context for ‘s defensive problems. According to Opta, Tottenham recorded 1.56 expected goals against United’s 0.77 and created four big chances, compared with one for the hosts.
Those figures suggest that Spurs generated the more threatening attacking opportunities, meaning that the task was clearly cut out for the Belgian goalkeeper.
The Tottenham game highlighted the biggest adaptation challenge. Lammens completed only 14 of 26 passes, including just one of 13 long balls, and was credited with an error leading to a shot, according to SofaScore.
He did recover in that match, making two saves — including one after his mistake — as Dominic Solanke equalised for 10-man Tottenham in stoppage time, eventually sealing a 1-1 draw for the visitors.
The biggest concern for Lammens and the United defence as a whole is clean sheets. The Red Devils are yet to keep a clean sheet in the this season.
In the Premier League last season, Lammens kept eight clean sheets in 32 games, and while there is still a long way to go in the ongoing season, there cannot be room for any more complacency. Thus, making the need of clean sheets even more important.
Manchester United will next travel to Spain where they will take on Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. That match will be followed by an away game against Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday (18 October).
