Do Man Utd get more penalties than anyone else?
FT Desk
- 24 Oct 2021 10:32 CDT
- 4 min read
The build-up to Sunday’s big Premier League match between Man Utd and Liverpool was dominated by talk over penalties.
There has been an ongoing row all year between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jurgen Klopp over whether Man Utd receive more (unwarranted) spot-kicks than anyone else in the Premier League.
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The row began at the start of the year when Klopp remarked that “Man Utd have had more penalties in two years than I had in five-and-a-half-years.”
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Earlier this season, Solskjaer hit out at Klopp, saying that United had been unfairly receiving less penalties ever since Klopp’s outburst.
"We just have to hope we get what we deserve," Solskjaer moaned. "We should have had three penalties in the last two games.
"There was a certain manager last year who was starting to worry about us getting pens and after that it seems like the decisions are more difficult to give.
"I've seen a big, big difference since then. We just have to leave it to the refs and hopefully they'll make the right calls very soon."
🗣️ "A certain manager last year was starting to worry about us getting penalties and after that it seems like the decisions are more difficult to give."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Manchester United should have had three penalties in the last two games... pic.twitter.com/rETQqTOc5t— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 24, 2021
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s match at Old Trafford, Liverpool manager Klopp stood by his original comments/
"We cannot influence referees with things like that,” Klopp insisted.
"They are good, they go in the box, have these situations, but so do we and didn't have even a similar number [of penalties]. Those are just facts. But it's done now."
So do Man Utd really receive more penalties than everyone else in the Premier League?
Well, this season, the answer is no. Man Utd have had only one Premier League spot-kick in 2021-22. That was an injury time penalty in the defeat to Aston Villa that Bruno Fernandes put over the bar.
How many penalties have Man Utd had under Solskjaer?
But if we are to look at which teams have received the most penalties since Solskjaer took over as Man Utd manager in December 2018, then the Red Devils have clearly had more spot-kicks than anyone else.
As revealed by ESPN, Man United have had 33 penalties since Solskjaer’s debut on December 22, 2018. This has resulted in 26 goals.
The Premier League team with the next most penalties is Man City with 23 penalties, resulting in 14 goals. So United’s city rivals have had 10 penalties less than Man Utd in that time.
Most penalties since Solskjaer joined Man Utd
- Man Utd: 33 (26 goals)
- Man City: 23 (14)
- Leicester: 22 (16)
- Chelsea: 20 (18)
- Liverpool: 18 (18)
Third in the table is Leicester City who have had 22 penalties, resulting in 16 goals.
Chelsea have had 20 penalties, contributing to 18 goals.
Completing the top five is Liverpool themselves, who have had 18 penalties (and 18 goals) since December 22, 2018.
That means Man Utd have had 15 penalties more than Liverpool since Solskjaer’s took to the bench.
Both teams will certainly be hoping for a penalty on Sunday afternoon!
