Manchester United defender Chris Smalling admits clean sheets are the key to turning around their stuttering start to the season. Jose Mourinho’s side conceded seven goals in their opening three Premier League matches before registering their first shut-out in a 2-0 win at Burnley at the weekend. Every goal scored in the Premier League this weekend 1/14 Philip Billing vs EvertonHuddersfield took the lead against Everton through Phillip Billing Getty Images 2/14 Dominic Calvert-Lewin vs HuddersfieldDominic Calvert-Lewin’s header 87 seconds later leveled the score Getty Images 3/14 Andre Schurrle vs BrightonAndre Schurrle scored in consecutive games to give Fulham the lead at The Amex Getty Images 4/14 Aleksandar Mitrovic vs BrightonFulham’s on-fire striker Aleksandar Mitrovic made it 2-0. No player has scored more domestic goals in English football than the Serbian striker since he made his Fulham debut in February Getty Images 5/14 Glenn Murray vs FulhamGlenn Murray started the comeback against Fulham… Getty Images 6/14 Glenn Murray vs Fulham…completed it from the spot. Pascal Gross had a penalty saved in the first half, but with him on the bench Murray stepped up and rescued a point for Brighton. Getty Images 7/14 Danny Ings vs Crystal PalaceMark Hughes’ side took the lead against Crystal Palace through Danny Ings Getty Images 8/14 Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg vs Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace pushed for a late equaliser, but Southampton added a second on the counter attack through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who was delighted about it Getty Images 9/14 Pedro vs BournmouthPedro came off the bench to give Chelsea a second half lead AFP/Getty Images 10/14 Eden Hazard vs BournemouthEden Hazard capped off a fine display with a goal to make it 2-0 Getty Images 11/14 Adama Traore vs West HamAdama Traore’s late, late goal consigned West Ham to their fourth defeat as Wolves clinch their first win since promotion to the Premier League Getty Images 12/14 Raheem Sterling vs NewcastleIt took Manchester City just eight minutes to score past Newcastle. Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock with a powerful effort after cutting in from the right Getty Images 13/14 DeAndre Yedlin vs Manchester CityDeAndre Yedlin powered into the penalty area to finish off a counter attack and bring Newcastle level Getty Images 14/14 Kyle Walker vs NewcastleKyle Walker slams a shot into the bottom corner to win City all three points AP 1/14 Philip Billing vs EvertonHuddersfield took the lead against Everton through Phillip Billing Getty Images 2/14 Dominic Calvert-Lewin vs HuddersfieldDominic Calvert-Lewin’s header 87 seconds later leveled the score Getty Images 3/14 Andre Schurrle vs BrightonAndre Schurrle scored in consecutive games to give Fulham the lead at The Amex Getty Images 4/14 Aleksandar Mitrovic vs BrightonFulham’s on-fire striker Aleksandar Mitrovic made it 2-0. No player has scored more domestic goals in English football than the Serbian striker since he made his Fulham debut in February Getty Images 5/14 Glenn Murray vs FulhamGlenn Murray started the comeback against Fulham… Getty Images 6/14 Glenn Murray vs Fulham…completed it from the spot. Pascal Gross had a penalty saved in the first half, but with him on the bench Murray stepped up and rescued a point for Brighton. Getty Images 7/14 Danny Ings vs Crystal PalaceMark Hughes’ side took the lead against Crystal Palace through Danny Ings Getty Images 8/14 Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg vs Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace pushed for a late equaliser, but Southampton added a second on the counter attack through Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who was delighted about it Getty Images 9/14 Pedro vs BournmouthPedro came off the bench to give Chelsea a second half lead AFP/Getty Images 10/14 Eden Hazard vs BournemouthEden Hazard capped off a fine display with a goal to make it 2-0 Getty Images 11/14 Adama Traore vs West HamAdama Traore’s late, late goal consigned West Ham to their fourth defeat as Wolves clinch their first win since promotion to the Premier League Getty Images 12/14 Raheem Sterling vs NewcastleIt took Manchester City just eight minutes to score past Newcastle. Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock with a powerful effort after cutting in from the right Getty Images 13/14 DeAndre Yedlin vs Manchester CityDeAndre Yedlin powered into the penalty area to finish off a counter attack and bring Newcastle level Getty Images 14/14 Kyle Walker vs NewcastleKyle Walker slams a shot into the bottom corner to win City all three points AP At the same stage last season United had three clean sheets and just two goals against on their way to finishing second, with clean sheets in half their league matches. “Last season we picked up a lot of clean sheets and this year we’ve conceded early goals,” Smalling told MUTV. (AFP/Getty Images) Mourinho dedicates United win to Woodward after flyover protest “We need to get back what we’ve done in the last few seasons when we’ve conceded very few goals, like on Sunday. “It was down to us players to stand up tall and get a result, and we’re very happy with the win. “With us not having a game in the week, we’d been able to work on a lot of patterns of play and you could see them coming out and finishing with the goals, so we were happy with that.” Follow the Independent Sport on Instagram here, for all of the best images, videos and stories from around the sporting world. Source link The post Defensive improvement the key to kick-starting Manchester United’s season, says defender Chris Smalling appeared first on 10z Soccer. #ChrisSmalling #ManchesterUnited #GlennMurray