Nine numbers that show Minnesota United’s struggles in 2022

One-third of the MLS season within the books, and Minnesota United wants a plot twist.

It’s been the identical outdated story: The Loons’ lack of aim scoring has been obtrusive and bringing them down, however goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair has stepped up as a main protagonist, with shot-stopping that has saved his membership from a fair worse begin.

Minnesota (4-5-3) will look to flip the script towards FC Dallas (6-4-2) at 6 p.m. Sunday in Frisco, Texas.

Going into this weekend’s video games, listed below are 9 key numbers on Minnesota’s place:

1 — Distinction between the Loons’ payroll rank in MLS (fifteenth at $13.2 million, per MLS Gamers Affiliation) and their spot within the Supporters Protect standings (sixteenth with 15 factors). In different phrases, Minnesota at the moment resides within the backside half within the 28-team league in spending and returns on that funding.

0.47 — The points-per-game hole MNUFC might want to make up so as to end within the prime 4 within the Western Convention and earn an MLS Cup Playoffs recreation at Allianz Discipline. (A house playoff recreation was the membership’s said goal in preseason.) The typical factors per recreation to achieve the highest 4 within the West is 1.55 over the previous decade. Minnesota is at the moment at 1.25 and have to common 1.72 over the ultimate 22 video games to achieve that mark.

“Clearly we’ve obtained slightly bit to make up, however I’ve obtained plenty of religion on this group and there are plenty of factors to play for,” supervisor Adrian Heath mentioned. “We’ve had a very troublesome begin when it comes to opposition.”

-10 — The quantity of factors United has dropped in seven residence video games this season, marking the worst residence begin because the membership joined MLS in 2017. And this consists of the Loons’ anemic opening two seasons, which had been performed on the Gophers’ soccer stadium.

Minnesota gave up a 93rd-minute aim in a 1-0 residence loss to Cincinnati on Could 7 in “most likely essentially the most irritating recreation,” Heath mentioned.

35 — Share of complete MLS minutes that Luis Amarilla, Robin Lod, Franco Fragapane and Emanuel Reynoso have been on the sector collectively this season. In preseason, they had been penciled in as the first entrance 4 attackers however have been on the sector for simply 337 of the 1,080 league minutes this season.

3 — Targets that MNUFC has scored with that entrance 4 on discipline collectively. Lod and Amarilla every tallied one, whereas defender Bakaye Dibassy notched the opposite on a Reynoso help. That’s one aim for each 112 minutes.

-2.5 — The Loons have scored 13 objectives, however have an anticipated objectives stat of 15.5 this season, per fbref.com. Minnesota’s highest xG of the season (2.8) was the 1-1 draw with L.A. Galaxy on Wednesday.

“If we scored like three or 4 extra objectives all people would (have) thought it was such a very good and dominating recreation, however you possibly can’t say that after how horrible we had been ending as we speak, particularly me included,” mentioned Lod, who ended up scoring the game-tying aim within the 87th minute. He has a team-high 5 objectives on the season.

2 — The quantity of MLS objectives from the membership’s high-priced Designated Participant strikers Adrien Hunou ($2.68 million wage) and Luis Amarilla ($785,000). Excluding switch charges, {that a} hefty $1.7 million per aim up to now.

+5.2 — Dayne St. Clair leads MLS in anticipated objectives minus objectives conceded. Opponents have a complete xG of 15.2 this season, however St. Clair has allowed solely 10 in 10 video games.

“He’s in a very wealthy vein of kind,” Heath mentioned.

If St. Clair wasn’t feeling that move, its solely doable two of Minnesota’s 4 wins come off the listing (New York Pink Bulls and Colorado Rapids) as a result of each of these foes had xG over two, however the rising 25-year-old Canadian helped preserve them to at least one aim or fewer.

27.3 — The typical age of Minnesota’s roster, with ranks fourth-oldest in MLS. This staff is constructed to win now, and, effectively, they don’t seem to be getting it completed at a excessive sufficient stage up to now.