Red Devils scored from last six shots on target while West Ham boast best shot-conversion rate
Anthony Martial scored with his first shot in the Barclays Premier League
Winning 13 Barclays Premier League titles since its inception in 1992 has made Manchester United synonymous with ruthlessness, but even by their high standards Louis van Gaal's men have been lethal in front of goal in their last two outings.
Sunday's 3-2 win at Southampton followed a 3-1 defeat of arch rivals Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League and in both matches United scored with all their shots on target.
United's clinical form is even more impressive, considering leading current goalscorer Wayne Rooney missed the Liverpool match through injury and was not among the goals at St Mary's.
Van Gaal appears to have found a potent threat inAnthony Martial, whose first three shots on target of his fledgling Barclays Premier League career have all ended in goals (the Frenchman has had one shot off target as well).
That mark is still halfway to the record of six held byPavel Pogrebnyak when the Russia striker was atFulham in 2012.
Pavel Pogrebnyak's (left) six goals from six shots on target is a BPL record
Pogrebnyak made a flying start at Craven Cottage, after arriving in January of that year, with goals against Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers preceding a hat-trick in the Cottagers' 5-0 defeat of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
| Pogrebnyak shots on target | ||||
| Opponent | Date | Total shots | On target | Goals |
| Stoke | 11/02/12 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| QPR | 25/02/12 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Wolves | 04/03/12 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| A Villa | 10/03/12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swansea | 17/03/12 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Man Utd | 26/03/12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norwich | 31/03/12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wigan | 21/04/12 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Fulham fans had to wait five matches for his next shot on target, but that was converted that, too, to help the west Londoners clinch a 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic.
| Martial shots on target | ||||
| Opponent | Date | Total shots | On target | Goals |
| Liverpool | 12/09/14 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| So'ton | 20/09/14 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
West Ham United are the side setting the benchmark in terms of the best shot-conversion rate so far this season, with 28.9% of their attempts on target finding the net.
Victor Moses helped lift West Ham's shot conversion rate to 28% scoring against Man City
Leicester City have also proved the model of efficiency by scoring with 21.3% of their attempts, while the Red Devils (19.6%), AFC Bournemouth(17.4%) and Everton (16%) close out the top five.
| Shot-conversion rates in BPL 2015/16 | ||
| Team | Conversion % | Total shots |
| West Ham | 28.9% | 45 |
| Leicester | 21.3% | 61 |
| Man Utd | 19.6% | 46 |
| Bournemouth | 17.4% | 46 |
| Everton | 16.0% | 50 |
By contrast it is proving a disappointing season in front of goal for Arsenal, who, with a shot-conversion rate of 6.1%, have failed to score with the most attempts on goalin the top flight, while Liverpool(6.8%) and Tottenham Hotspur (7.6%) have fared little better.
| Shot-conversion rates in BPL 2015/16 | ||
| Team | Conversion % | Total shots |
| West Brom | 11.1% | 48 |
| Newcastle | 8.3% | 37 |
| Spurs | 8.1% | 66 |
| Liverpool | 7.6% | 59 |
| Arsenal | 6.1% | 82 |
As it stands, both West Ham and Leicester are on course to better the 20.08% conversion rate set byManchester City during the 2013/14 campaign, with that record the best since such statistics started being tracked in 2006/07.
BPL
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