UNITED Solving set-piece woe is tall order for United

DECEMBER will ultimately be remembered as the month where City took a giant step towards title glory, while United’s winter of discontent has been underlined by some sloppy defending at the dead ball.

The Reds have conceded five goals from set-pieces in their last eight games, keeping just one clean sheet, and for all the talk of their team of giants swatting aside all before them, it has now become a real issue.

Having warned his team about West Brom’s threat at set-pieces, and spend- ing time in the build-up to that game working on defensive drills, United still nearly conceded a late equaliser from a corner at the Hawthorns - barely 15 minutes after Gareth Barry scored from a set-piece.

It was a similar story just three days later at Bristol. Korey Smith’s winner, along with Lee Johnson’s touchline dash, stole the headlines but Bristol constantly unsettled United with Hordur Magnusson’s might throw-ins.

No matter the combination at the back - United have used three different defensive partnerships in the last four games - it has become a real problem.

This is a side, remember, who conceded just one goal from set-pieces before December, and even that was just a late consolation goal for Burton in a 4-1 win.

Romelu Lukaku, rightly or wrongly, has become the scapegoat for the malaise after failing to clear his lines against Burnley, struggling under the high ball against City and nearly putting through his own net against Arsenal.

This was the same City who conceded two goals from set-pieces in their previous three games, whose tactic was to simply not concede freekicks to try and stifle United’s threat, and, yet, even Pep Guardiola’s diminutive side smelt blood.

Mourinho likes having Lukaku’s presence in there, refusing to put him on the near post like other managers would with a huge striker, despite what he can offer on the counter.

All the while, United have toiled at the other end of the field with even Luke Shaw stepping up to take some harmless corners.

For all the talk about Mourinho’s unofficial height policy - Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the only player below 6ft 1in he has signed - being tall is simply not enough.

Paul Pogba, for one, has had to work on his weakness under the high ball since it was ruthlessly exposed by Liverpool a year ago - and he is 6ft 3in.

Packing a side with height, alone, does not mean you will automatically be good at defending set-pieces.

It is not unusual for Mourinho to spend 90 minutes in one session defending corners and free-kicks and then supplement that with short, sharp video analysis sessions and scouting dossiers detailing the opposition’s set-piece routines.

This is not quite the crisis that dogged Louis van Gaal’s final season in charge, when United conceded a whopping 21 goals from set-pieces, but it is worrying all the same for Reds supporters.

Finding a solution will be one of Mourinho’s most important New Year’s resolutions.