12 February,2010 08:47 AM IST | | PA Sport
Darren Fletcher has a simple explanation for the astonishing number of own goals Manchester United have benefited from this season.
When James Collins turned a Ryan Giggs cross-shot into his own net at Aston Villa Wednesday night to secure a 1-1 draw for the champions, it took the tally to 10.
That figure is second in the goal-scoring charts, more than Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen and nearly halfway towards Wayne Rooney's tally of 23. But, according to Fletcher, anyone putting that huge number down to bad luck on the opposition's part is missing the point.
"The own goals come from putting teams under pressure," said the Scotland skipper.
"When you look at all these own goals, there's always a United player coming in behind them who could tap the ball into the net. It causes problems for defenders and fortunately for us, they have been knocking them into their own net," he added.
