Manchester United Season 2023-24 | Full season preview

The 2023-24 season is over and it has been rather poor as far as Manchester United are concerned. Given their high standards, the campaign could be considered disappointing, despite their FA Cup triumph over Man City in the final game of the season helping them salvage some pride.

While rivals Manchester City celebrated their fourth consecutive Premier League title in style, United endured a subpar campaign. The Red Devils have performed very poorly in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.

How Manchester United fared in the 2023-24 season:

The Red Devils finished eighth in the Premier League, their worst result of the Premier League era, but their FA Cup triumph ensured their participation in next season’s UEFA Europa League. The club finished with 60 points from their 38 matches (18 wins, 6 draws and 14 losses), their second lowest points total in the Premier League.

Surprisingly, their goal difference was -1 at the end of the season, another all-time low as they scored 57 and conceded 58 goals in total. To sum up, the team’s performance was terrible in the league.

In an even more disappointing performance, United finished last in their UEFA Champions League group. They have gained just four points from their six group matches – winning one game, drawing another and losing the remaining four. Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray were the other three teams in the group, with Bayern and Copenhagen advancing to the next round.

However, in the FA Cup, Manchester United won all six of their matches (including one on penalties) to win the title. They beat Manchester City 2-1 in the final. On the other hand, Erik ten Hag’s men lost 0-3 to Newcastle United in the fourth round of the EFL Cup to crash out of the tournament.

So, in total, Manchester United played 52 matches in the 2023-24 season and won only 26 of them. They lost in 19 matches and managed to draw in the remaining 7 matches. Their winning record was exactly 50% in the campaign. Rasmus Hojlund was the club’s top scorer with 16 goals, 10 of which came in the Premier League (stats via Transfermarkt).

Playing style, tactics and performers:

Manchester United have mainly played 4-2-3-1 throughout the season. However, there have been occasions, such as in extra time in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool, where they played with a back three.

A number of their players played in different positions throughout the season. Bruno Fernandes, who was supposed to play as a number 10, played as a false nine at times, notably in the FA Cup final. Scott McTominay has also alternated between playing as a defensive midfielder and playing as a number 10.

Then there was Casemiro, who had to replace the central defender, often with undesirable results. In fact, with lingering injuries to Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, as well as niggling injuries to Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire, Ten Hag have had to use different permutations and combinations in their defense.

Jonny Evans, the 36-year-old central defender, who was supposed to be a last resort replacement for the team, ended up playing 30 matches during the Red Devils’ campaign. Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane have also played many matches for them.

Additionally, the Dutch coach left last season’s star player Marcus Rashford out of the playing XI during the latter stages of the campaign. Youngsters Alejandro Garnacho, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund were played in the top three.

However, United’s main style of play remained a counter-attacking style, with their defenders and midfielders playing long balls to the attackers, who were tasked with putting the ball into the net. However, Ten Hag’s men have often struggled to break down the defenses of smaller Premier League teams.

At times the Red Devils were arguably second best to lowly opposition, with the latter managing more attempts at goal than them. Meanwhile, McTominay, Casemiro and Maguire, each primarily a player with a defensive role, have scored 10, 5 and 4 goals respectively for United this season.

Learn more:

A common feature for Manchester United in a number of matches in the 2023-24 season was the ability of its defensive players to score important goals such as equalizers and winners from set pieces. Without it, United’s season could have been even more disastrous.

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