Manchester United appear to have made great strides forward under Erik ten Hag in 2022-23, but the difference between their Premier League record compared to the same stage last season is not as stark as you might think.
The biggest difference between this season and last is their record in the cup competitions. Last season the Red Devils suffered early eliminations from the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
In 2021-22, United made it through the Champions League group stage before falling at the first knockout hurdle to Atletico Madrid. They were defeated by West Ham in the third round of the Carabao Cup and suffered a disappointing penalty shootout defeat at home to Championship side Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Under Ten Hag this season, United remain on track to play the maximum amount of games and could yet end the campaign with three pieces of silverware. They ended their six-year trophy drought by beating Newcastle United 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley and they remain in the Europa League and FA Cup.
Having navigated their way past Barcelona and Real Betis in the first two knockout rounds of the Europa League, they’re set to face another La Liga side – Sevilla – in the quarter-finals. Brighton await at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals after they made it past Everton, Reading, West Ham and Fulham in the earlier rounds.
Last season, Manchester United finished seventh in the Premier League and registered their lowest points tally of the past 30 years. Yet at this point of the 2022-23 season, Ten Hag’s men have lost more and only picked up three more points than they had after the same number of games in 2021-22. They’ve scored fewer goals and conceded more in the league and their underlying numbers aren’t any better.
It’s easy to forget that it wasn’t until the spring last season that things began to unravel. United were fourth and still had Champions League qualification to fight for, and it was only in the run-in last term under interim coach Ralf Rangnick that spectacularly imploded. The Red Devils lost six and won just three of their last 11 league outings.
A similar collapse this season would almost certainly see United fail to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious cup competition once again. It appears much less likely this time around though, given they’ve looked a different beast with Casemiro and have registered more wins in all competitions than any other side in Europe.
However,…
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