Manchester United’s 2024–25 season concluded on a optimistic be aware at house to Aston Villa, however their spectacular remaining day victory has no hope of masking what’s been an abhorrent marketing campaign.
The Crimson Devils proceed to sink to new depths in a post-Sir Alex Ferguson world. Such plummets, like these endured beneath Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim, imply the underwhelming reigns of José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær are out of the blue yearned for.
Many anticipated 2023–24 to be United’s Premier League nadir, however 2024–25 ventured right into a recent realm of humiliation. Ten Hag’s inevitable sacking arrived within the autumn, however gifted successor Amorim has struggled to know and management Manchester’s poisoned chalice.
It’s been terrible, however there’s hope that the worst of it has been bypassed. Listed here are a number of stats which present simply how dangerous issues had been for Manchester United this season.
Amorim stated in January that his crew had been perhaps the “worst” within the membership’s 147-year historical past. The most recent iteration of the Crimson Devils didn’t fairly sink to the murky depths of the 1930–31 crew, who would’ve earned 29 factors in a 42-game marketing campaign had three factors been awarded for a win, however this aspect will undoubtedly be remembered as essentially the most dire in United’s trendy historical past.
Their 2–0 win over Champions League hopefuls Villa on the ultimate day meant United completed with 42 factors from their 38 video games. Their earlier lowest Premier League factors haul was the meagre 58 they accrued throughout a tumultuous 2021–22 marketing campaign dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s homecoming.
United had been unable to usurp that tally after they had been thumped 4–1 at St. James’ Park in mid-April. This crew was confirmed as United’s worst with greater than a month of the season remaining. Their whole of 18 league defeats are essentially the most because the 1973–74 season after they had been relegated to the second tier after dropping 20 instances.
Outdated Trafford was as soon as a frightening vacation spot for visiting groups, the place away victories had been deemed not more than collector’s objects. Nevertheless, lately, the Theatre of Desires has been utilized by opponents to interrupt prolonged droughts.
Groups that haven’t received away at Manchester United in many years have damaged droughts, and the benefit at which some have prevailed at Outdated Trafford renders such victories borderline futile. Whereas historic for some, successful at United now not feels important. It’s anticipated.
The Crimson Devils averted a document tenth house defeat within the Premier League this season on the ultimate day, however their haul of 9 is the joint-most within the membership’s historical past.
Solely the three relegated groups scored fewer targets at house than United (23).
When Marcus Rashford scored within the opening minutes at Portman Highway, United appeared destined to benefit from the phenomenon that’s the ‘new supervisor bounce’ at the beginning of an thrilling new daybreak with Amorim in cost.
Nevertheless, Omari Hutchinson’s equaliser thrust the Crimson Devils again to actuality, and though there have been glimmers of promise early on beneath Ten Hag’s successor, issues rapidly petered out and finally worsened.
United had been 14th when the Dutchman departed having received three of their opening 9 Premier League video games. They ended the season in fifteenth with Amorim overseeing seven wins from 27 video games in cost. The Portuguese’s present points-per-game charge of 1.00 is presently the bottom amongst all Man Utd managers in Premier League historical past, and his win charge of 25.9% can be the worst.
Out of the managers who took on Premier League jobs through the season, solely Leicester’s Ruud van Nistelrooy and Southampton’s Ivan Jurić boast poorer points-per-game information. Graham Potter, David Moyes and Vitor Pereira all bettered Amorim at the beginning of their tenures.
The concession of 54 targets is their joint-third worst defensive document in Premier League historical past, however United’s incapacity to attain proved extra damaging. They mustered a record-low 44 targets within the competitors this season, usurping the 49 Louis van Gaal’s boring outfit mustered in 2015–16.
Whereas United hardly excelled from an opportunity creation perspective, the underlying numbers recommend they woefully underperformed in entrance of objective. Their 56.91 anticipated targets haul (by way of Understat) ranked Thirteenth-highest within the division, however their underperformance of 12.91 was solely topped by Bournemouth (14.62) and Crystal Palace (16.78). Of the 12 gamers who scored a minimum of one Premier League objective, solely three outperformed their xG.
Because of their profligacy, Man Utd missed out on a minimum of 10 factors primarily based on Understat’s metrics. They completed twelfth within the Premier League with 52.24 anticipated factors.