Premier League Christmas Countdown: Manchester United
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Premier League Christmas Countdown: Manchester United

16/12/24 15:18

Day 13: Manchester United

Everyday, from now until Christmas Eve, we will take a look at a Premier League club and rate their season so far. Today, it is Manchester United’s turn to be put under the microscope as we continue our Premier League Christmas Countdown.

Manchester United have entered a new era this season under the leadership of Ruben Amorim after they sacked Erik ten Hag. They currently sit in 13th in the Premier League table, but are just two points off 7th, which shows how tight the middle of the table is this season. Under Amorim they have shown signs of improvement, but they’ll need a lot more if they wish to push Europe.

New Signings, Same United

Manchester United made some promising signings in the transfer window, specifically Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt. Zirkzee came on as a substitute in the second half in their opening match against Fulham and scored the only goal, giving the Red Devils a winning start.

It quickly became clear that not much had changed over the summer, as they lost their next match against Brighton. Zirkzee made another substitute appearance and deflected a Alejandro Garnacho shot into the goal from an offside position, costing United the game. Fellow summer signing Mazraoui was probably their best player in that game, grabbing an assist.

A September to Forget

September was a very poor month in the league for Manchester United. It started off with a 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool. Casemiro made two first half mistakes that lead to goals in that game and as a result, has made very few appearances since. In their next game they managed to get a win against Southampton, but that hasn’t been a challenge for most teams this season.

Despite dominating from start to finish, United failed to beat Crystal Palace, or even score, as the game ended goalless. The Red Devils really needed a win from this game, as they were losing ground in the race for Europe and had a difficult match against Tottenham next. Like the Liverpool match, Manchester United lost 3-0 at home to Tottenham, with Bruno Fernandes getting a red card in the first half.

Goodbye Erik

October was the pivotal month for Ten Hag. Following their loss to Tottenham, they drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in a relatively uneventful game. They managed to beat Brentford at home, but their European results were poor, with two draws against Porto and Fenerbahce.

On the last weekend of October, they travelled to West Ham, which was the defining game for Ten Hag’s career as Manchester United manager, as they lost 2-1 and he was inevitably sacked. Ruud van Nistelrooy took charge for two Premier League matches before Amorim came in, starting off with a draw against Chelsea.

A Bruno Fernandes penalty broke the deadlock after 70 minutes, but Moises Caicedo equalised just four minutes later. The other game that Van Nistelrooy took charge was a 3-0 win over his current club Leicester City.

Amorim’s Mixed Start

Amorim came into the Manchester United job with a match away at Ipswich Town, a tough test, but one his side should realistically win. The game finished 1-1 after Marcus Rashford’s early goal was met with a good response by Ipswich. Amorim managed his first win just a week later, as the Red Devils ran rampant over Everton, winning 4-0.

This positive upturn in form quickly disappeared as they were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal and then 3-2 by Nottingham Forest. There were two quick goals at the start of the second half by Forest that were avoidable, but ultimately took the game beyond Manchester United’s reach.

Their most recent match was a bit of a shock result, despite Manchester City’s poor form recently. The Red Devils travelled to the Etihad in the home that they could grind out a draw against their local rivals, but they were down by a goal for most of the match, and never really looked like scoring, until Amad Diallo took the game by the scruff of the neck, winning a penalty for Fernandes to equalise, before scoring the winner just two minutes later.

Player of the Season

Amad Diallo has been, for large parts of the season, the only Manchester United player winning to take risks. For me, I see their season in two parts: the ten Hag era, and the Amorim era. Under Ten Hag, Mazraoui was United’s best player, but in the new system that Amorim has, he has been more defensive, giving Amad the opportunity to cause havoc down the right hand side.

Season Rank: D

End of Season Prediction: 8th

Check out our Christmas Countdown article from yesterday.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Jake Martin

Lead Writer

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