Manchester United 2022-23 season review – star player, best moment, standout result

Manchester United’s 2022/23 season ended Saturday afternoon at Wembley with the Red Devils losing 2-1 to Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Ilkay Gundogan put Citizens ahead in the opening seconds before Bruno Fernandes equalized with a penalty, but his second goal ultimately secured the trophy for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Man United finished the season with a trophy, but after a good run in the Premier League, they won the EFL Cup at the end of February to secure third place in the standings and return to the Champions League in 2023. . The 2024 season was Eric ten Haag’s main objective in his first term as manager of the 20-time England champions.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at Man United’s 2022-23 season, also reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League but losing out to eventual champions Sevilla.

Season Overview

Final league position: 3rd

EFL Cup: Winners

FA Cup: Runners-up

Europa League: Quarter-finals

Top scorer: Marcus Rashford (30)

Most assists: Bruno Fernandes (15)

When Ten Haag took over as Man United manager last summer, his tenure for the 2022/23 season was relatively simple. It was to secure a top four spot in the Premier League and return to the Champions League. His first season at Old Trafford was strong as his cup success was welcomed but not required.

Of course, many point to the additions to the squad last summer, with Tyrrell Marathia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Anthony all joining in an already talented roster. One would argue that Ten Hague has not accomplished much. 2021-2022 has significantly underperformed.

Ten Haag have weathered some incredibly difficult situations this season, but the most notable is the story of Cristiano Ronaldo, following a shocking interview with Piers Morgan, the Portuguese The contract with the player was finally terminated at the end of last year. Underperforming captain Harry Maguire was also often on the bench, and ten Haag proved their authority throughout the season.

Man United got off to a dismal start to the 2022/23 Premier League season, losing two straight games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, but a 22-08 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford on 22 August. A 2-1 victory was a statement of determination, and we raised our voices. level beyond that.

Of course, there have been some real low points in the Premier League – the 6-3 loss at Man City and 7-0 defeat at Liverpool to name two, but Man United have developed an important quality of bouncing back quickly from disappointing results, and they actually won seven of their next 10 league games after the 4-0 defeat at Brentford, which demonstrates their character.

The team`s fourth loss of the Premier League campaign came at Aston Villa on November 6, but they then responded by winning five and drawing one of their next six ahead of the trip to title hopefuls Arsenal, which brought a 3-2 loss for the 20-time English champions.

The back-to-back losses at Brighton and West Ham United on May 4 and May 7 respectively made the top-four race a lot closer than it should have been, but they ended up winning their final four league games of the campaign to secure third, and their home form was magnificent, picking up 48 points from 19 matches, which was a record only bettered by Man City (52), as Old Trafford became a fortress again.

Man United incredibly lost eight times on their travels, though, so it is obvious where improvement is needed next season if they are to be serious challengers for the title.

Ten Hag’s achievement in securing a top-four spot was made even more impressive considering that he lost Ronaldo for the second half of the campaign and added Wout Weghorst, who failed to score a single Premier League goal during his time at the club. It’s certainly possible to argue that Ronaldo would have performed better than Weghorst, but the Portuguese player couldn’t stay at the club after what happened.

The Dutchman wanted more in the January transfer window, but three loan signings arrived, with Weghorst being joined by Jack Butland from Crystal Palace and Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich.

Man United’s six-year trophy drought also came to an end this season as the team won the EFL Cup by defeating Aston Villa, Burnley, Charlton Athletic, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United in the final. .

The Red Devils are also considered to be the favorites to win the Europa League, beating Barcelona in the play-off knockout stages and a comfortable victory over Real Betis in the round of 16, but eventual winners Sevilla qualified for the final in the quarter-finals, leaving the team behind. The trip has come to an end.

Ten Haag will likely cite injuries to Martinez and Rafael Varane as reasons for leaving the team, although it might have been a different story had they played for the second leg at the Estadio Ramon. , where David De had a bad time, the show showed Gere and, more questionably, Maguire.

Defensively, there was a massive development this season, and De Gea in reality ended the 2022-23 Premier League marketing campaign with the Golden Glove, however the Spaniard made a few high-profile errors, and there stay massive query marks surrounding his capacity to play out from the back.

Ten Hag has additionally needed to cope with the off-the-area possession situation, with the Glazers presently in talks over a sale, and the Dutchman continues to be uncertain how a great deal cash there can be to spend this summer, that’s hardly ever perfect with the outlet of the switch window simply across the corner.

Man United had been trying to quit their season on a highly nice observe with the aid of using beating Man City withinside the FA Cup very last at Wembley, however it became now no longer to be for the Red Devils, struggling a 2-1 defeat to their rivals, as a brace from Gundogan proved sufficient for Guardiola`s facet to hold their treble hopes alive.

Injuries averted Anthony Martial and Antony from providing withinside the team’s very last sport of the season, whilst Sabitzer’s absence became additionally felt, with the Austrian bringing electricity and great for the duration of his distinctly quick time on the club.

Third withinside the Premier League, EFL Cup winners, FA Cup finalists, and quarter-finalists withinside the Europa League is past what many believed Man United could gain this season, and Ten Hag has proven that he’s each inch the supervisor that the Red Devils have wanted seeing that Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure because of his capacity to make uncomfortable choices in the largest moments.

Premier League Stats

Wins: 23 (3rd)
Draws: 6 (=7th)
Losses: 9 (17th)
Goals scored: 58 (=7th)
Goals conceded: 43 (=13th)
Yellow cards: 78 (4th)
Red cards: 2 (=3rd)
Passes: 19,086 (6th)
Shots: 593 (=4th)
Big chances missed: 71 (2nd)
Saves: 101 (15th)
Tackles: 658 (9th)
Own goals: 1 (=6th)
Hit woodwork: 20 (=3rd)
Clearances: 734 (9th)

How did it compare to last season?

In an incredibly turbulent 2021/22 season, Man United have been led by three managers. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked at the end of November due to poor performance, and as a result, Michael Carrick was appointed as interim manager until early December.

Ralf Rangnick took over as interim manager for the rest of the season, but a very disappointing Premier League season, 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and 11 behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. finished in 6th place. 11 points behind Arsenal.

Man United conceded 57 goals in the Premier League last season, making a significant improvement in that area, but have managed just one more goal in the league this season.

After winning just 16 league games in 2021/22, the Red Devils finished the season with 23 wins, a return to the top four was Ten Haag’s main objective this season and they succeeded. It’s the season.

Man United also finished the season in the EFL Cup, reaching the FA Cup final, but were eliminated in the FA Cup fourth and EFL Cup third rounds last season.

The 20-time England champion could actually reach the last 16 of the 2021/22 Champions League, his best result in a difficult season, but this year’s Europa League quarter-finals. was defeated in Seville.

Player Of The Season: Marcus Rashford

Casemiro has done well in his first season at Man United. The Brazilian played a leading role in the team’s success, with Martinez also playing for the club before suffering a season-ending injury.

Luke Shaw and Fernandes certainly deserve mention in this category, but the club’s player of the season has to be Rashford.

It came as little surprise that the England international was named Sir Matt Busby’s Player of the Year and was also named Player of the Year at the club’s official awards ceremony.

Rashford played a key role in the team’s success, finishing the season with 30 goals and 11 assists in 56 appearances. In his first season under ten Haag, he took his game to a new level.

The striker is indistinguishable from the man who struggled so badly in 2021/22 and it would have been disastrous if Man United had let him go last summer.

However, Ten Hague have said from the start that Rashford has been an important player for the club and the Red Devils need to address his contract situation as soon as possible to ensure that Rashford remains at Old Trafford in the long term. claimed to be. It’s crucial to any chance of regaining its former glory.

Standout Result: Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City

There were three candidates in this category. Man United’s 3-1 victory over Arsenal in the Premier League in September and 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford are definitely worth mentioning.

Ten Haag’s side also impressed by beating Barcelona 2-1 in the second round of the Europa League knockout stage in February to reach the last 16.

Man United 2-1 Meanwhile, beating Man City in the Manchester derby in January was a standout result of the season given the nature of the opponents.

Jack Grealish’s breakthrough saw the Red Devils fall behind Guardiola, as they did in recent derbies, but Fernandes equalized in the 78th minute before Rashford scored the winning goal four minutes later.

With just one defeat in Manchester United’s last 19 games in all competitions and a celebratory scene at the final whistle, Ten Haag showed they could outdo Guardiola and gave the side the lead. should have been advantageous.

Best moment

There have been many great moments for Man United throughout the season, but the EFL Cup success in this category at the end of February definitely deserves mention.

But he has one particularly poignant moment this season. Casemiro’s late equalizer against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October sent the crowd into a celebratory mood.

Man United were all but wiped out when Jorginho converted the penalty in the 87th minute and seemed to secure all three points for Graham Potter’s side.

But the Red Devils and Casemiro had other ideas. A superb header from the Brazilian from Shaw’s cross secured a share of the spoils for the Ten Hague side and the midfielder’s sheer emotion after the goal made it incredibly valuable and an outstanding performance. Because he became a player. A look at the “moment” campaign.

Top Priority For Summer

Man United`s goals scored column in the Premier League this season is a clear demonstration of where they need to improve, having only netted 58 times in their 38 matches, which is a total bettered by Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City.

The Red Devils desperately need to bring in a world-class centre-forward, with Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen viewed as their leading targets, while Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Atalanta BC’s Rasmus Holjund are also admired.

Whether the club are able to sign Kane or Osimhen remains to be seen, but a big-money addition in the final third is required if they are to get closer to the Premier League summit next season and make an impression in the Champions League due to the level of competition.

Ten Hag is also said to be keen to bring in another central midfielder, with West Ham United’s Declan Rice and Chelsea’s Mason Mount being heavily linked with moves to the club.

A lack of midfield energy cost Man United in the FA Cup final, and adding both Rice and Mount would be a serious statement of intent, but the duo would likely cost the best part of £120m.

Martinez had a great debut season at Old Trafford, but with Maguire’s departure the club will need a new centre-back and Napoli’s Kim Min-jae is believed to be the prime target.

Manchester United’s priority this season is undoubtedly a world-class centre-forward, but they need to improve their quality across the board to be a serious contender for the biggest title, and new goals if they sign their current squad. I disagree with number one De Gea, who also needs a keeper.

Final Verdict

An FA Cup win on Saturday would have been the perfect end to a strong season for Man United, but not for the Red Devils. However, this result did not detract from their progress this season and is considered a successful season for the club.

Last season’s riots at Old Trafford would have been difficult for Ten Haag to really push back, but the Dutchman has faced adversity to guide the club through a difficult period in his career. A story that had to show strength.

A return to the Champions League for the 2023-24 season was the main goal and the trophy was won.

The club may be regretting their Europa League season, but overall there has been a lot of progress in a short period of time and there is plenty of reason to expect a bright future under 10 hexes.