Manchester United
The 2022–23 season is Manchester United's 31st season in the Premier League and their 48th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. In addition to the domestic league, they are also competing in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the UEFA Europa League. There is currently a mid-season break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with the last match being played on 13 November 2022, and the first match after the World Cup due to be played on 26 December 2022, following the World Cup final on 18 December 2022.[2] Pre-season and friendlies[edit]United confirmed the first of their tour destinations, travelling to Bangkok, Thailand and Melbourne, Australia to face Liverpool in the Bangkok Century Cup, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.[3] A third friendly in Australia was later added, against Aston Villa.[4] A trip to Norway was also confirmed for a fixture against Atlético Madrid.[5] A home match, Erik ten Hag's first as United manager, was confirmed against Rayo Vallecano for 31 July.[6] United began the tour with a 4–0 win over rivals Liverpool; goals from Jadon Sancho, Fred and Anthony Martial put them 3–0 up by half-time, before Facundo Pellistri added a fourth less than 15 minutes from the end.[7] The tour resumed in Australia, where United came back from a goal down – scored by Chris Ikonomidis – to beat Melbourne Victory 4–1; goals from Scott McTominay, Martial, Marcus Rashford and an own goal from Victory youngster Edmond Lupancu maintained United's 100% start to pre-season.[8] On 19 July, United led Crystal Palace 3–0 first via Martial, Rashford, and Sancho before a goal from Joel Ward pulled one back for the London club.[9] Four days later, United led Aston Villa 2–0 in the first half via Sancho and a Matty Cash own goal before goals from Leon Bailey and Calum Chambers equalised for the Birmingham club.[10] A week later, United suffered their first defeat in pre-season against Atlético Madrid, following a late goal from João Félix.[11] The next day, United played another Madrid club, Rayo Vallecano. Amad Diallo scored first early in the second half before Álvaro García equalised nine minutes later.[12] During the break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Manchester United will have a week-long training camp in Cádiz, Spain, highlighted by a friendly match against Cádiz CF at Nuevo Mirandilla on 7 December.[13] A second friendly will be played against Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville three days later.[14]
Premier League[edit]Matches[edit]The 2022–23 Premier League fixtures were released on 16 June 2022.[15] The league season began with a home loss against Brighton & Hove Albion on 7 August. Pascal Groß scored twice in the first half for Brighton before they conceded an own goal by Alexis Mac Allister in the second to give United their first ever home defeat to Brighton. Named in the starting line-up, Lisandro Martínez and Christian Eriksen made their debuts for United, as did Tyrell Malacia, who came on as a substitute.[16] United then suffered another defeat to Brentford, the first time they had started a league campaign with consecutive losses since the 1992–93 season. Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Ben Mee and Bryan Mbeumo all scored without reply before the clock had reached 38 minutes. The rest of the game went goalless, but it meant United went bottom of the league table. This was United's seventh straight away defeat in the league, their worst streak since a run of 10 in the 1936–37 season, which ended in relegation from the First Division.[17] That season, United lost both of their meetings with Brentford: 4–0 away on 10 October 1936 and 3–1 on 13 February 1937; those were United's most recent defeats to Brentford prior to this.[18] Erik ten Hag became the first United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his opening two games in charge of the club.[19] On 22 August, United achieved their first league victory of the season, a 2–1 home win against Liverpool. Jadon Sancho scored 15 minutes into the first half and Marcus Rashford early in the second, before Mohamed Salah scored a consolation goal that made him the fixture's outright top scorer with 10 goals. This was United's first league win against Liverpool since March 2018.[20] In the next match, United visited Southampton on 27 August. Bruno Fernandes scored the game's only goal with a volley as United won their first away match in the league and won back-to-back league matches for the first time since February 2022. Casemiro made his United debut when he came on as a substitute in the 80th minute.[21] On 1 September, United achieved a second away victory as they won 1–0 against Leicester City. Sancho scored the only goal after 23 minutes as United won three league matches in a row for the first time since December 2021.[22] On 4 September, United obtained their fourth consecutive league victory with a 3–1 home win against rivals Arsenal. Antony scored the opening goal 35 minutes into his United debut, before Bukayo Saka equalised at the hour mark. Rashford then scored two goals in order to secure victory against Arsenal, who were on top of the league table, having started the season on a five-match winning streak.[23] Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September, all league matches on the weekend of 10–12 September were postponed.[24][25] United then announced that their home game against rivals Leeds United, originally scheduled for 18 September, would also be postponed due to a police shortage ahead of the Queen's state funeral.[26] United's break from league action was further extended by the September international window, which meant their first Premier League match in almost a month saw them face Manchester City away in the derby on 2 October. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden each scored twice for City in the first half to give the hosts a 4–0 lead at the break. Antony scored for United early in the second half, but Haaland and Foden both scored again to complete their hat-tricks before Anthony Martial came on to score two late goals for United. With a total of nine goals, it was the highest-scoring Manchester derby of all time.[27] The next week, United travelled to play Everton. Alex Iwobi opened the scoring after just five minutes, but Everton led only briefly before Antony scored the equaliser, his third consecutive league game scoring. An injury to Martial saw him replaced by Cristiano Ronaldo just before the half-hour mark, who only took 15 minutes to score the winning goal, assisted by Casemiro. It was Ronaldo's first open-play goal of the season and the 700th overall in his club career.[28] On the next match United faced Newcastle United in their first home league game in six weeks. Both teams had plenty of chances but ultimately had to settle for a goalless draw.[29] Three days later, they hosted Tottenham Hotspur. Fred scored his first goal of the season before Fernandes sealed the win.[30] They visited Chelsea three days later in the last game against a fellow top six side in 2022. Following a foul in the penalty area by Scott McTominay, Jorginho slotted home the penalty three minutes from time, but Casemiro then headed home in the fourth minute of stoppage time – his first United goal – as United extended their unbeaten league record against the West London side to 10 matches, dating back to November 2017.[31] United hosted West Ham United on 30 October. Rashford scored his 100th club goal, which proved to be the sole goal of the game. The match was held 85 years to the start of United's run of including academy graduates in their matchday squads, which by this point already reached 4,163 consecutive matches.[32] A week later United travelled to Aston Villa, in their manager Unai Emery's first Premier League game since his days with Arsenal. A seventh-minute goal from Leon Bailey and a free kick from Lucas Digne four minutes later gave Villa an early two-goal lead, before a shot from Luke Shaw was deflected into his own net by Jacob Ramsey. Four minutes into the second half, Ramsey redeemed himself and made it 3–1. This was United's first loss at Villa Park in all competitions since October 1999, and the first in the league since August 1995.[33] The following Sunday saw United travel to West London to face Fulham for the last Premier League game prior to the World Cup. Christian Eriksen opened the scoring with his first goal for the club with less than 15 minutes played, but as the game passed the hour mark, former United winger Daniel James scored from close range to equalise. Alejandro Garnacho, who was subbed on for Martial 11 minutes later, scored the winning goal in the final minute of added time.[34]
League table[edit]
Updated to match(es) played on 13 November 2022. Source: Premier League FA Cup[edit]As a Premier League side, United will enter the 2022–23 FA Cup in the Third Round Proper in January 2023. EFL Cup[edit]As United were competing in UEFA competition in 2022–23, they entered the EFL Cup in the third round. They were drawn against Aston Villa, and the match was played at Old Trafford on 10 November 2022.[36] United gave a debut to goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka, who kept a clean sheet in the first half, but within three minutes of the second half starting, United were behind to a goal from Ollie Watkins. Anthony Martial equalised 19 seconds after the ensuing kick-off, only for United to go behind again when Diogo Dalot diverted a ball from Leon Bailey into his own net just after the hour mark. Marcus Rashford equalised six minutes later, before Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay sealed the victory.[37] United received another home draw in the fourth round; they will play against Burnley on 21 December 2022.[38]
UEFA Europa League[edit]Group stage[edit]Having finished sixth in the 2021–22 Premier League, United qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League. They entered the competition in the group stage, which was drawn on 26 August 2022, with United in Pot 1 along with Roma, Arsenal, Lazio, Braga, Red Star Belgrade, Dynamo Kyiv and Olympiacos.[39] They were drawn into Group E with Spanish club Real Sociedad, Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol and Cypriot representative Omonia. They last met Sociedad in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League round of 32, which they won 4–0 away and drew 0–0 at home. They also met in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage, when United drew 0–0 away and won 1–0 at home. The meetings with Sheriff and Omonia were United's first against teams from either Moldova or Cyprus.[40] The group stage began on 8 September and concluded on 3 November 2022.[41] Before United's opening group match at home to Real Sociedad, a moment of silence was observed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II earlier that day. Real Sociedad's Brais Méndez scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after 59 minutes, following a contentious handball decision against substitute Lisandro Martínez, to give the Spanish side their first ever win over United.[42] For the next match United travelled to Chișinău, where Zimbru Stadium hosted the match instead of Sheriff's regular stadium, Sheriff Stadium, Tiraspol, due to Transnistria's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Jadon Sancho opened the scoring before Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season via a penalty.[43] The next match saw United travel to Omonia's GSP Stadium in Nicosia. Despite a heavily dominant United display in the first half, Karim Ansarifard put Omonia into the lead after 34 minutes. Half-time substitutes Rashford and Martial put United 3–1 up before Nikolas Panayiotou scored a late consolation goal for the hosts.[44] The return fixture was played the next week, with Scott McTominay scoring the game's winning goal.[45] United hosted Sheriff Tiraspol on 27 October, with Alejandro Garnacho making his first senior start for the club. Diogo Dalot scored the opener with a header. It was only his second ever goal for United, and the first since January 2020. Rashford then doubled the lead with another header before Ronaldo ensured United's passage to the Europa League knockout stage.[46] On the final matchday, United needed to win by two goals in their return match against Real Sociedad at Anoeta Stadium to win the group. Garnacho scored his first senior goal for the club in the first half, but there were no further goals, which meant United finished second based on their overall goal difference.[47]
Knockout phase[edit]Having finished second in their group, United will play in the Europa League knock-out round playoffs against one of the eight third-placed teams from the UEFA Champions League group stage. There were no other English teams in the draw conducted on 7 November 2022, so all eight opponents were possible: Ajax, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Red Bull Salzburg, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting CP.[48] United were drawn first from the group runners-up pot, paired with Barcelona. The two teams have previously met in 13 competitive matches, most notably in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup Final – which United won 2–1 – and the 2009 and 2011 UEFA Champions League Finals, which Barcelona won 2–0 and 3–1, respectively. It is the sides' first meeting since the 2018–19 Champions League quarter-finals, which United lost 4–0 on aggregate.[49]
Squad statistics[edit]As of 13 November 2022
Transfers[edit]In[edit]
Out[edit]
Loan in[edit]
Loan out[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
What teams are still in the UCL 2022?Teams in Champions League group stage 2022/23. Is Manchester United out of the Champions League 2022?Manchester United out of Champions League after Atlético Madrid triumph.
Is Manchester United in the Champions League 2022 23?As United were competing in UEFA competition in 2022–23, they entered the EFL Cup in the third round. They were drawn against Aston Villa, and the match was played at Old Trafford on 10 November 2022.
Is Manchester United in UEFA Champions League?Manchester United UEFA Champions League UEFA Champions League 2022/23.
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