Manchester United hired Jose Mourinho as their new manager, he didn't wast anytime in making 4 signings, these included the best signing of the season on a free transfer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored an impressive 28 goals in all competitions, another impressive signing was Eric Bailly, a player not known by Manchester United fans but quickly fit in with his strength and agility, he is a good prospect for but in the future as well. Not all the signings performed well. Henrikh Mkhitaryan struggled at first to adapt to English football and at best was inconsistent. I saved the best for last, Paul Pogba returning to Manchester United in a small sum of 89 million pounds. He played without luck at times, should have scored more but mostly his high transfer free weighed heavily on his broad shoulders. Manchester United finished the English Premier League in 6th place, a shocking 24 points and 31 goals behind champions Chelsea. Manchester United recorded 15 draws this season, the most by any team. If they won 60% of their drawn games, they would have been champions. Manchester United just didn't score enough goals this season, that has been the theme of the season. Some of it has been bad luck, Paul Pogba hit the post 9 times this season but other instances it's just great chances that have been missed. It is an headache but it's a good one to have because at least they are creating chances to score every game . Under Van Gaal that chances created were few in number throughout his managerial stay at Manchester United. Hopefully Mourinho rectify this through coaching and acquisition of players in the summer transfer market who have an eye towards goal.
It was not all doom and gloom on the domestic front as Manchester United won the Community Shield and The EFL Cup and may I add were unlucky to be knocked out by Chelsea as they were undone by poor refereeing. The Community Shield is not the most prestigious trophy to win as it is widely considered part of pre-season but it's still a trophy that is not handed out but earned.
Let me get to the best part of the season and that is winning the Europa League for the first time, always great to make history but even better when Manchester United booked their place in next season's UEFA Champions League group stages. I consider this season a success; to win 3 out of 5 trophies and seal a UEFA Champions League spot would be more than the optimistic fan would have hoped for. Many pundits refused to call Manchester United's season a success. Manchester United are expected to win the league every season so I do understand when some say it's not been a successful season for them but when you compare the last 3 seasons, this season has to go done as a success. All Manchester United fans can enjoy this off-season as we are back in the UEFA Champions League and have the money to spend on top quality players but please don't listen to all the rumors that will linked them to every player in the world.
Great article! And in the league, even with the draws, Man Utd got 69 points, 3 more points than last year. (66 points) With 69 points last season Man Utd would have been 4th place.
ReplyDeleteThanks and very true Carlos
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