Manchester United 2022/23 season review: Start as you mean to go on | OneFootball

Silverware and a top four finish. You can’t say fairer than that in Erik ten Hag’s impressive first season in charge of Manchester United.

Competition breakdown

Premier League – 3rd

United never truly threatened the title race in 2022/23 but their season panned out much better than it looked like it might after they lost to Brighton and Brentford in their first two fixtures.

The Premier League can be a steep learning curve but Ten Hag soon got the hang of it, making Old Trafford something of a fortress. United only dropped nine points and conceded just 10 goals at home all season, with their home defensive record the best in the league.

Their away record was less impressive, with eight of their nine league defeats coming on the road this term. And while they beat each of the traditional Big Six at least once this season, a 6-3 defeat away at Manchester City and the 7-0 thrashing at Anfield won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Nevertheless, automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League should be considered a very solid start to Ten Hag’s project.

Europa League – Quarter-final

Everything was going swimmingly for United as they led 2-0 heading into the final minutes of their Europa League quarter-final first leg with Sevilla.

But then own goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire enabled the Spanish outfit snatch a draw, and the tie never swung back in United’s favour, with lamentable errors from David de Gea leading to a 3-0 whitewash in the second leg.

FA Cup – Finalists

United overcame Reading, West Ham, Fulham and Brighton en route to the final, where they were ultimately beaten by the best team in the country.

Losing any game to your rivals rankles, never mind a final, and now United fans face an anxious wait to see if City will make their double a treble in next weekend’s Champions League final.

EFL Cup – Winners

An impressive victory over Newcastle in the final saw United get their hands on the first piece of domestic silverware of the season, setting the tone nicely for Ten Hag’s tenure.

It was the club’s first trophy since 2017 and the sixth League Cup in their history.

Player of the season: Casemiro

Marcus Rashford’s post-World Cup scoring form and Bruno Fernandes’s 23 goal contributions in all competitions made them strong contenders for this award, but Casemiro had a transformative impact on United’s fortunes this season.

After their protracted summer pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong ended in failure, eyebrows were raised when the club splashed around £70m on the 30-year-old Brazilian.

But the five-time Champions League winner brought steel, determination, intelligence and a winning mentality to United’s midfield engine room, not to mention the seven goals he chipped in with across all competitions.

Ten Hag described Casemiro as the “cement between the stones” when the former Real Madrid man joined the club, and he was dead right.

Game of the season: Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool

Having lost at home to Brighton on the opening day of the season and then been thrashed 4-0 away at Brentford, United fans could have been forgiven for fearing a bloodbath when Liverpool rocked up at Old Trafford on matchday three.

Instead, a clever goal from Jadon Sancho in the 16th minute calmed their nerves, before Marcus Rashford opened his account for the season to make it 2-0 early in the second half.

Liverpool pulled one back late on but United held on for their first league victory over their rivals from down the M62 since 2018, and Ten Hag got a desperately needed three points to ease the pressure and kickstart his side’s season.

The Dutchman’s bold call to drop both Cristiano Ronaldo and captain Harry Maguire for this game not only paid off but also showed that he was not afraid to make big decisions stamp his authority on the team.

Top goalscorer: Marcus Rashford (30)

It’s hard to believe that around this time last year there were doubts about Rashford’s future at United after the academy graduate had endured a disappointing couple of seasons.

He made a decent enough start to this campaign, with a goal against Liverpool and a brace in the victory against Arsenal being the big highlights of the first half of the season.

But post-World Cup, with Ronaldo out of the picture, was when Rashford’s season really entered the stratosphere.

After netting twice for England in Qatar, he scored in seven consecutive matches for United, with that particular hot streak culminating with the winner in January’s Manchester derby.

A further 14 goals followed, with the 25-year-old finishing with 30 in all competitions, making it the best goalscoring season of his career to date.

Rising star: Alejandro Garnacho

Ralf Rangnick didn’t leave much of a legacy at United, but he may be remembered fondly one day as the man who gave Garnacho his senior debut towards the end of last season.

It was Ten Hag who truly showed his trust in the teenager, however, and after making his first start in the Europa League this season, the young Argentine has done plenty to excite the Old Trafford faithful.

His assist for the winning goal against City and his goal at Elland Road this season are perhaps the standout moments of his young career so far, and there is plenty more to come.

Garnacho has a Cristiano Ronaldo tattoo on his leg, but his exuberant, direct playing style is perhaps more reminiscent of United legend Ryan Giggs.

United fans know a good young talent when they see one, and they love this boy.

What comes next?

Bigger and better things if all goes to plan.

Ten Hag’s first season has to be considered an overall success and indeed, his maiden voyage in English football has already yielded more than Pep Guardiola managed in his first year in the country.

United will want to be challenging for the Premier League title as soon as possible and though City will be hard to stop again next season, Arsenal’s crack at it this year should be a source of inspiration. Being back in the Champions League is also not just prestigious but could also be huge in terms of the calibre of player United will now be able to attract.

Whether the Glazers sell the club or not, there will be money to spend this summer, and spending it wisely is going to be a crucial. A new goalkeeper and a prolific striker are a must, but every department of the squad could benefit from an upgrade.

Whatever happens, United fans have every reason to be confident that they have to right man at the helm to steer them back towards the pinnacle of English and European football.

United aren’t “back” yet, but they’re getting there.