Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
A season after Manchester United had the worst ever Premier League performance, the new season started horribly with a 1-6 goal difference and humiliating defeat to Brentford 4-1. The nightmarish start of a season began with a home loss to Brighton. Those defeats continued the narrative from 2021/22 when Red Devils finished 35 points behind hometown rivals Manchester City.
Manchester United had a turbulent offseason in which they signed Christen Eriksen to a three-year deal and brought excellent prospects in Lisandro Martinez from Ajay and Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord. After a poor performance from the legendary Norwegian striker, now manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Ragnick, Manchester signed Erik ten Hag, who led Ajax to multiple trophies and excellent results in UEFA Champions League.
The biggest miss of the transfer portal was the inability to get Barcelona's midfielder, De Jong. However, they managed to keep club legends and once top world player Cristiano Ronaldo who was disgruntled coming into the season.
Before the start of the season, bookmakers saw Manchester United finishing fourth in Premier League odds, which seemed optimistic after a horrible start to the season. However, sports betting blog sites were somewhat harsher on the Red Devils, and they mostly see United competing for the Champions League spot until the end.
Manchester United did have an impressive record for away games in 2021, going 23 consecutive away games without a loss. In the previous season, however, Old Trafford didn't prove to be an impenetrable fortress for guests. They had four tough losses, including a 5-0 thrashing from their arch-rivals, Liverpool. Considering poor performance at the start of the season, Ten Hag's tenure didn't start as planned. To be honest, it will take time and a few new players to implement United's possession and high-pressure style of play.
The Brighton home loss to open the season especially strung the United faithful. Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal are all teams that have a legitimate chance to upset United at the Theatre of Dreams. But since there is no sign of vast improvement from the last season, it's not out of the picture for other teams competing in the top-flight of English football.
Manchester United saw its first fans protest only three fixtures into the season, but club management is still trying to improve the active roster. Red Devils managed to sign Brazilian midfielder Casemiro who spent the last nine seasons playing alongside Luka Modric and Tony Kroos at Real Madrid. The Brazilian agreed to move to Manchester after winning five Champions League trophies with Real. The deal is worth 70 million and will strengthen the middle of the field. However, the new creative duo of Eriksen and Casemiro will have to spark a stagnant attack left over from last season.
The third match of the season came on the same day the club signed Casemiro. The biggest rivals, FC Liverpool, came to Old Trafford. As a sign of hope, Manchester United not only won 2-1 but Rashford and Sancho, often criticised in the previous season, scored.
Manchester had a lacklustre performance in last year's Premier League, finishing sixth. However, the silver lining is that the Red Devils won't be engaged in the Champions League, leaving more focus on the domestic league. From the club's and fans' perspective, the minimum goal for Manchester United is finishing in the top four positions and securing a Champions League appearance in the next season.
For many analysts, the Europa League campaign is the best chance of winning a trophy in the 2022/23 campaign. United is still active on the transfer market, looking for possible reinforcement to match the style Erik ten Hag wants to implement.
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
My daughter's first ever football match - Orlando City v Atlanta United, August 2019. Written for Izzy to read when she gets old enough. Vamos Orlando
23 interesting things to do to pass the time until the football season restarts
All good things have to come to an end, and the same unfortunately has to be said for football stadiums too. This article looks at the grounds which are soon to host their last match, the stadiums whose days are numbered and where fans will be watching their football from next.
