Manchester United are desperate to get back to their best under new manager Erik Ten Hag in the 2022/23 Premier League season. The Red Devils endured a forgetful campaign last time around with two separate managers failing to steady the ship. The team also failed to qualify for the Champions League. The onus is now on the highly rated boss to deliver something special with a squad laden with issues all over the pitch and definitely low on morale.
Last season review
Disjointed and out of ideas probably defined Manchester United’s 2021-22 season as a whole. United fans were rightly frustrated seeing their team finishing 5th and recording the worst ever points tally in their Premier League history. The total of 58 points after 38 games left them 13 points off the top four with a huge 34 points gap from the champions and city rivals Manchester City. Liverpool inflicted the heaviest ever home defeat in the Premier League to Manchester United first under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who got the sack after a humiliating 4-1 defeat to relegated Watford and then crushing them 4-0 at Anfield under now Austria national team manager Ralf Rangnick. The team suffered from a lack of game plan accumulating 10 draws with 12 defeats and only 16 wins, an underappreciated performance from a club of this stature. It was feared that Man United will lose out on European football totally but settled for the Europa League at last. Although Cristiano Ronaldo became the top scorer for the club with 18 goals, many believed he was one of the factors for the downfall of the side that finished second in the Covid-hit season with his latest intention of leaving the club not going down well.
Summer Signings
It has been a summer window of chaos for Manchester United with optimistic signings made in the window while tackling the departure of a series of players and a star forward wanting out. Talking about the arrivals, United made some characteristic addition to the squad. Talented left-back Tyrell Malacia joined the club from Feyenoord in a $15m deal to upgrade that position with out-of-form Luke Shaw and Alex Telles struggling defensively. Lisandro Martinez became the second player to join from the Dutch league, signed from Ajax to bolster the defense while United secured the service of the star playmaker Christian Eriksen from Brentford on a free to be the creative force in attack. Manchester United are also struck in a prolonged transfer saga in trying to buy Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona to finally end their desire for a defensive midfielder but everything is at standstill even after agreeing to a huge $86m fee. De Jong wants to stay but demands the deferred payment before he can secure the move whereas Barcelona wants him to take a pay cut because of the financial instability at the club. The Dutch midfielder has since joined the pre-season camp with the Catalan outfit leaving no indication till now for the move to happen. There are other additions the Old Trafford-based club is looking for in the market like Antony of Ajax with Ten Haag in search for a forward as well as a midfielder in the market.
United also had a hosts of players departing the club running down their contract - Paul Pogba (Juventus), Jesse Lingard (Nottingham Forest), Nemanja Matic (Roma), Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani (without a club). Tensions has risen between the club and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese wishes to leave the club fulfilling just one year of his two seasons contract after joining last summer in search of a place where he can experience Champions League football again. The situation on his future is a hinder to the pre-season plans for the club and obviously the season starting next month. Manchester United have to take a decision now whether to sell the 37-year-old to virtually no suitors in the market even with a reduction to his high wages or upset the team harmony by letting him keep his place in the opening games of the 2022/23 season.
Pre-season Results & Fixtures
4-0 vs Liverpool (W)
1-4 vs Melbourne Victory (W)
3-1 vs Crystal Palace (W)
2-2 vs Aston Villa (D)
1-0 vs Atletico Madrid (L)
Vs Rayo Vallecano (31st July 2022)
The pre-season period started with a bang for Manchester United as they traveled to Bangkok to register a 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool. Erik Ten Haag’s new tactical ideas worked well for the team in the consecutive victories over Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace although the team failed to stop conceding goals on the transitional play which bite them in the recent draw against Aston Villa from 2-0 up in the game. The attacking trio of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho has combined for eight of the 14 goals scored in the pre-season so far.
The 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid was a hard take as well, especially being the dominant side in the game but fans were excited to see Christian Eriksen taking to the pitch in a Manchester United shirt. The last of the friendly is against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford which Ten Haag desperately needs a win to at least have a positive mentality before they begin the season
2022/23 Premier League Season Manchester United Fixtures
The 2022/23 Premier League Season starts for Manchester United with a difficult fixture at home against Brighton on Sunday, 7th August 2022. The Seagulls lost at Old Trafford last season but hammered them 4-0 at Amex so Erik Ten Haag won’t have a better chance to make a statement in his first competitive game for the club. The first big game of his tenure here and in the season will be to seek revenge against Liverpool in the derby for the humiliating results last time out at Old Trafford. Situation will be similar when Leicester City welcome them at King Power Stadium on the first day of the September as the Foxes did the double over United last season. This month will also bring a tough schedule for them as they face Arsenal, Crystal Palace, the first Yorkshire derby of the season against Leeds and the Manchester derby, on 1st October, on successive weekends. United also face Spurs and Chelsea before the World Cup rolls in.
07/08/2022 - Manchester United vs Brighton
13/08/2022 - Brentford vs Manchester United
22/08/2022 - Manchester United vs Liverpool
27/08/2022 - Southampton vs Manchester United
01/09/2022 - Leicester City vs Manchester United
04/09/2022 - Manchester United vs Arsenal
11/09/2022 - Crystal Palace vs Manchester United
18/09/2022 - Manchester United vs Leeds United
01/10/2022 - Manchester City vs Manchester United
08/10/2022 - Everton vs Manchester United
15/10/2022 - Manchester United vs Newcastle United
19/10/2022 - Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur
22/10/2022 - Chelsea vs Manchester United
29/10/2022 - Manchester United vs West Ham United
05/11/2022 - Aston Villa vs Manchester United
12/11/2022 - Fulham vs Manchester United
26/12/2022 - Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest
31/12/2022 - Wolverhampton vs Manchester United
02/01/2022 - Manchester United vs A.F.C. Bournemouth
14/01/2023 - Manchester United vs Manchester City
21/01/2023 - Arsenal vs Manchester United
04/02/2023 - Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
11/02/2023 - Leeds United vs Manchester United
18/02/2023 - Manchester United vs Leicester City
25/02/2023 - Manchester United vs Brentford
04/03/2023 - Liverpool vs Manchester United
11/03/2023 - Manchester United v Southampton
18/03/2023 - Brighton vs Manchester United
01/04/2023 - Newcastle United vs Manchester United
08/04/2023 - Manchester United vs Everton
15/04/2023 - Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United
22/04/2023 - Manchester United vs Chelsea
25/04/2023 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United
29/04/2023 - Manchester United vs Aston Villa
06/05/2023 - West Ham United vs Manchester United
13/05/2023 - Manchester United vs Wolverhampton
20/05/2023 - A.F.C. Bournemouth vs Manchester United
28/05/2023 - Manchester United vs Fulham
(Key fixtures are in bold)
How Manchester United could set up for the 2022/23 Premier League Season?
There has been little to no change of personnel that belonged in the regular team set up last season apart from Marcus Rashford who’s gradually finding his form or the 4-2-3-1 formation in the pre-season. It is not known whether Ronaldo will be in the mix come next season but Erik Ten Haag has kept him in his plans till now. Until that is sorted, Anthony Martial led the forward line efficiently after the Frenchman also struggled with form and game time last season. Ten Haag relied on Fred and Scott Mctominay pair for the midfield with no possible addition made there with Frenkie de Jong’s move stalling. New signing Lisandro Martinez could play that role but he will be needed at the center-half position to solidify the back-four with Harry Maguire shifting on the right to accommodate. The manager has said Maguire will keep his captaincy band on his arm for now despite the underwhelming season individually and have to prove his worth to be a constant starter ahead of Raphael Varane, a player of his profile who won’t be in the mood to warm the bench. The midfield issue could be settled after signing Christian Eriksen as he can operate as a deep-lying playmaker, something he has done mostly at Inter, with defensive capabilities. This means Bruno Fernandes will still start for United despite not hitting his usual standards last season. Jadon Sancho has looked lively in the preseason and is expected to be regularly on the starting team sheet with Ten Haag also acceptable to give the youths like Alejandro Garnacho or Zidane Iqbal the chance to sign like he did at Ajax. As seen in the pre-season, Manchester United have to adapt well to the pressing system the manager demands and a switch from their counter-attacking style from last season with strict rules implemented in training.
2022/23 Premier League Season Manchester United Prediction
This is a huge task for Erik Ten Hag to bring his success from Ajax into a top club in the Premier League. Especially when Manchester United is in the doldrums of finding its identity and failing to match not only Manchester City or Liverpool but also losing the race of the Champions League to the London giants. If United are wishing to go back to their glory days they have to give the new manager the best support to place a proper strategy to move forward. The Red Devils need a sound project inside the club not repeating the mistake of setting targets only for commercial gains. With the other clubs in the top six gaining strength year by year, Manchester united cannot be left behind. The first season may not work wonders straightway for Ten Haag but it will gradually if the right mentality prevails. Ending in the top four in the 2022/23 season is the minimum they could wish for right now with promising new signings and key players coming into form.
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