Man Utd Are Back In Champions League!
As Erik ten Hag clinches top-four finish in 1st season
Manchester United effectively buried rivals, Liverpool’s dream On Thursday night as they secured a return to the Champions League in style, thanks to their inspirational manager and smart 2022/2023 season recruitment
Clearly well deserving, the Red Devils booked their return to Europe’s elite competition in emphatic style with a 4-1 thrashing of underperforming Chelsea at Old Trafford.
For the Old Trafford Landlords, clinching a top-four finish was the barest minimum aspiration given how they ended last season. United could only manage 58 points from 38 matches to register their worst-ever season haul in 30 years of Premier League football and finished 13 points off Tottenham then in fourth place.
Brazilian international Casemiro capped his outstanding season with a talismanic performance as the Red Devils secured the top-four finish. The South American led the way, bulldozing his opponents in midfield without mercy, scored one goal, helped set up another for Anthony Martial, and generally spurred United on to a memorable thrashing which was completed by a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a late strike from Marcus Rashford, his 30th goal of the season.
It was a glorious end to what has been a long but exciting first season under Erik ten Hag, who has United back on the path to greatness, even if they are still quite a way from it.
Incredible Old Trafford Magic
In achieving their dreams, pundits are quick to point out that the Red Devils’ results at Old Trafford have been astonishing under Ten Hag. They have won 26 home matches this season, bettering the tally from the 2007-08 campaign when they won both the Premier League and Champions League.
The top four is the minimum requirement for any Manchester United manager and the Dutchman has achieved the objective at the first time of asking. Agreed it has not been an easy ride or a perfect season, but given he inherited a team that registered United’s lowest points total in 30 years, this debut campaign from the Dutchman has been impressive
Overcoming a nightmarish start as United lost their first two matches for the first time in 30 years, the Manager has gone on to record 40 victories from 60 games, a better win ratio than any of his predecessors in a debut season. Also, he has taken more points than any manager in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era in a debut campaign.
With a home game to spare, they have 45 points, 10 more than they managed in the whole of last season. If they win their remaining home game against Fulham, Ten Hag’s side will set United’s best points total for a decade, when they took 48 points at Old Trafford in Ferguson’s final campaign. They will also equal the club-record 27 home victories, which has stood since the 2002-03 campaign.
They parade the longest unbeaten home run in the Premier League, having only lost once, in their opening game of the season against Brighton. And their last home defeat in any competition was against Real Sociedad in the Europa League on September 8, 2022.
Most crucially, their home results have made up for their disastrous away results. Ten Hag’s side took 27 points from a potential 57 in their 19 away matches, losing seven out of nine matches away to top-10 opponents. – With Goal.com reports
