Ranking Man Utd's Worst Starts To a Premier League Season

Key Takeaways

• Manchester United's worst start to a Premier League season was under Erik ten Hag, with only eight points after seven games.

• None of the club's worst starts featured Sir Alex Ferguson, highlighting United's decline after his departure.

• Since Ferguson left in 2013, United have won a league title.

The 2024/25 campaign is Manchester United's 32nd Premier League season. After eight games under Erik ten Hag, they have picked up eight points, which is the club's worst start to a season since the competition's inauguration in 1992. This includes 3-0 home defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and rivals Liverpool. It hasn't gone much better for the Dutch manager in Europe, as the Red Devils are winless in their first two UEFA Europa League matches against FC Twente and Porto.

To put United's start to the campaign in context, here is a closer look at the club's worst starts to a Premier League season after seven matches since 1992. None of the top seven feature Sir Alex Ferguson, highlighting United's decline since the legendary Scottish manager left in 2013. Since his departure, the Red Devils have not won a league title, even slumping to eighth in the table in the 2023/24 campaign.

7 2014/15 - 11 Points

Louis van Gaal was appointed as Manchester United manager in May 2014 and he oversaw a summer of change, with Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, and Patrice Evra all departing. New summer signings included Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw and Angel Di Maria for just under £60 million, which was a British record transfer fee at the time.

The season didn't start well for the Dutch manager, though, with United losing at home to Swansea at Old Trafford. This was the first time the club had lost on the opening day since 1972. United had to wait until their fourth game to secure their first victory of the campaign - a 4-0 win against Queens Park Rangers, with Di Maria getting on the score sheet. This was followed by a dramatic 5-3 defeat against Leicester City, meaning the 13-time Premier League champions had only secured five points from their first five games. Wins against West Ham United and Everton spared Van Gaal's blushes, but the 2014/15 campaign was still United's seventh-worst start since 1992.

6 2013/14 - 10 Points

David Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 after 26 years in charge at United. It was a chaotic first transfer window for the new Scottish manager as the club failed to get various transfer targets across the line, including Fabio Coentrao and Sami Khedira from Real Madrid. The most significant deal of the summer window was the acquisition of Marouane Fellaini, who had played under Moyes at Everton. Fellaini was signed on deadline day for £27.5 million, making him the third signing alongside Saidy Janko and Guillermo Varela.

In his first four games in charge, Moyes picked up a credible seven points, including wins against Swansea City and Liverpool. He lost 1-0 at Anfield, though, and was held by Chelsea at Old Trafford in late August. In mid-September, United suffered the embarrassment of back-to-back defeats, most notably a 4-1 loss to their rivals Manchester City. A 2-1 win away at Sunderland on 5th October 2013 broke this streak, but they had only picked up 10 points from their opening seven matches.

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5 2018/19 - 10 Points

Jose Mourinho signed Diogo Dalot, Fred and Lee Grant in preparation for his third season in charge of United. They only won one out of their six pre-season friendlies, and the Portuguese manager became frustrated with the lack of transfer activity, as they were unable to provide him with a new centre-back. The public rift between Mourinho and key players such as Paul Pogba also contributed to the negative atmosphere, which wasn't helped by defeats in August to Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham.

United picked up three wins in the first seven games, along with a draw against Wolves on 22nd September. This meant they had 10 points, putting them 10th in the Premier League table. As injuries started to mount and concerns over Mourinho's style of play were voiced by the supporters, the legendary manager was sacked by the club in December 2018.

4 2020/21 - 10 Points

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad was bolstered with the signings of Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Facundo Pellistri, and Edinson Cavani ahead of the 2020/21 season. Due to the COVID pandemic, every match in the early part of the season was played behind closed doors, including the Red Devils' first two home games against Crystal Palace and Tottenham. They lost both of these clashes, most notably succumbing to a 6-1 defeat against Spurs.

Solskjaer won three out of the first seven games, including 3-1 and 4-1 victories against Everton and Newcastle United, respectively. This left United 13th in the table in early November, but they were able to recover later in the season and secure a second-placed finish behind Pep Guardiola's City.

3 2019/20 - 9 Points

Solskajer was appointed as United manager in March 2019 after winning over 70% of his first 19 games as caretaker boss. In preparation for the 2019/20 campaign, United backed their former striker with the signings of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Daniel James. After a 4-0 victory against Chelsea on the opening day of the season, it looked like the Red Devils were on the right track.

Dropped points against Wolves, Crystal Palace and Southampton in their next three games curtailed this optimism, though. In fact, they only won one out of their next six after the win against Chelsea, leaving them on nine points after seven matches. Solskjaer was able to steady the ship and eventually secure a third-placed finish, but they were 33 points behind the champions Liverpool.

2 2023/24 - 9 Points

Ten Hag finished third in his first season in charge of United, along with silverware in the Carabao Cup. Summer signings included Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund as the Dutch manager looked to build a squad capable of competing for the title with their rivals City. It was a worrying start to the campaign, though, with three defeats in the first five matches. This included losses against Arsenal, Spurs and Brighton.

They were able to pick up wins against Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Wolves but after seven matches, ten Hag's side had only picked up nine points with a goal difference of -4. This was United's worst-ever start to a Premier League season, and it didn't get much better after the turn of the year as they struggled to an eighth-placed finish. Ten Hag was able to lift the FA Cup, beating City in the final, which was the deciding factor in him keeping the job for the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.

INEOS and Joel Glazer will meet on Tuesday, with Man Utd manager Erik Ten Hag under growing pressure for his job.

1 2024/25 - 8 Points

After a summer of uncertainty with the newly-appointed structure behind the scenes considering new managerial options, Ten Hag was given the board's backing in July 2024 as his contract was extended until 2026. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS conducted a post-season review with the likes of Sporting Director Dan Ashworth and new CEO Omar Berrada involved. They concluded that the Dutch manager was the man to take the club forward ahead of the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and Kieran McKenna. United signed Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in the summer - taking the club's spending under ten Hag over the £600 million mark.

After an opening day victory against Fulham, pressure was put back on the United manager as they lost two matches in a row, versus Brighton and Liverpool. A 3-0 away win against Southampton helped to ease the pressure on ten Hag, but they followed that result with no wins in their next three, including a humbling 3-0 defeat at home to Ange Postecoglou's Spurs. After seven matches, United have eight points - which is their worst start to a season in 35 years. Ten Hag still believes he has the backing of the new-look United hierarchy, but time will tell whether Ratcliffe and co. will be patient.