The season just gone was almost unbearable for Manchester United fans. The side who have won the league a record 20 times never seemed to get going, despite serious investment. Man United finished 4th in 2014/15, a position that the fans would see as failure in the past, and here is how their 2015/16 season went…
Manchester United took the transfer window by storm, signing Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinstieger and Sergio Romero for a combined total of over £71m. Angel di Maria, Robin Van Persie and Luis Nani were the only notable departures from Old Trafford as Louis van Gaal entered his second season at the helm of the club.
United began the season with a 1-0 home win against Tottenham thanks to a Kyle Walker own goal, and then won 1-0 again against Aston Villa in their second game as Adnan Januzaj scored before heading to Borussia Dortmund on loan. United began their European campaign beating Club Brugge 3-1 at Old Trafford in the Champions League qualifiers with new signing Memphis Depay announcing himself to the Red Devils with a brace. United achieved their third clean sheet in a row at home to Newcastle as Van Gaal’s men drew 0-0 with the Toon. United finished their Champions League qualifiers off with a 4-0 win in Belgium before travelling to Swansea where they sustained their first loss of the season, going down 2-1. Sergio Romero had played all of Man United’s games so far as David De Gea tried to force a move to Real Madrid.
De Gea’s switch to the Bernabeu never took off, though, with lots of rumours about paper work mis-haps doing the rounds, and there was yet more good news for Manchester United when Anthony Martial was signed from Monaco for an astonishing sum – a reported £37.5 million with plenty of add-ons. The 20-year-old’s first game for United came at Old Trafford, against none other than Liverpool. The Frenchman scored the third in a 3-1 win for LVG’s team and the United fans fell in love with him instantly. Just a few days later, United began the Champions League group stage with a 2-1 loss away at PSV Eindhoven. United returned to the Premier League with a 3-2 win at St Mary’s Stadium against Southampton, Martial helping himself to a brace. United began their League Cup campaign with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford against Ipswich. United won 3-0 yet again at Old Trafford, this time beating Sunderland before ending the month with a 2-1 win against Wolfsburg in the Champions League.
Manchester United kicked off October at the Emirates Stadium, but Arsenal taught them a footballing lesson, winning 3-0. United didn’t look threatening at all throughout the game. United returned from the international break with a 3-0 victory over Everton before drawing 1-1 away in Russia with CSKA Moscow. Next up was the Manchester Derby – usually a thrilling encounter – which ended 0-0. United’s next match also finished 0-0, this time against Championship side Middlesborough in the League Cup – United were defeated 3-1 on penalties and the fans were not impressed. United played yet another goalless draw against Crystal Palace to finish the month.
November began with a 1-0 win against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford which put United top of the group. In the next match, United got the better of West Brom winning 2-0 with goals from Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata. United’s next match after the second international break was against Watford, United won due to a 90th minute own goal from Watford captain Troy Deeney. United began a miserable spell of form with yet another 0-0 draw, this game with PSV Eindhoven at Old Trafford left United in 2nd place in their Champions League group, with United needing a win in their final game to progress. November finished with a 1-1 draw against Leicester City, a match where Ruud van Nistelrooy’s successive goalscoring record of 10 matches was broken by Foxes striker, Jamie Vardy.
United failed to beat West Ham at Old Trafford in their 4th goalless draw in the Premier League before travelling to Germany to face Wolfsburg for a clash where United needed to win. United led twice in the match, scoring in the 82nd minute, but conceded two goals in the final eight minutes and were eliminated from the Champions League. United then lost three on the trot, away at Bournemouth 2-1 then at home to Norwich with the same scoreline before losing at the Britannia to Stoke 2-0. Van Gaal’s men ended 2015 with a 0-0 draw against a struggling Chelsea at Old Trafford.
2016 began with a 2-1 win at home against Swansea, Wayne Rooney scoring a great flick to claim three points for his side. United began their FA Cup journey with a 1-0 win at home to Sheffield United, a Wayne Rooney penalty winning the tie in the 93rd minute. United’s next match was a thrilling 3-3 tie with Newcastle at St. James Park with Paul Dumbest scoring a 90th minute leveller for the hosts. United fans certainly enjoyed the next game with a 1-0 win at Anfield, Rooney scoring to leave rivals Liverpool empty handed. United fell to a 1-0 loss at home to Southampton, with another late goal proving costly for Van Gaal’s team. January came to a close with a 3-1 win away at Derby in the FA Cup.
February started with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, a Jesse Lingard wonder-strike was cancelled out in the dying moments as Diego Costa salvaged a point for Chelsea, but United lost their next match away at Sunderland with the relegation battlers winning 2-1. The only positive for United was the form of Martial, who was finding life in the Premier League very enjoyable. Manchester United then suffered the most humbling of defeats in Denmark, away at FC Midtjylland, a club who were formed as recently as 1999. United lost 2-1 before returning to England to defeat Shrewsbury Town 3-0 in the FA Cup. The return match against FC Midtjylland saw the debut of youngster Marcus Rashford, who started as Rooney and Martial were ruled out through injury. The 18-year-old took the game by storm, scoring a brace in a 5-1 win for United. The result meant that United would face Liverpool in the round of 16 of the Europa League. The month concluded with a 3-2 win at Old Trafford against Arsenal, Rashford scored two goals yet again and became an instant United hero.
United won 1-0 against Watford in the first game of March with a late winner from Juan Mata but the Red Devils fell to a defeat by the same scoreline away at West Brom. United travelled to Liverpool for the first leg of the last 16, and performed abysmally as they lost 2-0 and returned to Manchester with a 1-1 draw against West Ham to force a replay at the Boleyn Ground. United failed to get the better of Liverpool in the return leg of the Europa League, a Philippe Coutinho solo strike earned Liverpool a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford and United were dumped out of Europe. United responded with an incredible 1-0 victory away at Manchester City in the derby with none other than Rashford scoring the winner.
United rose to 5th place in the league with a 1-0 win against Everton, but were thrashed yet again in north London, this time against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, Spurs were rampant, winning 3-0. The next match was the replay at the Boleyn Ground in the FA Cup quarter final, United won 2-1 with Rashford scoring yet again. The teenager took United to Wembley where they would face Everton in the FA Cup semi-final. Rashford was the hero yet again as United beat Aston Villa 1-0, the Englishman’s goal relegated the visitors in the process. United’s last game before Wembley was a 2-0 defeat of Crystal Palace. The FA Cup semi final was a great day for Manchester United, with a 90th minute winner from Martial taking them to their first FA Cup final in 12 years after Marouane Fellaini’s effort was cancelled out by a Chris Smalling own goal.
United started May with a 1-1 draw against eventual champions Leicester City. Manchester United followed the point with a 1-0 win away at Norwich. Arsenal claimed a 2-2 draw at Manchester City meaning if United won their final two games, they would finish above their local rivals and qualify for next season’s Champions League. The first of these two games was the final match ever at the Boleyn Ground against West Ham. The Red Devils came from behind to lead 2-1 in the final few minutes before completely falling apart – West Ham scored two goals in the final 15 minutes, which left United in 5th place needing City to slip up to have any chance of finishing in the top four. The final day of the season saw Manchester United’s clash with Bournemouth postponed due to a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a training exercise. City drew 1-1 on the final day meaning the Manchester United had to beat Bournemouth by 19 goals on the final day. Of course United didn’t get the result that was required, falling 17 short after a 3-1 win.
Despite the 5th place finish, Wembley beckoned as United faced Crystal Palace in a repeat of the 1990 FA Cup final. United went a goal down with just 12 minutes to go but Juan Mata levelled the match for Louis van Gaal, before Jesse Lingard became a United legend as he scored the winning goal in extra time.
The FA Cup victory turned out to be LVG’s last game in charge. United fans and the board alike felt that Van Gaal’s style of play was too boring and didn’t bring enough excitement or goals to the side – Old Trafford saw fewer goals than any stadium in the Premier League this term. For this reason, United have appointed Jose Mourinho as the manager for next season.
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