Manchester United are four points worse off than they were last season after playing the same seven teams, an alternative comparison table has revealed.
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co made the decision to sack Erik ten Hag in late October of 2024, Red Devils supporters no-doubt expected an upturn in results.
The Dutchman had endured a torrid start to the season which saw United slump to 0-3 home defeats to both Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool before a 2-1 loss at West Ham sealed his fate.
Yet almost a year on, very little – if anything at all – has improved.
Ruben Amorim’s appointment was met with much fanfare. At the Old Trafford helm was seemingly a charismatic, progressive manager who had just led Sporting Lisbon to the Primeira Liga for the first time in some 20 years.
But the 40-year-old has won just 10 of his 34 Premier League games in charge of the club – half of those coming against newly-promoted opposition. In almost a calendar year, he’s also yet to record back-to-back league victories.
Manchester United are four points worse off after seven fixtures this season than they were at the same point last year
United have already suffered three league defeats and sit 10th in the Premier League table
Many hoped that the signings of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Senne Lammens along with a pre-season for the boss to implement his rigid 3-4-3 system would bring about improvement.
However a new alternative league table put together by Opta Sport has revealed that the Red Devils are four points worse off after playing the same fixtures last season.
In their games against Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and co in the 2024-25 campaign, the Red Devils had accrued some 14 points, while this year they’ve accumulated just 10.
On the contrary, the likes of Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur under Thomas Frank have seen huge upturns this term. As have Pep Guardiola’s rejuvenated Manchester City side, who are six points better off than they were at the same point of last season.
Aston Villa, Brighton and Wolves meanwhile sit bottom of the alternative table after dismal starts to the season. Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls are a worrying nine points worse off.
Such stats make for concerning reading for supporters and no-doubt owners who, as we enter the notorious ‘sacking season’ of October and November, may soon take drastic measures to change their club’s fortunes.
Speculation has indeed been rife in recent weeks that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the very man who appointed Amorim, could pull the plug on the Portuguese’s United reign less than a year after appointing him.
Pressure on Amorim increased after his side’s rudderless 3-1 loss at Brentford last week, with Saturday’s home fixture at Sunderland billed as a must-win for the United boss.
United beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday in what was a must-win game for Ruben Amorim
The Red Devils face a struggling Liverpool side at Anfield after the international break
Goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko ensured the Red Devils did just that against the Black Cats in a potentially job-saving victory for Amorim.
Afterwards, Mount insisted that the players are ‘100 per cent’ behind their head coach, but Amorim wants them to show it by giving absolutely everything for him on the pitch.
‘We need to show with actions,’ he said. ‘I know they want to do their best, and I know they don’t want to change the coach all the time.
‘But like I said during this week, to be with the manager is “I will kill myself to go in every transition”.
‘Sometimes when we look at our team, I know for sure that in the end they know we can do better. We need to show that on the pitch, not just at home but also away.
‘There is no momentum with our team, with the break or without the break,’ he admitted. ‘We know what happens when we win one game. The frustration is not to see the same team at home and away.
‘It’s frustrating to not have this kind of performance again. We need to do this kind of performance away as well. It’s our responsibility to play like this.’
The victory was United’s third in a row at Old Trafford, though the last two were followed by demoralising defeats at Manchester City and Brentford.
After the international break, United travel west to face Liverpool in a huge game which will prove whether or not Amorim can – at last – begin to build some momentum at the helm.
