It has been a year of ups and downs for Manchester United under Erik ten Hag.
The year started positively for Manchester United with impressive wins over Barcelona, Manchester City and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.
Since then, however, things have been rather doom and gloom. So, to take your mind off the current malaise at Old Trafford, here are the three most memorable moments from 2023.
Beating Manchester City
After the 6-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in the previous September, United went into January’s game needing to prove a point and were in blistering form.
The game against Pep Guardiola’s side was a chance to show that they could be a force to be reckoned with and could be in a title race for the first time in a decade.
After going behind at Old Trafford thanks to a Jack Grealish header, the Red Devils looked down and out but under Ten Hag, they managed to fight their way back into the game.
A goal by Bruno Fernandes was offside but, due to Marcus Rashford not interfering with play, it was allowed and a tap-in from the forward saw United win the game 2-1.
The atmosphere was electric at Old Trafford and for the first time in a decade, there was a sense of unity building in the North West.
Beating Barcelona
When the draw for the UEFA Europa League was made back in December, teams who came down from the Champions League would be in the competition, too.
As it transpired, the Red Devils were drawn against the Catalan side in the last 32 of the competition and it was by no means going to be an easy contest.
Somehow, United got over the line, beating the Spanish side for the first time since the 2008 semi-final of the Champions League.
In the first leg, the Red Devils netted twice, one being scored by Marcus Rashford but were held to a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou.
After going 1-0 down in the second led through a Robert Lewandowski penalty, a goal from Fred and Antony gave United a famous victory at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils didn’t win the competition but it was a magical Manchester night.
Carabao Cup victory
Of course, the moment of 2023 had to be United ending their seven-year trophy drought. There is an argument to be made that, that moment at Wembley Stadium, led to the players taking their eyes off the ball and allowed the club to wind up in its current state,
Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away from the moment and the sheer joy on the faces of those players. It was a comfortable 2-0 win in the end with the club’s most important player that season Casemiro, netting for the Red Devils before Rashford netted the decisive second.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle barely had a sniff and that’s down to the brilliance of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the United defence.
Who knows what 2024 will hold but the club should look back on 2023 as a success, all in all.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/P9xMBH0