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Man Utd 2025–26 Season Review: A New Hope
For Manchester United, 2025–26 was split into two clear halves.
Before Michael Carrick, with Michael Carrick.
United had an awful lot of room to improve coming into the campaign after 2024–25 had ended with six defeats and just five points from the final nine matches of the season. That equated to a worst league finish in 51 years—a first ever bottom-half placing in the Premier League era—and absence from any European competition. Had the Red Devils won May’s Europa League final against Tottenham, things would have been significantly different, but that wasn’t to be.
There was improvement while Ruben Amorim was still in charge. A controversial set-piece goal was the only difference in an opening day defeat to eventual champions Arsenal. By mid-December, United matched the Gunners for goals scored—30 in 16 matches—with only Manchester City recording more in the whole division. The team only lost once in a run of 10 games that also included Amorim’s first consecutive league wins since taking charge a year earlier.
After Christmas, United climbed to sixth, but still looked a disjointed team that struggled to consistently get results. By the time Amorim suddenly left after a 1–1 draw with Leeds on Jan. 4, the team had only won once in a run of five, drawing three times. That sole win came against Newcastle, tellingly when the Portuguese strayed from his usual 3-4-2-1 formation.
Carrick’s accession, after a brief caretaker stint from Darren Fletcher, was transformative. The former club captain effectively took things back to basics, using uncomplicated instructions and tactics that proved a breath of fresh air following the complex nature of what Amorim had been asking.
The impact was four wins on the bounce straightaway, followed by a draw and two more victories that propelled the Red Devils into the top three by the start of March—they never left.
Carrick led the team into 17 games, claiming 12 wins and taking 39 points, which was more than any other side in the Premier League over the same period. Champions League qualification was assured with victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford with three matches to spare, ensuring the club goes into 2026–27 looking healthy. Thanks to a two-year contract awarded in the days leading up to the final game of the season, Carrick will be the one at the helm when it begins.
Man Utd 2025–26 Player of the Season
Bruno Fernandes
inspired by those who set the standard. ✨ pic.twitter.com/MMSZdFnlWT
— Bruno Fernandes (@B_Fernandes8) May 25, 2026
Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for a record-breaking fifth time, United’s Players’ Player of the Year for the second season in a row, FWA Footballer of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season and a new all-time Premier League record for assists in a single season.
Bruno Fernandes scaled new heights in 2025–26, the Premier League’s most creative player by some distance—his 136 chances created over the course of the campaign was almost double second place in that metric (Dominik Szoboszlai, 78).
The Portugal international could have left Old Trafford last summer, but spurned the chance of multi-generational wealth in Saudi Arabia. “I genuinely love the club,” he said in December. United fans are delighted that he decided to stay.
Honorable Mentions: Senne Lammes, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw
Man Utd 2025–26 Goal of the Season
Patrick Dorgu vs. Arsenal
✨ Patrick Dorgu. In off the bar. At the Emirates. ✨ pic.twitter.com/e5SH1Yt7pH
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 30, 2026
Manchester United supporters are still waiting to consistently see what Patrick Dorgu can offer. The Denmark international joined in January 2025 as a prospective wingback with fullback capabilities. But it wasn’t a brilliant time to arrive at a team trying to figure out its identity.
This season, it always been obvious where his best position is, but the 21-year-old enjoyed a spell as a left-sided winger in Carrick’s first two games, scoring in each outing. His screamer in the win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium was a sight to behold, slicing through the bouncing ball with his left foot so that it swerved away from David Raya’s reach.
Honorable Mentions: Patrick Dorgu vs. Newcastle, Bryan Mbeumo vs. Man City
Man Utd 2025–26 Performance of the Season
Man City (H)
Michael Carrick was given the worst possible opening match of his interim management, as Manchester City arrived at Old Trafford. Darren Fletcher had already dispensed with Ruben Amorim’s tactical system, but the team had still failed to win either game the Scot took charge of.
But from the very start, United suddenly looked more at ease and in tune with each other than they had done for many months. This performance was everything that ‘United DNA’ promised, relatively simple from a tactical perspective, but high tempo, high intensity stuff with blistering counterattacking potential. The front-foot nature got the fans quickly behind Carrick too, after his initial appointment had divided opinion among supporters and media personnel.
Honorable Mention: Arsenal (A)
Man Utd 2025–26 Signing of the Season
Senne Lammens
After last season saw Manchester United score only 44 times in 38 Premier League matches, club executives knew the importance of strengthening in attack during the summer. That was certainly achieved, with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško all impressing and equally showcasing considerable potential to improve.
But goalkeeper, after Amorim appeared to lose faith in André Onana and Altay Bayındır struggled with the renewed focus on aerial attacks in English soccer, became just as important. The club weighed up Emiliano Martínez, who was waiting for an offer to leave Aston Villa, but instead opted for Senne Lammens on the recommendation of respected goalkeeping scout Tony Coton.
The Belgian was pretty much unknown outside his homeland but had been likened to legendary compatriot Thibaut Courtois, a monster in the air, unflappable and—perhaps most importantly—calm. United have had plenty of erratic, eccentric goalkeepers over the years, but it’s no coincidence that Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea—two of the best—were anything but.
Honorable Mentions: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško
Man Utd 2025–26 Most Improved Player
Luke Shaw
It feels weird to suggest someone who joined the club in 2014 should, in 2025–26, be the most improved player. But Luke Shaw surprised everyone this past season.
On paper and in form, the left back has always been among the very best in his position anywhere in the world. But Shaw’s availability in recent campaigns coming into this one had been almost non-existent. To go from making 19 Premier League appearances across the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons combined, to starting all 38 games in 2025–26 is a remarkable turnaround.
Honorable Mentions: Ayden Heaven, Casemiro
Man Utd 2025–26 Disappointment of the Season
Kobbie Mainoo Benching
Ruben Amorim was convinced that Kobbie Mainoo didn’t fit into Manchester United’s best XI. Fans struggled to understand it at the time, and then when Michael Carrick restored the homegrown midfielder to the starting lineup in January it became even more perplexing.
A frustrated Mainoo was almost pushed out of the club shortly before the switch, reportedly requesting a loan in the second half of the season just so he could play regularly. But he was then suddenly among the first names of the teamsheet and played a huge role in the upturn in results from mid-January onwards, playing his way back into England’s squad in time for the World Cup.
It begs the question what could have been for United had he been involved the whole time.
A new contract for Mainoo, which had been on hold during his freeze-out, was signed in April.
Honorable Mention: Early cup exits, Casemiro’s departure
Man Utd 2025–26 Most Appearances
Player | Total Appearances | Premier League | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
Luke Shaw | 38 | 38 | 0 |
Bruno Fernandes | 37 | 35 | 2 |
Diogo Dalot | 36 | 34 | 2 |
Casemiro | 35 | 34 | 1 |
Matheus Cunha | 35 | 33 | 2 |
Bryan Mbeumo | 34 | 33 | 1 |
Senne Lammens | 33 | 32 | 1 |
Amad Diallo | 33 | 32 | 1 |
Leny Yoro | 33 | 32 | 1 |
Benjamin Šeško | 32 | 30 | 2 |
Man Utd 2025–26 Top Scorers
Player | Total Goals | Premier League | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
Bryan Mbeumo | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Benjamin Šeško | 12 | 11 | 1 |
Matheus Cunha | 10 | 10 | 0 |
Bruno Fernandes | 9 | 9 | 0 |
Casemiro | 9 | 9 | 0 |
Man Utd 2025–26 Record in All Competitions
Competition | Finish |
|---|---|
Premier League | 3rd |
FA Cup | Third Round |
Carabao Cup | Second Round |
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Jamie Spencer is a freelance editor and writer for Sports Illustrated FC. Jamie fell in love with football in the mid-90s and specializes in the Premier League, Manchester United, the women’s game and old school nostalgia.