October 19, 2026
Manchester United club repeated the scenario of its disappointing seasons in the English Premier League, recording its worst start in the competition since 1986, after being satisfied with collecting only 7 points from the first seven rounds, a tally achieved by one victory, four draws, and two defeats.
With these results, the “Red Devils” are in thirteenth place, lagging a full 14 points behind neighbor Manchester City, and the team is now closer to the relegation zone, from which it is separated by only two points, compared to the first four places, from which it is separated by 6 points.
The language of numbers confirms that the team’s crisis is deeper than just a temporary decline in results. The team’s attack scored 10 goals and conceded the triangle, but half of the goals scored came in one match against “Ipswich”, which means only 5 goals were scored in the other six matches, in addition to the inability to come out of any match with a clean sheet so far.
The crisis is not limited to bleeding points against the big boys, but has also extended to include teams that United are supposed to outperform. The team lost to newly promoted Hull City in the first round, and tied with Fulham, ranked seventeenth, and with Tottenham, bottom of the standings, at home, a clear indication of the team’s inability to resolve matches in which it dominates.
This technical inability is embodied in repeating the same mistakes. At Leeds Stadium, United took the lead with a goal scored by Brian Mbeumo, before conceding the equalizer in the 51st minute from a set piece, in a scene that exposed the team’s inability to protect or build on its lead, extending its drought from victories in the league to five consecutive matches since the end of August.
The European atmosphere was not better; The team suffered a clean loss by two unanswered goals at Atletico Madrid Stadium, followed by public outbursts from defender Lisandro Martinez, in addition to the early exit from the first round of the League Cup.
In light of these facts, attention is turning to coach Michael Carrick, who took over the job temporarily in January, succeeding Ruben Amorim, and succeeded in securing a return to the Champions League, and was rewarded with a two-year contract last May. However, the temporary success in rescuing a faltering season did not turn into a sustainable project, as the team lacked a clear playing identity, and began to appear without solutions when falling behind and without solidity when advancing, while Carrick’s statement after the Leeds match about a “new beginning” was considered an implicit acknowledgment that the team had reached a stage in which a draw became an achievement to be celebrated.
With the availability of coaching names with extensive experience in the English Premier League who are currently unemployed, speculation is mounting about Carrick’s future, but Manchester United’s repeated experiences confirm that changing coaches was never the radical solution, given that the crisis has extended to include contract policies and the club’s entire structure.
The next four matches will decide many features of the next stage. United will host Bournemouth, then visit Chelsea, before hosting Aston Villa and facing off against Liverpool, a series of tough tests that will determine whether the club will be patient or repeat the usual cycle of sacking the coach and starting from scratch.
