The 2017–18 season was

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

's 26th season in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and their 43rd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The season was the first since 2003–04 without former club captain

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

, who rejoined Everton after 13 seasons with United, during which time he overtook

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member ...

as their all-time top scorer. United also returned to the Champions League after a single season's absence, having won the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. United achieved their highest points total and league placing since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, amassing 81 points to finish second in the Premier League. However, despite winning three cups the previous season, the club failed to secure silverware this time around, also finishing as runners-up in both the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. United also suffered disappointing exits in both the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

and Champions League, bowing out to Bristol City and

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

respectively by 2–1 scorelines. Throughout the season, despite having a wealth of attacking options and completing the signing of

Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese and the Chile national team. He is often regarded as the ...

in January, manager

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...

was criticised by sections of the media and a section of United supporters for a perceived negative playing style.

Coaching staff

Pre-season and friendlies

United preceded their 2017–18 campaign with a tour of the United States, which included the first

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

to be played outside the United Kingdom, in the

International Champions Cup The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football (soccer) official competition staged from 2013 to 2019. COVID-19 resulted in the 2020 edition being cancelled. The tournament was later abolished, but the Women's I ...

. The tour also included games against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. The US tour started against

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

on 15 July 2017. United then faced Vålerenga in Norway. The final preparations during pre-season included a trip to the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

to face Sampdoria.

UEFA Super Cup

Manchester United, as winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League faced

, winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League for the 2017 UEFA Super Cup on 8 August 2017, at the Philip II Arena in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Premier League

The

season began on 11 August 2017 and concluded on 13 May 2018.

Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough. He is considered as one of the best midfield ...

played his final match against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He was subbed off in the 85th minute for Paul Pogba. He also received a

guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

from both sets of players before the kick-off. This was also his 464th appearance for United.

FA Cup

Manchester United entered the FA Cup in the third round as all 20 Premier League clubs automatically received a bye to that stage. Matches were played between 5–8 January 2018.

EFL Cup

Manchester United entered the EFL Cup as holders, having beaten

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the 2017 final. As one of the seven clubs that qualified for European competition in 2017–18, they entered the EFL Cup in the third round, the draw for which was held on 24 August, with Manchester United being paired with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club Burton Albion. The two sides last met in the third round of the 2005–06 FA Cup, with United winning a replay 5–0 at Old Trafford following a goalless draw at the Pirelli Stadium. The fourth round draw confirmed the ''Red Devils'' visited Swansea City. The fifth round draw was held on 26 October 2017, with United drawn against another Championship side Bristol City.

UEFA Champions League

Group stage

Manchester United qualified for the group stage of the Champions League as winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League and were placed in pot 2 for the group stage draw. The draw was made on 24 August 2017, with Manchester United drawn alongside Benfica,

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. United were previously drawn with both Benfica and Basel in 2011–12, and with CSKA Moscow in 2009–10 and 2015–16; in 2011–12 and 2015–16, they finished third in the group and dropped down to the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, while in 2009–10, United topped the group.

Knockout phase

After winning their group and progressing to the round of 16, United were drawn against Spanish club

in the first competitive meeting between the two sides. After a goalless draw in the first leg at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Sevilla took the lead in the tie late in the second leg, when Wissam Ben Yedder scored twice within minutes of coming on as a substitute.

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. Lukaku began h ...

pulled one back for United six minutes from the end, but they were unable to score the two further goals required to avoid elimination.

Squad statistics

''Statistics accurate as of 19 May 2018.''

Transfers

In

Out

Loan out

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Manchester United F.C. season Manchester United F.C. seasons