After defeat to Wolves on Boxing Day, Manchester United have lost four in five in the Premier League – and find themselves deep in the bottom half.
Manchester United suffered their third straight defeat in all competitions on Boxing Day, losing 2-0 to fellow strugglers Wolves – a team enjoying a 'new manager bounce' under Vitor Pereira, who has guided the Midlanders to two league wins in two has led since he replaced him. Gary O'Neil at Molineux.
United lose again under Amorim
Even under the guidance of a recently appointed coach, United have a less positive feeling about Rúben Amorim's impact at Old Trafford so far. Although the Portuguese did not lose any of his first three games in charge after taking over from Erik Tan Hag in November, he has now registered three consecutive defeats in all competitions – and four defeats in five in the Premier League .
Today's 2-0 defeat in Wolverhampton, where captain Bruno Fernandes' third red card of the season was followed by a wonder goal from Matheus Cunha and a late goal from Hwang Hee-Chan, leaves the twenty-time national champions in fourteenth place in the table. English competition. top flight. United are just eight points clear of the relegation zone – less than half the gap that separates them from leaders Liverpool. Furthermore, 18th-placed Leicester City are one of three teams below United who have played one match fewer than the Red Devils.
Can Manchester United be relegated from the Premier League?
As things stand, United's points average of 1.22 per Premier League match puts the three-time European Cup winners on course to collect 46 points – their lowest total since 1978/79. And that number from 45 years ago is actually significantly higher than this season's predicted total, because it came at a time when English league matches awarded just two points per win, rather than the current three.
Currently, no Premier League team has ever been relegated by 43 points or more (West Ham went down by 42 points in 2002/2003). But even to reach 46 points, United will have to reverse what has meant a relegation run for the past five matchdays: according to football statistics specialist Transfermarkt, they only have the 18th best record in the Premier League since week 14.
While it ultimately seems more likely that United will simply work their way to mid-table – an outcome that would nonetheless represent their worst Premier League performance ever – the fact remains that the club is flirting with the relegation zone like never before. the post-1992 era.
United, a team that has never dropped lower than seventh in the Premier League, have not finished in the bottom half of England's top tier since 1990 and have been an ever-present in the country's elite competition for almost half a century.
When was the last time Manchester United were relegated?
Manchester United have not been relegated since finishing 21st in the old First Division under the late Tommy Docherty in 1973/74.
According to usual football folklore, the Red Devils' relegation was confirmed by a 1-0 home defeat to crosstown rivals Manchester City in April 1974 – a match in which Denis Law, a former United star, scored the only goal of the game with a cheeky back heel. . However, Law's strike did not actually relegate his former club: United would have gone down anyway, as relegation rivals Birmingham City guaranteed their survival by beating Norwich City.
Nevertheless, the goal brings back bitter memories for Law, a player who had scored 237 goals in an 11-year spell at Old Trafford. The Scot, who looked ashen after scoring his memorable goal and refused to celebrate, told the Daily Mail in 2012: “After 19 years of trying my hardest to score goals, here was a goal that I almost wished it hadn't actually disappeared. in. I was inconsolable. I didn't want it to happen.”
After retaining Docherty as manager despite their relegation, United returned to the First Division at the first attempt and topped the Second Division. The 1974/75 season remains the only season the club has spent outside the English top flight since 1937/38.
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