The 1948–49 season was Manchester United’s 47th season in the Football League. They finished second in the league and as FA Cup holders they reached the semi-finals. They also competed in the first post-war Charity Shield.

FA Charity Shield

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
6 October 1948	Arsenal	A	3 – 4	Rowley, Burke, own goal	31,000

First Division

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
21 August 1948	Derby County	H	1 – 2	Pearson	52,620
23 August 1948	Blackpool	A	3 – 0	Rowley (2), Mitten	36,880
28 August 1948	Arsenal	A	1 – 0	Mitten	64,150
1 September 1948	Blackpool	H	3 – 4	Delaney, Mitten, Morris	51,187
4 September 1948	Huddersfield Town	H	4 – 1	Pearson (2), Delaney,Mitten	57,714
8 September 1948	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2 – 3	Morris, Rowley	42,617
11 September 1948	Manchester City	A	0 – 0		64,502
15 September 1948	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2 – 0	Buckle, Pearson	33,871
18 September 1948	Sheffield United	A	2 – 2	Buckle, Pearson	36,880
25 September 1948	Aston Villa	H	3 – 1	Mitten (2), Pearson	53,820
2 October 1948	Sunderland	A	1 – 2	Rowley	54,419
9 October 1948	Charlton Athletic	H	1 – 1	Burke	46,964
16 October 1948	Stoke City	A	1 – 2	Morris	45,830
23 October 1948	Burnley	H	1 – 1	Mitten	47,093
30 October 1948	Preston North End	A	6 – 1	Mitten (2), Pearson (2),Morris, Rowley	37,372
6 November 1948	Everton	H	2 – 0	Delaney, Morris	42,789
13 November 1948	Chelsea	A	1 – 1	Rowley	62,542
20 November 1948	Birmingham City	H	3 – 0	Morris, Pearson,Rowley	45,482
27 November 1948	Middlesbrough	A	4 – 1	Rowley (3), Delaney	31,331
4 December 1948	Newcastle United	H	1 – 1	Mitten	70,787
11 December 1948	Portsmouth	A	2 – 2	McGlen, Mitten	29,966
18 December 1948	Derby County	A	3 – 1	Burke (2), Mitten	31,498
25 December 1948	Liverpool	H	0 – 0		47,788
27 December 1948	Liverpool	A	2 – 0	Burke, Pearson	53,325
1 January 1949	Arsenal	H	2 – 0	Burke, Mitten	58,688
22 January 1949	Manchester City	H	0 – 0		66,485
19 February 1949	Aston Villa	A	1 – 2	Rowley	68,354
5 March 1949	Charlton Athletic	A	3 – 2	Pearson (2), Downie	55,291
12 March 1949	Stoke City	H	3 – 0	Downie, Mitten, Rowley	55,949
19 March 1949	Birmingham City	A	0 – 1		46,819
6 April 1949	Huddersfield Town	A	1 – 2	Rowley	17,256
9 April 1949	Chelsea	H	1 – 1	Mitten	27,304
15 April 1949	Bolton Wanderers	A	1 – 0	Carey	44,999
16 April 1949	Burnley	A	2 – 0	Rowley (2)	37,722
18 April 1949	Bolton Wanderers	H	3 – 0	Rowley (2), Mitten	47,653
21 April 1949	Sunderland	H	1 – 2	Mitten	30,640
23 April 1949	Preston North End	H	2 – 2	Downie (2)	43,214
27 April 1949	Everton	A	0 – 2		39,106
30 April 1949	Newcastle United	A	1 – 0	Burke	38,266
2 May 1949	Middlesbrough	H	1 – 0	Rowley	20,158
4 May 1949	Sheffield United	H	3 – 2	Downie, Mitten,Pearson	20,880
7 May 1949	Portsmouth	H	3 – 2	Rowley (2), Mitten	49,808

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	Portsmouth	42	25	8	9	84	42	58
2	Manchester United	42	21	11	10	77	44	53
3	Derby County	42	22	9	11	74	55	53

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points

FA Cup

Man Utd’s McGlen and Ron Burke in action against Bradford PA

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
8 January 1949	Round 3	Bournemouth & Boscombe AFC	H	6 – 0	Burke (2), Rowley (2), Pearson,Mitten	55,012
29 January 1949	Round 4	Bradford Park Avenue	H	1 – 1	Mitten	82,771
5 February 1949	Round 4 Replay	Bradford Park Avenue	A	1 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Mitten	30,000
7 February 1949	Round 4 Second Replay	Bradford Park Avenue	H	5 – 0	Burke (2), Rowley (2), Pearson	70,434
12 February 1949	Round 5	Yeovil Town	H	8 – 0	Rowley (5), Burke (2), Mitten	81,565
26 February 1949	Round 6	Hull City	A	1 – 0	Pearson	55,000
26 March 1949	Semi-final	Wolverhampton Wanderers	N	1 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Mitten	62,250
2 April 1949	Semi-final Replay	Wolverhampton Wanderers	N	0 – 1		73,000