The 2004–05 season was Manchester United‘s 13th season in thePremier League, and their 30th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
The season finished trophyless (only their fourth trophyless season in 17 seasons) for United, who finished third in the Premier League with 77 points. The title went to Chelsea, who finished the season with a record 95 points and lost just one game all season, with the previous season’s champions Arsenal finishing runners-up.
Their European Cup dream ended in the Second Round at Milan, while they were eliminated from the League Cup by Chelsea in the semi-finals. The last chance of silverware was blown by a Paul Scholes penalty miss against Arsenal in a shoot-out after a goalless draw in the 2005 FA Cup Final.
On a more positive note for the club, newly signed 19-year-old striker and leading club goalscorer Wayne Rooney was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.
United also ended Arsenal’s record-breaking 49-game unbeaten league run with a 2–0 home win in late October.
Pre-season and friendlies
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 July 2004 | Cobh Ramblers | A | 2–1 | Timm 18′, Cooper 84′ | 7,000 |
| 25 July 2004 | Bayern Munich | N | 0–0
(2–4p) |
58,121 | |
| 28 July 2004 | Celtic | N | 1–2 | Smith 35′ | 55,421 |
| 31 July 2004 | Milan | N | 1–1
(8–9p) |
Scholes 33′ | 74,511 |
| 3 August 2004 | PSV Eindhoven | H | 1–0 | Silvestre | 29,479 |
| 5 August 2004 | Urawa Red Diamonds | H | A–A | Match abandoned due to bad weather | |
| 17 August 2004 | Burnley | A | 3–1 | Scholes 30′, P. Neville 38′, Eagles 47′ | 8,814 |
FA Community Shield
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2004 | Arsenal | N | 1–3 | Smith 55′ | 63,317 |
FA Premier League
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | League
position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 August 2004 | Chelsea | A | 0–1 | 41,813 | 17th | |
| 21 August 2004 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | Bellion 32′, Smith 50′ | 67,812 | 8th |
| 28 August 2004 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | Smith 90′ | 26,155 | 11th |
| 30 August 2004 | Everton | H | 0–0 | 67,803 | 9th | |
| 11 September 2004 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–2 | Heinze 44′, Bellion 90′ | 27,766 | 11th |
| 20 September 2004 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | Silvestre (2) 20′, 66′ | 67,857 | 8th |
| 25 September 2004 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–0 | Van Nistelrooy 42′ (pen.) | 36,103 | 5th |
| 3 October 2004 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–1 | Smith 81′ | 67,988 | 4th |
| 16 October 2004 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 29,221 | 6th | |
| 24 October 2004 | Arsenal | H | 2–0 | Van Nistelrooy 73′ (pen.), Rooney 90′ | 67,862 | 5th |
| 30 October 2004 | Portsmouth | A | 0–2 | 20,190 | 7th | |
| 7 November 2004 | Manchester City | H | 0–0 | 67,863 | 7th | |
| 14 November 2004 | Newcastle United | A | 3–1 | Rooney (2) 7′, 90′, Van Nistelrooy 74′ (pen.) | 52,320 | 7th |
| 20 November 2004 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | Giggs 41′, Scholes 50′ | 67,704 | 6th |
| 27 November 2004 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–0 | Scholes (2) 53′, 82′, Van Nistelrooy 72′ | 27,709 | 4th |
| 4 December 2004 | Southampton | H | 3–0 | Scholes 53′, Rooney 58′, Ronaldo 87′ | 67,921 | 4th |
| 13 December 2004 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | Smith 33′ | 21,940 | 4th |
| 18 December 2004 | Crystal Palace | H | 5–2 | Scholes (2) 22′, 49′, Smith 35′, Boyce 48′ (o.g.),O’Shea 90′ | 67,814 | 4th |
| 26 December 2004 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | Giggs 10′, Scholes 89′ | 67,867 | 4th |
| 28 December 2004 | Aston Villa | A | 1–0 | Giggs 41′ | 42,593 | 3rd |
| 1 January 2005 | Middlesbrough | A | 2–0 | Fletcher 9′, Giggs 79′ | 34,199 | 3rd |
| 4 January 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 67,962 | 3rd | |
| 15 January 2005 | Liverpool | A | 1–0 | Rooney 21′ | 44,183 | 3rd |
| 22 January 2005 | Aston Villa | H | 3–1 | Ronaldo 8′, Saha 69′, Scholes 70′ | 67,589 | 3rd |
| 1 February 2005 | Arsenal | A | 4–2 | Giggs 18′, Ronaldo (2) 54′, 58′, O’Shea 89′ | 38,164 | 2nd |
| 5 February 2005 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | Keane 55′, Rooney 78′ | 67,838 | 2nd |
| 13 February 2005 | Manchester City | A | 2–0 | Rooney 68′, Dunne 75′ (o.g.) | 47,111 | 2nd |
| 26 February 2005 | Portsmouth | H | 2–1 | Rooney (2) 8′, 81′ | 67,989 | 2nd |
| 5 March 2005 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–0 | 26,021 | 2nd | |
| 19 March 2005 | Fulham | H | 1–0 | Ronaldo 21′ | 67,959 | 2nd |
| 2 April 2005 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–0 | 67,939 | 3rd | |
| 9 April 2005 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 25,522 | 3rd | |
| 20 April 2005 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 37,160 | 3rd | |
| 24 April 2005 | Newcastle United | H | 2–1 | Rooney 57′, Brown 75′ | 67,845 | 3rd |
| 1 May 2005 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–0 | Scholes 34′, Fletcher 44′, Smith 62′, Rooney 67′ | 26,789 | 3rd |
| 7 May 2005 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–1 | Giggs 21′ | 67,827 | 3rd |
| 10 May 2005 | Chelsea | H | 1–3 | Van Nistelrooy 7′ | 67,832 | 3rd |
| 15 May 2005 | Southampton | A | 2–1 | Fletcher 19′, Van Nistelrooy 63′ | 32,066 | 3rd |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 87 | 36 | +51 | 83 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 38 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 77 |
| 4 | Everton | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 61 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
FA Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 January 2005 | Round 3 | Exeter City | H | 0–0 | 67,551 | |
| 19 January 2005 | Round 3
Replay |
Exeter City | A | 2–0 | Ronaldo 9′, Rooney 87′ | 9,033 |
| 29 January 2005 | Round 4 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–0 | O’Shea 10′, Rooney (2) 67′, 82′ | 67,251 |
| 19 February 2005 | Round 5 | Everton | A | 2–0 | Fortune 23′, Ronaldo 58′ | 38,664 |
| 12 March 2005 | Round 6 | Southampton | A | 4–0 | Keane 2′, Ronaldo 45′, Scholes (2) 48′, 87′ | 30,971 |
| 17 April 2005 | Semi-final | Newcastle United | N | 4–1 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 19′, 58′, Scholes 45′,Ronaldo 76′ | 69,280 |
| 21 May 2005 | Final | Arsenal | N | 0–0
(4–5p) |
71,876 |
League Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 October 2004 | Round 3 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 3–0 | Smith 10′, Miller 57′, Foster 59′ (o.g.) | 10,103 |
| 10 November 2004 | Round 4 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | Saha 22′, Richardson 39′ | 48,891 |
| 1 December 2004 | Quarter-final | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | Bellion 1′ | 67,103 |
| 12 January 2005 | Semi-final
First leg |
Chelsea | A | 0–0 | 41,492 | |
| 26 January 2005 | Semi-final
Second leg |
Chelsea | H | 1–2 | Giggs 67′ | 67,000 |
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 August 2004 | Third qualifying round
First leg |
Dinamo București | A | 2–1 | Giggs 38′, Alistar 72′ (o.g.) | 58,000 |
| 25 August 2004 | Third qualifying round
Second leg |
Dinamo București | H | 3–0 | Smith (2) 47′, 50′, Bellion 70′ | 61,041 |
Group stage
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | Group
position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 September 2004 | Lyon | A | 2–2 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 56′, 61′ | 40,000 | 3rd |
| 28 September 2004 | Fenerbahçe | H | 6–2 | Giggs 7′, Rooney (3) 17′, 28′, 54′, Van Nistelrooy 78′,Bellion 81′ | 67,128 | 1st |
| 19 October 2004 | Sparta Prague | A | 0–0 | 20,654 | 2nd | |
| 3 November 2004 | Sparta Prague | H | 4–1 | Van Nistelrooy (4) 14′, 25′ (pen.), 60′, 90′ | 66,706 | 2nd |
| 23 November 2004 | Lyon | H | 2–1 | G. Neville 19′, Van Nistelrooy 53′ | 66,398 | 1st |
| 8 December 2004 | Fenerbahçe | A | 0–3 | 35,000 | 2nd |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 13 |
| Manchester United | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 11 |
| Fenerbahçe | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 9 |
| Sparta Prague | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 1 |
Knockout phase
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result
F–A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 February 2005 | First knockout round
First leg |
Milan | H | 0–1 | 67,162 | |
| 8 March 2005 | First knockout round
Second leg |
Milan | A | 0–1 | 78,957 |
Squad statistics
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1 | GK | Tim Howard | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Gary Neville | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Phil Neville | 12(7) | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1(5) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 20(14) | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Gabriel Heinze | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Rio Ferdinand | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Wes Brown | 18(3) | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33(4) | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Cristiano Ronaldo | 25(8) | 5 | 6(1) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40(10) | 9 |
| 8 | FW | Wayne Rooney | 24(5) | 11 | 6 | 3 | 1(1) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 37(6) | 17 |
| 9 | FW | Louis Saha | 7(7) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(11) | 2 |
| 10 | FW | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 16(1) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6(1) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 25(2) | 16 |
| 11 | MF | Ryan Giggs | 26(6) | 6 | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 36(8) | 9 |
| 12 | FW | David Bellion | 1(9) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2(1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8(10) | 5 |
| 13 | GK | Roy Carroll | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Alan Smith | 22(9) | 6 | 0(3) | 0 | 1(1) | 1 | 3(2) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 27(15) | 10 |
| 15 | MF | Kléberson | 6(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(3) | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Roy Keane (c) | 28(3) | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40(3) | 2 |
| 17 | MF | Liam Miller | 3(5) | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10(9) | 1 |
| 18 | MF | Paul Scholes | 29(4) | 9 | 5(1) | 3 | 1(1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43(6) | 12 |
| 19 | MF | Eric Djemba-Djemba | 3(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15(2) | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Ole Gunnar Solskjær | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Diego Forlán | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(3) | 0 |
| 22 | DF | John O’Shea | 16(7) | 2 | 3(1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29(8) | 3 |
| 23 | MF | Kieran Richardson | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 5(4) | 1 |
| 24 | MF | Darren Fletcher | 18 | 3 | 1(2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 25(5) | 3 |
| 25 | MF | Quinton Fortune | 12(5) | 0 | 5(1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25(8) | 1 |
| 27 | DF | Mikaël Silvestre | 33(2) | 2 | 2(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45(5) | 2 |
| 28 | DF | Gerard Piqué | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Jonathan Spector | 2(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 4(4) | 0 |
| 31 | MF | David Jones | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Chris Eagles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 3(4) | 0 |
| 35 | GK | Ricardo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | Sylvan Ebanks-Blake | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| 42 | FW | Giuseppe Rossi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 |