The 2013–14 season was Manchester United‘s 22nd season in thePremier League, and their 39th consecutive season in the top-flight of English football.
David Moyes began the season as United’s new manager after taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired after 27 years in charge. He had actually been announced as the club’s new manager before the end of the previous season, but did not officially take over until 1 July 2013.
Despite winning the FA Community Shield, United were soon struggling in the league and endured some of their worst results since the end of the 1980s. In January, United were knocked out of their two domestic cup competitions, eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle with a loss to Swansea City, as well as from the semi-finals of the Football League Cup after being beaten on penalties by Sunderland.
United fared better in Europe, topping their group in the group stage. They suffered a scare when they lost to Olympiacos in the first leg of the round of 16, but overcame the deficit in the second leg. United were ultimately eliminated during the quarter-finals in April, with Bayern Munich beating them 4-2 on aggregate.
On 22 April 2014, with four games remaining, Moyes was sacked as manager, less than a year into his six-year contract. His last game, two days earlier, had ended in 2–0 defeat at his old club Everton. 40-year-old player-coach Ryan Giggs was placed in charge for United’s remaining games, from which they collected seven points. A seventh place in the league was United’s lowest finish since 1990 and meant that they had missed out on European qualification for the first time since 1989 (when English clubs were still banned from European competitions due to the Heysel disaster of 1985). The last time outside the Heysel ban era that United had missed out on a place in Europe was in 1981.
Dutch coach Louis van Gaal was confirmed as Manchester United’s new manager on a three-year contract on 19 May 2014, with Giggs appointed as his assistant. On the same day, Giggs announced his retirement as a player after a career spanning nearly 25 years, during which he had played almost 1,000 competitive games for the club and won 22 major trophies.
Pre-season and friendlies
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 July 2013 | Thai All-Star XI | N | 0–1 | 60,000 | |
| 20 July 2013 | A-League All Stars | N | 5–1 | Lingard (2) 11′, 55′, Welbeck (2) 34′, 70′, Van Persie 87′ | 83,127 |
| 23 July 2013 | Yokohama F. Marinos | A | 2–3 | Lingard 19′, Tashiro 30′ (o.g.) | 66,372 |
| 26 July 2013 | Cerezo Osaka | A | 2–2 | Kagawa 54′, Zaha 90+1′ | 44,856 |
| 29 July 2013 | Kitchee | N | 5–2 | Welbeck 16′, Smalling 22′, Fábio 26′, Januzaj 50′, Lingard80′ | 40,000 |
| 6 August 2013 | AIK | A | 1–1 | Henríquez 68′ | 30,012 |
| 9 August 2013 | Sevilla | H | 1–3 | Valencia 64′ | 43,000 |
FA Community Shield
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 August 2013 | Wigan Athletic | N | 2–0 | Van Persie (2) 6′, 59′ | 80,235 |
Premier League
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance | Leagueposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 2013 | Swansea City | A | 4–1 | Van Persie (2) 34′, 72′, Welbeck (2) 36′, 90+2′ | 20,733 | 1st |
| 26 August 2013 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | 75,032 | 4th | |
| 1 September 2013 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 44,411 | 7th | |
| 14 September 2013 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | Van Persie 45+1′ (pen.), Rooney 81′ | 75,170 | 5th |
| 22 September 2013 | Manchester City | A | 1–4 | Rooney 87′ | 47,156 | 8th |
| 28 September 2013 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–2 | Rooney 57′ | 75,042 | 12th |
| 5 October 2013 | Sunderland | A | 2–1 | Januzaj (2) 55′, 61′ | 45,426 | 9th |
| 19 October 2013 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | Van Persie 26′ | 75,220 | 8th |
| 26 October 2013 | Stoke City | H | 3–2 | Van Persie 43′, Rooney 78′, Hernández 80′ | 75,274 | 8th |
| 2 November 2013 | Fulham | A | 3–1 | Valencia 9′, Van Persie 20′, Rooney 22′ | 25,700 | 8th |
| 10 November 2013 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | Van Persie 27′ | 75,138 | 5th |
| 24 November 2013 | Cardiff City | A | 2–2 | Rooney 15′, Evra 45′ | 28,016 | 6th |
| 1 December 2013 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–2 | Rooney (2) 32′, 57′ (pen.) | 35,884 | 8th |
| 4 December 2013 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 75,210 | 9th | |
| 7 December 2013 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 75,233 | 9th | |
| 15 December 2013 | Aston Villa | A | 3–0 | Welbeck (2) 15′, 18′, Cleverley 52′ | 42,682 | 8th |
| 21 December 2013 | West Ham United | H | 3–1 | Welbeck 26′, Januzaj 36′, Young 72′ | 75,350 | 7th |
| 26 December 2013 | Hull City | A | 3–2 | Smalling 19′, Rooney 26′, Chester 66′ (o.g.) | 24,826 | 7th |
| 28 December 2013 | Norwich City | A | 1–0 | Welbeck 57′ | 26,851 | 6th |
| 1 January 2014 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–2 | Welbeck 67′ | 75,265 | 7th |
| 11 January 2014 | Swansea City | H | 2–0 | Valencia 47′, Welbeck 59′ | 75,035 | 7th |
| 19 January 2014 | Chelsea | A | 1–3 | Hernández 78′ | 41,465 | 7th |
| 28 January 2014 | Cardiff City | H | 2–0 | Van Persie 6′, Young 59′ | 75,301 | 7th |
| 1 February 2014 | Stoke City | A | 1–2 | Van Persie 47′ | 26,547 | 7th |
| 9 February 2014 | Fulham | H | 2–2 | Van Persie 78′, Carrick 80′ | 74,966 | 7th |
| 12 February 2014 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | 60,021 | 7th | |
| 22 February 2014 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–0 | Van Persie 62′ (pen.), Rooney 68′ | 24,571 | 7th |
| 8 March 2014 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–0 | Jones 34′, Rooney 65′, Welbeck 82′ | 26,184 | 6th |
| 16 March 2014 | Liverpool | H | 0–3 | 75,225 | 7th | |
| 22 March 2014 | West Ham United | A | 2–0 | Rooney (2) 8′, 33′ | 34,237 | 7th |
| 25 March 2014 | Manchester City | H | 0–3 | 75,203 | 7th | |
| 29 March 2014 | Aston Villa | H | 4–1 | Rooney (2) 20′, 45′ (pen.), Mata 57′,Hernández 90+1′ | 75,368 | 7th |
| 5 April 2014 | Newcastle United | A | 4–0 | Mata (2) 39′, 50′, Hernández 64′, Januzaj90+3′ | 52,081 | 6th |
| 20 April 2014 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 39,436 | 7th | |
| 26 April 2014 | Norwich City | H | 4–0 | Rooney (2) 41′ (pen.), 48′ Mata (2) 63′, 73′ | 75,208 | 7th |
| 3 May 2014 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 75,347 | 7th | |
| 6 May 2014 | Hull City | H | 3–1 | Wilson (2) 31′, 61′ Van Persie 86′ | 75,341 | 7th |
| 11 May 2014 | Southampton | A | 1–1 | Mata 54′ | 31,372 | 7th |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Everton | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 61 | 39 | +22 | 72 | 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 55 | 51 | +4 | 69 | 2014–15 UEFA Europa League play-off round |
| 7 | Manchester United | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 64 | |
| 8 | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 56 | |
| 9 | Stoke City | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 50 |
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
FA Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 January 2014 | Round 3 | Swansea City | H | 1–2 | Hernández 16′ | 73,910 |
League Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 2013 | Round 3 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | Hernández 46′ | 65,701 |
| 29 October 2013 | Round 4 | Norwich City | H | 4–0 | Hernández (2) 20′ (pen.), 54′, Jones 88′, Fábio90+5′ | 58,663 |
| 18 December 2013 | Round 5 | Stoke City | A | 2–0 | Young 62′, Evra 78′ | 25,928 |
| 7 January 2014 | Semi-finalFirst leg | Sunderland | A | 1–2 | Vidić 51′ | 31,547 |
| 22 January 2014 | Semi-finalSecond leg | Sunderland | H | 2–1 (a.e.t.)(1–2p) | Evans 37′, Hernández 120+1′ | 71,019 |
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
As Premier League Champions, United began their Champions League campaign in the group stage. Courtesy of their UEFA coefficient, they were seeded in Pot 1 for the draw, which took place in Monaco on 29 August 2013. United were drawn into Group A, along with Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen from Germany, and Real Sociedad from Spain.
Manchester United were previously drawn with Bayer Leverkusen in both 2001–02 and 2002–03, while Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Sociedad were new opponents.
United’s first UEFA Champions League group game was at home against Bayer Leverkusen on 17 September 2013, which ended in a 4–2 win after Rooney double and a strike apiece from Robin van Persie and Antonio Valencia. The game marked Moyes’ first UEFA Champions League group stage game and Rooney’s 200th goal in all competitions for United.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance | Groupposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 September 2013 | Bayer Leverkusen | H | 4–2 | Rooney (2) 22′, 70′, Van Persie 59′, Valencia 79′ | 74,000 | 1st |
| 2 October 2013 | Shakhtar Donetsk | A | 1–1 | Welbeck 18′ | 51,555 | 1st |
| 23 October 2013 | Real Sociedad | H | 1–0 | I. Martínez 2′ (o.g.) | 74,654 | 1st |
| 5 November 2013 | Real Sociedad | A | 0–0 | 30,998 | 1st | |
| 27 November 2013 | Bayer Leverkusen | A | 5–0 | Valencia 22′, Spahić 30′ (o.g.), Evans 66′, Smalling77′, Nani 88′ | 29,412 | 1st |
| 10 December 2013 | Shakhtar Donetsk | H | 1–0 | Jones 67′ | 75,000 | 1st |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 14 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 10 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 8 |
| Real Sociedad | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 1 |
Knockout phase
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | ResultF–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 February 2014 | Round of 16First leg | Olympiacos | A | 0–2 | 29,815 | |
| 19 March 2014 | Round of 16Second leg | Olympiacos | H | 3–0 | Van Persie 25′ (pen.), 45+1′, 51′ | 74,662 |
| 1 April 2014 | Quarter FinalFirst leg | Bayern Munich | H | 1–1 | Vidić 58′ | 75,199 |
| 9 April 2014 | Quarter FinalSecond leg | Bayern Munich | A | 1–3 | Evra 57′ | 67,300 |
Squad statistics
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | Discipline | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||||
| 1 | GK | David de Gea | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Rafael | 18(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28(1) | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Patrice Evra | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 44(1) | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Phil Jones | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3(1) | 1 | 6(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36(3) | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Rio Ferdinand | 12(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Jonny Evans | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Anderson | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 3(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Juan Mata | 14(1) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(1) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Wayne Rooney | 27(2) | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37(3) | 19 | 8 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Ryan Giggs | 6(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15(7) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Chris Smalling | 21(4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 6(1) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 31(7) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Anders Lindegaard | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Javier Hernández | 6(18) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3(2) | 4 | 2(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(23) | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Nemanja Vidić | 23(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32(2) | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 16 | MF | Michael Carrick | 26(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36(4) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Nani | 7(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Ashley Young | 13(7) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17(13) | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Danny Welbeck | 15(10) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 4(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24(12) | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Robin van Persie | 18(3) | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 23(5) | 18 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Ángelo Henríquez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Fábio | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | Tom Cleverley | 18(4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25(6) | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Darren Fletcher | 9(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Antonio Valencia | 20(9) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 9(1) | 2 | 0(1) | 0 | 32(12) | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 26 | MF | Shinji Kagawa | 14(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 23(7) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Federico Macheda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Alexander Büttner | 5(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(4) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Wilfried Zaha | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Guillermo Varela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Marouane Fellaini | 12(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(5) | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 32 | MF | Nick Powell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | Bébé | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Tom Lawrence | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | Jesse Lingard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | Marnick Vermijl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | Michael Keane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | Tom Thorpe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | Ben Amos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | DF | Tyler Blackett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | Adnan Januzaj | 15(12) | 4 | 0(1) | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 19(16) | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | Davide Petrucci | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | FW | James Wilson | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | FW | Will Keane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | GK | Sam Johnstone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| — | – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | – | 3 | – | – |