![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2263199709-1-scaled-e1771958140451.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn the end, it was pleasant.<\/p>\n
Manchester United\u2019s rollercoaster of a 2025-26 season drew to a close with surprising amounts of calm. A difficult winter under Ruben Amorim, brought to a premature end in January, made way for a positive spring under Michael Carrick. Now the club looks to be in a much stronger place headed into a busy summer.<\/p>\n
United finished third, higher than many predictions made before a ball was kicked and far higher than appeared likely at the turn of the year. Bruno Fernandes ended the campaign having broken the long-standing Premier League assist record. Kobbie Mainoo was brought in from the cold to become the future of the club\u2019s midfield.<\/p>\n
Things are good. The atmosphere around Old Trafford is positive. Here is our review of a 2025-26 campaign that\u2019s ended with more smiles than frowns.<\/p>\n
The club\u2019s grade for 2025-26 is\u2026<\/p>\n
United started the season with the (deliberately) vague ambition of European football, but shaky home performances against West Ham (1-1), Everton (0-1) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (1-1) made it seem like Amorim\u2019s men would be headed for the Europa League at best. Then came Carrick\u2019s interim period, and a team reinvigorated.<\/p>\n
The Athletic gives the club a B+. United have qualified for the Champions League, a feel-good atmosphere has returned to the club, and Fernandes has delivered his best individual season to date.<\/p>\n
Defeats to Grimsby Town and Brighton & Hove Albion in the domestic cups take some gloss off things. Still, the 2025-26 campaign could have descended into historical ignominy. Instead, it became rather good.<\/p>\n
Player of the season: Senne Lammens<\/p>\n
When Senne Lammens arrived late on summer transfer deadline day, the intention was for him to serve as a deputy goalkeeper with the possibility of taking over when Andre Onana departed for AFCON. Instead, Onana left early, heading to Trabzonspor on loan, and Lammens was shoved in at the deep end.<\/p>\n
Being Manchester United\u2019s goalkeeper is one of the more heavily-scrutinised roles in world football, but Lammens went about his duties with clockwork consistency. He might become one of the best signings of their post-Ferguson years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Senne Lammens got off to a flying start (Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
*The real player of the season is Fernandes. Obviously.<\/p>\n
Goal of the season: Matheus Cunha v Arsenal<\/p>\n
Broadly speaking, goal of the season contenders fall into one of three pots:<\/p>\n
The slick passing move, involving at least four players
\nA mazy dribble and finish
\nAn audacious strike<\/p>\n
United\u2019s 3-2 win over Arsenal at the Emirates included two jaw-dropping finishes from outside the box. Patrick Dorgu earns a special commendation for his thunderbolt of a half-volley that rattled in off the underside of the crossbar.<\/p>\n
But the award has to go to Matheus Cunha\u2019s long-range dagger \u2014 a dramatic late winner curled past Gabriel\u2019s desperate lunge and David Raya\u2019s despairing dive into the bottom corner \u2014 to set the away crowd into rapturous applause.<\/p>\n
Cunha\u2019s debut season has seen him collect quite an impressive goal catalogue. His shooting from distance, particularly from the left half-space, is a valuable asset that United teams can build around.\u00a0 (For more on Cunha\u2019s shot quality, head here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Game of the season: 4-4 v Bournemouth<\/p>\n Manchester United 4-4 Bournemouth was such a dizzying 90 minutes that we decided one match report wouldn\u2019t suffice, so we wrote seven mini-pieces instead.<\/a><\/p>\n Those who made it to Old Trafford on a Monday night in mid-December were treated to the good, the bad and the ugly of United under Amorim. The team was tactically fluid in parts, and tactically confused in others. They scored brilliant goals and conceded rudimentary ones. Fernandes was there to bail his team-mates out; Cunha again emerged as a decent attacking deputy for his captain.<\/p>\n Late in the second half, there was an electrifying three-minute spell in which United swung a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. It created the sort of energy within Old Trafford that fans feel perhaps a handful of times in a season.<\/p>\n Surprise of the season: Ruben Amorim<\/p>\n Amorim\u2019s departure prompted The Athletic to borrow some lines from Ernest Hemingway. The Portuguese coach\u2019s relationship with senior executives at the club dissolved in two ways: \u201cGradually, then suddenly.\u201d<\/p>\n Defeats to Brentford and Everton in the league, along with Grimsby in the League Cup, led many outsiders to believe Amorim\u2019s job was in danger early in the season, but United held firm.<\/p>\n It was only after a downbeat press conference after the Leeds game at Elland Road \u2013 in which he said he had come to the club to be the manager, not the coach, and hinted at frustrations over the club\u2019s transfer plans \u2013 that fans and journalists realised something was awry.<\/p>\n \n Amorim did not enjoy his trip to Grimsby (Ash Donelon\/Manchester United via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Amorim, a man who described his managerial work in all manner of self-deprecating words, was dismissed not for footballing performance, but because of a disagreement with his employers.<\/p>\n Mistake of the season: Kobbie Mainoo\u2019s lack of games<\/p>\n Amorim gave Mainoo a meagre 212 Premier League minutes across 15 matches earlier this season. The coach insisted there were tactical reasons for the midfielder\u2019s relative lack of game time. But as the season neared the winter transfer window, the expectation was for Mainoo to leave on loan rather than continue to pick up splinters on the bench.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2232413804-1-scaled.jpg\")
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