Sportskeeda Football 2018 awards: 4 teams who were big letdowns

#2: Manchester United

Jose Mourinho departed Manchester United after a terrible 2018

On the face of it, 2017/18 looked like a relatively decent season for Manchester United; they finished second in the Premier League, their best placing since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013, but in reality, Jose Mourinho’s side hadn’t really clicked, and the second part of the season, in particular, was disappointing.

They lost in meek fashion to Sevilla in the Champions League round of 16, and in Premier League action, they suffered disappointing losses to Tottenham, Newcastle, Brighton and West Brom. Their FA Cup Final loss to Chelsea felt like the final insult, as despite their second-place Premier League finish, they finished 19 points behind their bitter rivals Manchester City, who claimed the title.

But if United fans had been slightly disappointed by 2017/18, the start of 2018/19 has been nothing short of a horror show for them. United currently sit in 6th place in the Premier League, but they’ve already lost 5 games, all of which took place at Old Trafford and were worryingly one-sided in the opposition’s favour.

Prior to the firing of manager Jose Mourinho this month, United’s dressing room morale also appeared to be at rock bottom, with key players like Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku apparently frozen out by the Portuguese boss.

Since the departure of ‘The Special One’, it appears that caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has righted the ship with a pair of wins, but it’ll still likely take a miracle for the Red Devils to make the Champions League again.

2018/19 isn’t a write-off by any means; United could still do well in the Champions League as they have qualified for the last 16, but overall 2018 as a calendar year has been nothing short of a disaster for the Red Devils.