Defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup third round marked another bleak milestone for Manchester United, who are now set to play just 40 matches this season, the fewest they will have played in a campaign in over a century.
For the first time in more than 40 years, Manchester United have been eliminated at the first hurdle in both domestic cup competitions in the same campaign.
Back in August, it was fourth-tier Grimsby Town who delivered the initial blow, knocking United out of the League Cup on penalties in the second round after a 2-2 draw.
Then, on Sunday, Brighton travelled to Old Trafford for their FA Cup third-round tie and returned south with a deserved 2-1 victory, twisting the knife further. Former United forward Danny Welbeck scored what turned out to be the winner, a painful fact that won’t be lost on the home fans.
Brighton have become a familiar nemesis for United in recent memory. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, no team have beaten the Red Devils more often in all competitions (7).
To find the last time United were knocked out in their opening tie of both the FA Cup and League Cup, we have to go back to the 1981-82 campaign. That season ended with early exits against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup and Watford in the FA Cup.
But the most striking figure emerging from Sunday’s defeat is the number of games United will end up playing in 2025-26. With both cup runs ended at the earliest stage and no European football at Old Trafford, United will finish this campaign having played a mere 40 games.
That will be the fewest matches they’ll have played in a single campaign since 1914-15, when they completed just 39 games, 111 years ago. They played 38 matches in the league that season, and were knocked out in the first round of the FA Cup by The Wednesday (later renamed to Sheffield Wednesday). The League Cup was not introduced until 1960.
Since World War II, United will end up playing three fewer games than in any other subsequent season:
In the Premier League era, United’s current low watermark is 2014-15, when they played just 44 games across all competitions in Louis van Gaal’s first season at the club. Their cup runs that campaign will be remembered most clearly for a humiliating 4-0 League Cup defeat to MK Dons.
Prior to this season, there have only been 15 instances of a Premier League side playing the minimum possible 40-game season. United will now be added to that list for this season along with Bournemouth, taking the total to 17.
Premier League teams to only play 40 games in a season:
2001-02: Sunderland2005-06: Tottenham Hotspur2006-07: Wigan Athletic2007-08: Sunderland2008-09: Bolton Wanderers2010-11: Blackpool2011-12: Wigan Athletic2014-15: Queens Park Rangers2016-17: West Bromwich Albion2018-19: Cardiff City2018-19: Huddersfield Town2019-20: Crystal Palace2020-21: Crystal Palace2020-21: Leeds United2021-22: Newcastle United
This record marks yet another low point in a seemingly never-ending series for United. Interim boss Darren Fletcher oversaw a draw with Burnley before Sunday’s defeat to Brighton, and whoever steps in as caretaker – with Michael Carrick currently looking like the frontrunner ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjær – will have a huge task just to restore any sense of positivity at the club, let alone deliver meaningful results.
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