The 2023/24 season has been one of those seasons that everyone associated with Manchester United is keen to forget.

The Red Devils have had terrible seasons and have significantly underachieved, especially since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, but things have never been this depressing at Old Trafford. 

Poor performances, injuries, terrible results and quarrels between players and coaches have been the major talking points this season. 

The club went from finishing in the top three and winning the Carabao Cup last season to not being guaranteed a place in Europe next season after being overtaken by Chelsea in recent weeks. 

They have spent more match time in a losing position in the Premier League this season (931:09) than in a winning position (929:47).

While their miracle FA Cup journey means they can still win a trophy this season if they can pull off a major upset and beat Manchester City at Wembley, there's no denying it has been a rotten season at Old Trafford.

Although Manchester United tickets have remained one of the sought-after tickets in Europe despite their many failures, fans won't be eager to look back when this season ends. 

In this article, we look at the top ten stats that tell a more complete story of how bad things are for Erik ten Hag's side this season.

Worst Start to a Season

When looking at the top-worst Manchester United statistics, there's no better place to start than their terrible start to the season. 

After reaching two finals last season, Man United and Erik ten Hag were expected to kick on to greater heights this season. But they didn't even take off before crashing down so early in the season.

The Red Devils started their 2023-24 campaign miserably, taking just nine points from their seven Premier League games. 

After opening the campaign with a 1-0 win over Wolves, Ten Hag's side suffered losses against Tottenham (2-0), Arsenal (3-1), Brighton (3-1) and Crystal Palace (1-0) in their next six games, winning only two times in that sequence (against Nottingham Forest and newly promoted Burnley), making it Man Utd’s worst start to a season to any of their 31 seasons in the competition. 

They will go on to record nine losses in the first 20 league games of the season for the first time since 1989-90.

United not only struggled in the league, but they were also terrible in Europe. They started their UEFA Champions League campaign with back-to-back losses to Bayern Munich and Turkish champions Galatasaray.

Lowest European Points and Exit

Another terrible statistic that came early in the season and showed just how bad United's 2023/24 season is compared to other bad seasons is their exit from the Champions League.

The Red Devils crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage for only the sixth time, with their lowest-ever points total, having lost four of their six group games (W1, D1). 

It's not like they were put in a tough group, with Bayern Munich, Galatasaray, and FC Copenhagen the other teams in their group. But United managed to bottle the group, finishing at the bottom with four points. 

Of the 33 seasons with a group stage, starting from the 1991-92 European Cup, Ten Hag's men have appeared in 26. This season, they finished bottom of their group for only the second time. The other came in 2005-06, with six points compared to this season’s four.

Even more shameful is that only Belgian side Antwerp, with 17, conceded more than United’s 15 goals in this season’s group stage – a total matched by both Celtic and Red Star Belgrade.

The bulk of the goal they conceded came in their 4-3 loss to FC Copenhagen. The Red Devils lost the game despite going 2-0 up. 

It was the first time Manchester United lost a game where they had a two-goal lead since the 5-3 Premier League defeat to Leicester City in September 2014. 

It was also their first time losing a Champions League match after going two goals ahead.

Man United also conceded four times against Bayern in their opening group game. Before this season, United had only conceded four or more goals five times in their entire history in the European Cup and Champions League—from 297 matches in total. Two (40%) of those occurred during their four outings in the 2023-24 group stage.

Goals conceded in a Season

This season also saw Man United break their record for most goals conceded in a season in all competitions with four games still to play.

The Red Devils have conceded 81 goals in all competitions this season, the most they have conceded in a single campaign since the 76/77 season, when they also conceded 81. With Brighton, Arsenal, Newcastle United, and Manchester City still to play, there is a big chance that United will end the season with the most goals conceded in all competitions in a single season.

Most Shots faced

A major reason United have conceded so many goals this season is that they face so many shots.

Never in United’s history have they been so open and susceptible to shots than this season. The Red Devils have faced an average of 17.6 shots per game this season, meaning that their total shots faced after 35 league games is 618 shots.

For context, only the 2007/08 Derby team, which finished on 11 points after 38 games, has faced more shots (629) than Man United (618 shots faced—with three games remaining). 

Manchester United also faced 20+ shots in six consecutive Premier League games (157 total—26.2 per game) this season.

Since the 2003-04 season when Opta started keeping the record, only Blackpool have had a longer run of facing 20+ shots (8 games, Nov 2010-Jan 2011) than Man United’s six. 

The Red Devils also faced 16 or more shots in a game 14 times, the joint-most of any team in the Premier League as of the first week of May.

Most defeats in a Premier League season

Manchester United have also set a club record for the most defeats in a single Premier League season after Crystal Palace mercilessly beat them in their 35th game of the season.

The Red Devils have suffered 13 league losses this term, surpassing the 12 losses they sustained in the 2012/13 season. Among those losses are embarrassing losses to Bournemouth and Fulham at Old Trafford and away losses to Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

Consecutive Home losses by Three or More Goals Margin

Manchester United also set the record for losing consecutive home games by 3+ goals for the first time since October 1962, when Newcastle beat them 3-0 in the Carabao Cup. 

The win was also Newcastle's biggest away win against the Red Devils since September 1930, when they won 7-4.

Loses to London clubs

Manchester United also lost five away Premier League matches in London this season, losing to Spurs, Arsenal, West Ham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Before this season, they had never lost five away league games in the capital in a single season.

Crystal Palace Double without conceding

Crystal Palace’s 4-0 win over Manchester United means that the Eagles successfully beat the Red Devils in two league games in a single season for the first time in history.

They also did it without conceding a single goal after winning the first leg at Old Trafford 1-0.

Consecutive Away Loses

The loss to Palace also made Manchester United record four consecutive away league losses for the first time since a run of six between December 1980 and March 1981.

Most Losses in all Competitions in 26 years.

Man United’s 18 losses across all competitions is the most they have recorded since the 1977/78 season when they lost 19 times. 

With four games still to play this season–three against teams currently in the top seven–Ten Hag's men could break that record this season.

Records United Could Still Break

Lowest League finish in the Premier League

In the 32 seasons United have played in the Premier League, they have never finished lower than seventh position. However, they are currently sitting in eighth position, level on points with Chelsea in seventh but with a worse goal difference.

Given the quality of the opponents they will face in their last three games, the hosts could end the season in eighth position or lower.

Negative Goal difference

Manchester United could also finish with a negative goal difference for the first time in the Premier League this season. The Red Devils currently have a goal difference of -3 after scoring 52 and conceding 55 times.

Should they finish with a negative goal difference after 38 games, it will be the first time that will happen to them since the 1991/92 season when they finished the season with a goal difference of -1.

Fewest points tally in the Premier League

The fewest points United have won after 38 games in a season is 58, which came in the 2021/22 season. With 54 points on the board after 35 games, the Red Devils may still end up with fewer than 58 points this season.

Most League Goals Conceded in a Season

Man United have already broken the record for most goals conceded in all competitions this season. With 55 goals conceded this season, they are two goals shy of breaking the record of 57 goals conceded in the 2021/22 season.