The atmosphere at Manchester United has been tense, confused and often sad over the last few months. The campaign that has just ended left a trail of frustration. From injuries at key moments to tactical decisions without result, the team never managed to find rhythm or identity. Elimination in key competitions and a run of league defeats generated constant pressure. Demanding fans and an attentive media magnified the focus on every mistake. For a club used to challenging for titles, ending the season in such a low position was a confirmation of what was seen on the pitch: lack of cohesion, attitude, and results.
Defeat in the Europa League final against an equally inconsistent Tottenham side was the final blow. It meant goodbye to any chance of Champions League qualification. Four days later, they managed a slender 2-0 win over Aston Villa, a temporary relief that did not erase the discontent.
The campaign ended with a 15th place finish in the table, far from what was expected given the club’s history and budget. Ruben Amorim, in his first year as the team’s manager, offered a phrase of hope after the game, trying to salvage something positive after months of disappointment. For his part, as per [The Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/man-utd-christian-eriksen-lucky-relegation-b1229762.html), Christian Eriksen, now with one foot out of the door, was clear: the team was below par in almost everything. In his view, it was a year full of poor games, missed opportunities, and an outcome that, while harsh, came as no surprise.
What was Christian Eriksen’s candid assessment of Manchester United’s performance and challenges during the 2024/25 Premier League season?
> “I think unfortunately there’s been a lot of lows this season with the games, and obviously the final was the missing piece. It’s football. For me now I think people are lucky that we are where we are, not relegated with the team with the season we’ve had. Next season it has to be better, and I’m sure it will be. I’m looking forward to watching it from the sides.”
What Eriksen said goes to the heart of the problem. It is not just poor results, but a general lack of reaction. For a player with his experience to say that the team was lucky not to be relegated speaks volumes. This is not an exaggeration, but a brutally honest way of summing up the year. The team lacked intensity, character, ideas. The squad, although it has big names, never functioned as a group. The absence of visible leadership and tactical fragility made many games seem uncontrollable from the first minute.
For Amorim, this year was a mirror of his limits and mistakes, but also an opportunity. It pushed him to understand the pressure of coaching a club like this, with unforgiving spotlights. If he manages to stay in charge, he will have to learn from what he has experienced and work with more conviction. He will have to clean up the squad, build from the ground up, and choose profiles that want to compete, not just get paid. Sometimes the big teams need to hit rock bottom to start looking at things differently. United have already hit rock bottom.
But there is another angle. This season could be remembered as the point where the mask fell off a structure that had been quietly failing. Perhaps this crisis will allow for real change, not just in names, but in attitudes. If Amorim surrounds himself with committed players, something new can begin. And if the club stop thinking about what theyr were, and start building on what they can be, next year could offer more than just promise.