MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United set another unwanted club record on Sunday after losing 1-0 to Wolverhampton.
A 15th league loss of the season is the most United has suffered in any single campaign in the Premier League era and emphasizes the club's ongoing decline.
United has dominated England's top flight since the inception of the Premier League in 1992 — winning 13 titles. But it has not been crowned champion since 2013 when former manager Alex Ferguson retired.
Last season it set a new high for league losses with 14 defeats. With five rounds still to go, Ruben Amorim's team has already gone past that benchmark.
“We need to fight for wins, score goals and try to get more points,” Amorim said. "This season is going to end like this. We need to take the positives, try to work on the things we need to improve.
“We have to work and try to be better in the first game of next season.”
Amorim said in January that this might be the worst team in the club's history and the lows have kept on coming.
A 15th league loss is the most for any United team since the 1989-90 campaign when it was defeated 16 times in England’s old Division One.
Premier League statistician Opta said an eighth home defeat in the league was the most since United was beaten nine times in 1962-63.
Worst points total in Premier League
United is already certain to set the club’s worst-ever points total in the Premier League. The latest loss left it on 38 points.
United’s lowest total was 58 in the 2021-22 season. Even a perfect finish would only see United amass 53 this term.
The record 20-time English champion is also on course to record its lowest league finish in the Premier League.
The previous low was set by Erik ten Hag's team last season when finishing eighth in the standings - the club's worst final position in 34 years. United is currently 14th and 11 points behind eighth-placed Bournemouth.
Silver lining
But Amorim could still end the campaign on a successful note by winning the Europa League. United staged a dramatic fightback to beat Lyon 5-4 on Thursday and advance to the semifinals of Europe's second tier competition.
United plays Athletic Bilbao in the next round. The Europa League winner also qualifies for next season's Champions League.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
