The 2002–03 season was Manchester United’s 11th season in the Premier League, and their 28th consecutive season in the top division of English football. This season saw the club finish at the top of the Premier League table, after their lowest finish in the history of the Premier League the previous season, when they came third. In order to win the title, the team had to pull Arsenal back from an eight-point lead at the beginning of March. United also finished as runners-up in the League Cup, with Liverpool eventually taking the prize. The club also broke the English transfer record for the third time in just over a year as they paid £29.1 million for Leeds United defender Rio Ferdinand.
At the end of the season, United midfielder David Beckham decided to move to Real Madrid in a £25 million deal, having spent 12 years at United (eight of them as a first-team regular). Meanwhile, 37-year-old centre-back Laurent Blanc announced his retirement from playing. Fellow centre-back David May was finally given a free transfer after nine years at the club, the last five of which had seen his first team opportunities limited to a handful of appearances.
Pre-season and friendlies
Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 July 2002 | Shelbourne | A | 5–0 | Van Nistelrooy (3) 17′, 20′, 63′, Forlán 22′, Yorke 60′ | 10,000 |
27 July 2002 | Chesterfield | A | 5–0 | Blanc 19′, Van Nistelrooy 54′, Forlán 80′, Keane 83′, Richardson 86′ | 6,583 |
27 July 2002 | Bournemouth | A | 3–2 | Verón 33′, Muirhead 61′, Stewart 66′ | 8,104 |
30 July 2002 | Vålerenga | A | 2–1 | Solskjær 26′ (pen.), Keane 84′ | 25,572 |
2 August 2002 | Ajax | A | 1–2 | Scholes 78′ | 48,000 |
4 August 2002 | Parma | N | 3–0 | Giggs 23′, Verón 50′, Solskjær 55′ | 48,000 |
6 August 2002 | Aarhus XI | A | 5–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 44′, 80′, Solskjær 71′, Giggs 81′, Forlán 87′ | 20,500 |
10 August 2002 | Boca Juniors | H | 2–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 23′, 40′ | 56,724 |
Premier League
Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 August 2002 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | Solskjær 78′ | 67,645 | 7th |
23 August 2002 | Chelsea | A | 2–2 | Beckham 26′, Giggs 66′ | 41,541 | 7th |
31 August 2002 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | Giggs 7′ | 47,586 | 8th |
3 September 2002 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | Van Nistelrooy 28′ (pen.) | 67,464 | 4th |
11 September 2002 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 67,623 | 7th | |
14 September 2002 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | 39,622 | 10th | |
21 September 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | Van Nistelrooy 62′ (pen.) | 67,611 | 8th |
28 September 2002 | Charlton Athletic | A | 3–1 | Scholes 54′, Giggs 82′, Van Nistelrooy 90′ | 26,630 | 4th |
7 October 2002 | Everton | H | 3–0 | Scholes (2) 86′, 90′, Van Nistelrooy 90′ (pen.) | 67,629 | 4th |
19 October 2002 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | Solskjær 62′ | 18,103 | 4th |
26 October 2002 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | Forlán 77′ | 67,619 | 4th |
2 November 2002 | Southampton | H | 2–1 | P. Neville 15′, Forlán 85′ | 67,691 | 3rd |
9 November 2002 | Manchester City | A | 1–3 | Solskjær 7′ | 34,649 | 5th |
17 November 2002 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | Van Nistelrooy 38′ | 35,049 | 5th |
23 November 2002 | Newcastle United | H | 5–3 | Scholes 25′, Van Nistelrooy (3) 38′, 45′, 53′, Solskjær 55′ | 67,625 | 5th |
1 December 2002 | Liverpool | A | 2–1 | Forlán (2) 63′, 66′ | 44,250 | 4th |
7 December 2002 | Arsenal | H | 2–0 | Verón 20′, Scholes 72′ | 67,650 | 3rd |
14 December 2002 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | Solskjær 15′, Verón 17′, Schemmel 61′ (o.g.) | 67,555 | 2nd |
22 December 2002 | Blackburn | A | 0–1 | 30,475 | 3rd | |
26 December 2002 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–3 | Giggs 60′ | 34,673 | 3rd |
28 December 2002 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | Forlán 37′, Beckham 73′ | 67,640 | 3rd |
1 January 2003 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | Beckham 81′, Scholes 90′ | 67,609 | 2nd |
11 January 2003 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–1 | Van Nistelrooy 8′, Scholes 22′, Solskjær 55′ | 27,129 | 2nd |
18 January 2003 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | Scholes 39′, Forlán 90′ | 67,606 | 2nd |
1 February 2003 | Southampton | A | 2–0 | Van Nistelrooy 15′, Giggs 22′ | 32,085 | 2nd |
4 February 2003 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | Van Nistelrooy 56′ | 29,475 | 2nd |
9 February 2003 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | Van Nistelrooy 18′ | 67,646 | 2nd |
22 February 2003 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | Solskjær 90′ | 27,409 | 2nd |
5 March 2003 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | Radebe 20′ (o.g.), Silvestre 79′ | 67,135 | 2nd |
15 March 2003 | Aston Villa | A | 1–0 | Beckham 12′ | 42,602 | 2nd |
22 March 2003 | Fulham | H | 3–0 | Van Nistelrooy (3) 44′, 68′, 90′ | 67,706 | 2nd |
5 April 2003 | Liverpool | H | 4–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 5′ (pen.), 65′ (pen.), Giggs 78′, Solskjær 90′ | 67,639 | 2nd |
12 April 2003 | Newcastle United | A | 6–2 | Solskjær 32′, Scholes (3) 34′, 38′, 52′, Giggs 44′, Van Nistelrooy 58′ (pen.) | 52,164 | 1st |
16 April 2003 | Arsenal | A | 2–2 | Van Nistelrooy 24′, Giggs 63′ | 38,164 | 1st |
19 April 2003 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 3–1 | Van Nistelrooy 20′, Scholes (2) 42′, 61′ | 67,626 | 1st |
26 April 2003 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–0 | Scholes 69′, Van Nistelrooy 90′ | 36,073 | 1st |
3 May 2003 | Charlton Athletic | H | 4–1 | Beckham 11′, Van Nistelrooy (3) 32′, 37′, 52′ | 67,721 | 1st |
11 May 2003 | Everton | A | 2–1 | Beckham 45′, Van Nistelrooy 79′(pen.) | 40,168 | 1st |
Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 74 | 34 | +40 | 83 |
2 | Arsenal | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 85 | 42 | +43 | 78 |
3 | Newcastle United | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 63 | 48 | +15 | 69 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
FA Cup
Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 January 2003 | Round 3 | Portsmouth | H | 4–1 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 5′ (pen.), 82′ (pen.), Beckham 16′, Scholes 89′ | 67,222 |
26 January 2003 | Round 4 | West Ham United | H | 6–0 | Giggs (2) 8′, 29′, Van Nistelrooy (2) 49′, 58′, P. Neville 50′, Solskjær 69′ | 67,181 |
15 February 2003 | Round 5 | Arsenal | H | 0–2 | 67,209 |
League Cup
Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 November 2002 | Round 3 | Leicester City | H | 2–0 | Beckham 80′ (pen.), Richardson 90′ | 47,848 |
3 December 2002 | Round 4 | Burnley | A | 2–0 | Forlán 35′, Solskjær 65′ | 22,034 |
17 December 2002 | Round 5 | Chelsea | H | 1–0 | Forlán 80′ | 57,985 |
7 January 2003 | Semi-final First leg | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–1 | Scholes 58′ | 62,740 |
22 January 2003 | Semi-final Second leg | Blackburn Rovers | A | 3–1 | Scholes (2) 30′, 42′, Van Nistelrooy 77′ (pen.) | 29,048 |
2 March 2003 | Final | Liverpool | N | 0–2 | 74,500 |
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round
Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 August 2002 | Third qualifying round First leg | Zalaegerszeg | A | 0–1 | 40,000 | |
27 August 2002 | Third qualifying round Second leg | Zalaegerszeg | H | 5–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 6′, 76′ (pen.), Beckham 15′, Scholes 21′, Solskjær 84′ | 66,814 |
Group stage
Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 September 2002 | Maccabi Haifa | H | 5–2 | Giggs 10′, Solskjær 35′, Verón 46′, Van Nistelrooy 54′, Forlán 89′ (pen.) | 63,439 | 2nd |
24 September 2002 | Bayer Leverkusen | A | 2–1 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 31′, 44′ | 22,500 | 1st |
1 October 2002 | Olympiacos | H | 4–0 | Giggs 19′, Verón 26′, Anatolakis 66′ (o.g.), Solskjær 77′ | 66,902 | 1st |
23 October 2002 | Olympiacos | A | 3–2 | Blanc 21′, Verón 59′, Scholes 84′ | 13,220 | 1st |
29 October 2002 | Maccabi Haifa | A | 0–3 | 22,000 | 1st | |
13 November 2002 | Bayer Leverkusen | H | 2–0 | Verón 42′, Van Nistelrooy 69′ | 66,185 | 1st |
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 15 | |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 9 | |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 7 | |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 17 | −6 | 4 |
Second group stage
Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 November 2002 | Basel | A | 3–1 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 62′, 63′, Solskjær 68′ | 29,501 | 1st |
11 December 2002 | Deportivo La Coruña | H | 2–0 | Van Nistelrooy (2) 7′, 55′ | 67,014 | 1st |
19 February 2003 | Juventus | H | 2–1 | Brown 4′, Van Nistelrooy 85′ | 66,703 | 1st |
25 February 2003 | Juventus | A | 3–0 | Giggs (2) 15′, 41′, Van Nistelrooy 63′ | 59,111 | 1st |
12 March 2003 | Basel | H | 1–1 | G. Neville 53′ | 66,870 | 1st |
18 March 2003 | Deportivo La Coruña | A | 0–2 | 25,000 | 1st |
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 13 | |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 7 | |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 7 | |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 7 |
Knockout phase
Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 April 2003 | Quarter-final First leg | Real Madrid | A | 1–3 | Van Nistelrooy 52′ | 75,000 |
23 April 2003 | Quarter-final Second leg | Real Madrid | H | 4–3 | Van Nistelrooy 43′, Helguera 52′ (o.g.), Beckham (2) 71′, 85′ | 66,708 |
Squad statistics
No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
1 | GK | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
2 | DF | 19(7) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8(2) | 1 | 35(9) | 1 | |
3 | DF | 19(6) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10(2) | 0 | 35(8) | 2 | |
4 | MF | 21(4) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 11 | 4 | 37(5) | 6 | |
5 | DF | 15(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 25(4) | 1 | |
6 | DF | 27(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 45(1) | 0 | |
7 | MF | 27(4) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 10(3) | 3 | 45(7) | 11 | |
8 | MF | 14(4) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 8 | 0 | 22(7) | 0 | |
10 | FW | 33(1) | 25 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10(1) | 14 | 50(2) | 44 | |
11 | MF | 32(4) | 8 | 3 | 2 | 4(1) | 0 | 13(2) | 4 | 52(7) | 14 | |
13 | GK | 8(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14(2) | 0 | |
14 | DF | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | |
15 | MF | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 1(4) | 0 | |
16 | MF | 19(2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 30(2) | 0 | |
17 | MF | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(3) | 0 | |
18 | MF | 31(2) | 14 | 2(1) | 1 | 4(2) | 3 | 9(1) | 2 | 46(6) | 20 | |
19 | GK | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | |
20 | FW | 29(8) | 9 | 1(1) | 1 | 1(3) | 1 | 9(5) | 4 | 40(17) | 15 | |
21 | FW | 7(18) | 6 | 0(2) | 0 | 3(2) | 2 | 5(8) | 1 | 15(30) | 9 | |
22 | DF | 26(6) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12(4) | 0 | 42(10) | 0 | |
24 | DF | 22 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 34(1) | 1 | |
25 | MF | 5(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(3) | 0 | 9(7) | 0 | |
26 | MF | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 2(3) | 0 | |
27 | DF | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 54 | 1 | |
31 | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
34 | DF | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | |
37 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | |
38 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
40 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | |
42 | MF | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 1 | 2(3) | 0 | 3(6) | 1 | |
43 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |