The 2007–08 season was Manchester United’s 16th season in the Premier League, and their 33rd consecutive season in the top division of English football. The season was regarded as a success; despite the team’s slow start in the league, they won their 10th Premier League title (their 17th top division title overall, just one behind Liverpool’s record of 18 but no premier league titles) and beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final to claim the European Double.
Although they won the 2007 FA Community Shield against Chelsea, the club was not as successful in the domestic cup competitions, losing to eventual FA Cup winners, Portsmouth, in the Sixth Round, and losing to Coventry City in the Third Round of the League Cup.
In February 2008, the club commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, as a result of which eight United players and three members of the coaching staff lost their lives. The club held a memorial service at Old Trafford on 6 February 2008, renaming the tunnel under the South Stand as the “Munich Tunnel”. This was followed on 10 February by the Manchester derby. United took to the field in a retro kit reminiscent of the kit worn by the 1958 team, abandoning squad numbers in favour of a 1–11 numbering system.
United’s players were also successful on an individual level in the 2007–08 season, with three players in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, while Cristiano Ronaldo picked up six individual awards, including the Premier League Golden Boot for his 31 league goals.
Pre-season and friendlies
Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17 July 2007 | Urawa Red Diamonds | A | 2–2 | Fletcher 47′, Ronaldo 52′ | 58,716 |
20 July 2007 | FC Seoul | A | 4–0 | Ronaldo 5′, Eagles 18′, Rooney 20′, Evra 60′ | 64,000 |
23 July 2007 | Shenzhen Xiangxue | N | 6–0 | Giggs 12′, Rooney 20′, Nani 22′, O’Shea 54′, Ronaldo 56′, Eagles 63′ | 15,000 |
27 July 2007 | Guangzhou Pharmaceutical | N | 3–0 | Rooney 12′ (pen.), Nani 43′, Martin 53′ | 50,000 |
1 August 2007 | Internazionale | H | 2–3 | Rooney 18′, Adriano 50′ (o.g.) | 73,738 |
3 August 2007 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 2–0 | Gibson 70′, Evans 90′ | 13,080 |
4 August 2007 | Peterborough United | A | 3–1 | Eckersley 23′, Jones 72′, Dong 82′ | |
8 August 2007 | Glentoran | A | 3–0 | Campbell 5′, Evra 14′, Nani 37′ | 14,500 |
8 August 2007 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 4–0 | Eagles 27′, Giggs 35′, Rooney (2) 63′ (pen.), 85′ | 11,200 |
21 January 2008 | Al-Hilal | A | 2–3 | Tevez 25′, Ronaldo 33′ | 70,000 |
FA Community Shield
Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 August 2007 | Chelsea | N | 1–1 (3–0p) | Giggs 35′ | 80,731 |
Premier League
Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 August 2007 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 75,655 | 11th | |
15 August 2007 | Portsmouth | A | 1–1 | Scholes 15′ | 20,510 | 12th |
19 August 2007 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | 44,955 | 17th | |
26 August 2007 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | Nani 68′ | 75,696 | 10th |
1 September 2007 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | Saha 71′ | 75,648 | 6th |
15 September 2007 | Everton | A | 1–0 | Vidić 83′ | 39,364 | 1st |
23 September 2007 | Chelsea | H | 2–0 | Tevez 45′, Saha 89′ (pen.) | 75,633 | 2nd |
29 September 2007 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | Ronaldo 52′ | 26,526 | 2nd |
6 October 2007 | Wigan Athletic | H | 4–0 | Tevez 54′, Ronaldo (2) 58′, 76′, Rooney 82′ | 75,300 | 1st |
20 October 2007 | Aston Villa | A | 4–1 | Rooney (2) 36′, 44′, Ferdinand 45′, Giggs 75′ | 42,640 | 2nd |
27 October 2007 | Middlesbrough | H | 4–1 | Nani 3′, Rooney 33′, Tevez (2) 55′, 85′ | 75,720 | 1st |
3 November 2007 | Arsenal | A | 2–2 | Gallas 45′ (o.g.), Ronaldo 81′ | 60,161 | 2nd |
11 November 2007 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–0 | Ronaldo (2) 34′, 35′ | 75,710 | 1st |
24 November 2007 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 25,028 | 2nd | |
3 December 2007 | Fulham | H | 2–0 | Ronaldo (2) 10′, 53′ | 75,055 | 2nd |
8 December 2007 | Derby County | H | 4–1 | Giggs 41′, Tevez (2) 45′, 61′, Ronaldo 90+2′ (pen.) | 75,725 | 2nd |
16 December 2007 | Liverpool | A | 1–0 | Tevez 43′ | 44,459 | 2nd |
23 December 2007 | Everton | H | 2–1 | Ronaldo (2) 22′, 88′ (pen.) | 75,749 | 2nd |
26 December 2007 | Sunderland | A | 4–0 | Rooney 20′, Saha (2) 30′, 85′ (pen.), Ronaldo 45′ | 47,360 | 1st |
29 December 2007 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | Ronaldo 14′ | 34,966 | 2nd |
1 January 2008 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | Tevez 25′ | 75,459 | 2nd |
12 January 2008 | Newcastle United | H | 6–0 | Ronaldo (3) 49′, 70′, 88′, Tevez (2) 55′, 90′, Ferdinand 85′ | 75,965 | 1st |
19 January 2008 | Reading | A | 2–0 | Rooney 77′, Ronaldo 90′ | 24,135 | 1st |
30 January 2008 | Portsmouth | H | 2–0 | Ronaldo (2) 10′, 12′ | 75,415 | 1st |
2 February 2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | Tevez 90′ | 36,075 | 2nd |
10 February 2008 | Manchester City | H | 1–2 | Carrick 90′ | 75,970 | 2nd |
23 February 2008 | Newcastle United | A | 5–1 | Rooney (2) 25′, 80′, Ronaldo (2) 45′, 56′, Saha 90′ | 52,291 | 2nd |
1 March 2008 | Fulham | A | 3–0 | Hargreaves 14′, Park 45′, Davies 72′ (o.g.) | 25,314 | 2nd |
15 March 2008 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | Ronaldo 76′ | 33,072 | 1st |
19 March 2008 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | Ronaldo (2) 9′, 20′ | 75,476 | 1st |
23 March 2008 | Liverpool | H | 3–0 | Brown 34′, Ronaldo 79′, Nani 81′ | 76,000 | 1st |
29 March 2008 | Aston Villa | H | 4–0 | Ronaldo 16′, Tevez 33′, Rooney (2) 53′, 70′ | 75,932 | 1st |
6 April 2008 | Middlesbrough | A | 2–2 | Ronaldo 10′, Rooney 74′ | 33,952 | 1st |
13 April 2008 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 | Ronaldo 53′ (pen.), Hargreaves 72′ | 75,985 | 1st |
19 April 2008 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | Tevez 88′ | 30,316 | 1st |
26 April 2008 | Chelsea | A | 1–2 | Rooney 57′ | 41,828 | 1st |
3 May 2008 | West Ham United | H | 4–1 | Ronaldo (2) 3′, 24′, Tevez 26′, Carrick 59′ | 76,013 | 1st |
11 May 2008 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–0 | Ronaldo 33′ (pen.), Giggs 80′ | 25,133 | 1st |
Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United | 38 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 80 | 22 | +58 | 87 |
2 | Chelsea | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 65 | 26 | +39 | 85 |
3 | Arsenal | 38 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 74 | 31 | +43 | 83 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
FA Cup
Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 January 2008 | Round 3 | Aston Villa | A | 2–0 | Ronaldo 81′, Rooney 89′ | 33,630 |
27 January 2008 | Round 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–1 | Tevez 38′, Ronaldo (2) 69′ (pen.), 88′ | 75,369 |
16 February 2008 | Round 5 | Arsenal | H | 4–0 | Rooney 16′, Fletcher (2) 20′, 74′, Nani 38′ | 75,550 |
8 March 2008 | Round 6 | Portsmouth | H | 0–1 | 75,463 |
League Cup
Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 September 2007 | Round 3 | Coventry City | H | 0–2 | 74,055 |
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19 September 2007 | Sporting CP | A | 1–0 | Ronaldo 62′ | 41,510 | 2nd |
2 October 2007 | Roma | H | 1–0 | Rooney 70′ | 73,652 | 1st |
23 October 2007 | Dynamo Kyiv | A | 4–2 | Ferdinand 10′, Rooney 18′, Ronaldo (2) 41′, 68′ (pen.) | 42,000 | 1st |
7 November 2007 | Dynamo Kyiv | H | 4–0 | Piqué 31′, Tevez 37′, Rooney 76′, Ronaldo 88′ | 75,017 | 1st |
27 November 2007 | Sporting CP | H | 2–1 | Tevez 61′, Ronaldo 90+2′ | 75,162 | 1st |
12 December 2007 | Roma | A | 1–1 | Piqué 34′ | 29,490 | 1st |
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 16 | |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 11 | |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 7 | |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 19 | −15 | 0 |
Knockout phase
Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 February 2008 | First knockout round First leg | Lyon | A | 1–1 | Tevez 87′ | 39,219 |
4 March 2008 | First knockout round Second leg | Lyon | H | 1–0 | Ronaldo 41′ | 75,520 |
1 April 2008 | Quarter-finals First leg | Roma | A | 2–0 | Ronaldo 39′, Rooney 66′ | 60,931 |
9 April 2008 | Quarter-finals Second leg | Roma | H | 1–0 | Tevez 70′ | 74,423 |
23 April 2008 | Semi-finals First leg | Barcelona | A | 0–0 | 95,949 | |
29 April 2008 | Semi-finals Second leg | Barcelona | H | 1–0 | Scholes 14′ | 75,061 |
21 May 2008 | Final | Chelsea | N | 1–1 (6–5p) | Ronaldo 25′ | 67,310 |
Squad statistics
No. | Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | Discipline | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||||
1 | GK | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
2 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | DF | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
4 | MF | 16(7) | 2 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23(11) | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
5 | DF | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
6 | DF | 34(2) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 9(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48(4) | 1 | 8 | 0 | |
7 | MF | 31(3) | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 46(3) | 42 | 7 | 1 | |
8 | MF | 16(8) | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25(13) | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
9 | FW | 6(11) | 5 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10(14) | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
10 | FW | 25(2) | 12 | 3(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10(1) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 39(4) | 18 | 12 | 0 | |
11 | MF | 26(5) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(5) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33(10) | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
12 | GK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
13 | MF | 8(4) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
14 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
15 | DF | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |
16 | MF | 24(7) | 2 | 3(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 11(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39(10) | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
17 | MF | 16(10) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7(4) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 26(15) | 4 | 4 | 1 | |
18 | MF | 22(2) | 1 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30(4) | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
19 | DF | 5(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9(4) | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
20 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
21 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
22 | DF | 10(18) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17(21) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
23 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
24 | MF | 5(11) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 11(13) | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
25 | DF | 1(2) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
26 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
27 | DF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
28 | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
29 | GK | 8(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(4) | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
30 | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
32 | FW | 31(3) | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6(6) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 39(9) | 19 | 2 | 0 | |
33 | MF | 1(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
34 | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
38 | GK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
39 | FW | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
40 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
43 | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
45 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
46 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
47 | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |