How Man Utd start in 2025/26 after 10 games compares to each of the past 20 seasons

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Manchester United are on a good run under Ruben Amorim with four games unbeaten.

After 10 Premier League games, Manchester United are in a healthy position in the table, and appear to be on the up.

United are eighth, only two points behind second place. The team have accrued 17 points over the first 10 matches.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
7	ChelseaChelsea	10	5	2	3	18	11	7	17
8	Manchester UnitedManchester United	10	5	2	3	17	16	1	17
9	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	10	4	4	2	14	9	5	16

The mood around the club is positive, and could be further boosted with a victory away at Tottenham this coming weekend.

But before we get to next weekend’s game, we are going to take stock of the current situation and assess how United’s points total compares to previous starts – and what we can project moving forward.

• READ MORE: Manchester United manager history, trophies won, win percentage

2025/26 to 2021/22

Over the past five seasons, Ruben Amorim’s start is the best since the 2022/23 season under Erik ten Hag, who began with 19 points. He led United to finish third.

Last season, Ten Hag managed only 11 points and was promptly fired after nine games. Ruud van Nistelrooy drew the next one to take the tally to 12 after 10 games. Ruben Amorim was not able to rescue the campaign.

Amorim’s tally of 17 after 10 games this season matched Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s start in 2021/22. But he lost his next two games and was fired afterwards, replaced with Ralf Rangnick.

2020/21 to 2016/17

Looking slightly further back, only one season bettered Ruben Amorim’s 17 points after 10 games.

Jose Mourinho led United to 23 points after 10 games on the way to a second placed finish in the 2017/18 season.

Ruben Amorim’s current 2025/26 season is then the joint-third best points total after 10 games over the past 10 years, behind only 2017/18 and 2022/23.

2015/16 to 2011/12

Louis van Gaal bested the 17-point tally in one of his two seasons, with 20 in 2015/16. However, United actually finished lower in the table than his previous season, when he started poorly with only 13 points.

David Moyes also managed 17 points. Unfortunately we know how that ended. He did not complete the season.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatness was evident, with 24 points and 26 points in 2012/13 and 2011/12.

2010/11 to 2006/07

Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams were ridiculously outstanding starters, setting the pace for the rest of the Premier League. Between 2010/11 backwards to 2006/07, he exceeded 20 points in every year in this five-year span.

The mixed fortunes of 17 points after 10 games

Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United are currently on 17 points after 10 games. It is a solid total.

This tally has been matched three times before over the past 20 years. Manchester United’s placing in these seasons was 6th, 6th, and 7th. This bodes well for a much more respectable finish this season, compared to last.

However, is the number haunted? Perhaps this is a statistical oddity, but in each of these seasons, the managers were fired. It’s not predictive, but just worth noting.

David Moyes in 2013/14, Jose Mourinho in 2017/18, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020/21.

Ruben Amorim will be hoping he does not fall victim to the same fate. And we should not assume that he will.

Managers survived with worse records, and in his first full season, Ruben Amorim is putting up a better start than Louis van Gaal did in 2014/15, and Jose Mourinho in 2016/17 in their first years in charge. United went on to finish fourth and sixth in those seasons.

Amorim has made a much better start than the 20-year low 12 points Erik ten Hag largely oversaw last season before he was sacked.

Sir Alex Ferguson made the most of his fast starts to win 13 league titles during his time at Manchester United.

Across the five title-winning seasons we analysed, Ferguson began with at least 21 points.

Amorim’s United are a little behind this, but his side has made good strides, and we have reasons to be positive for the rest of the campaign.

Louis van Gaal, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag all set or matched new lows for the club’s worst Premier League era starts, which made headlines in each of those years.

With Ruben Amorim humming along nicely, the joint third-best start in the past 10 years, his solid progress is actually not getting enough praise. But the head coach won’t dwell on that, he knows there is more work to do.