# 2013–14 Manchester United F.C. season
The 2013–14 [Manchester United F.C.](https://www.edgepedia.org/manchester-united-f-c) season was the club's 2013/14 campaign in English football, in which the defending Premier League champions finished seventh with 64 points, missed Champions League qualification, and dismissed first-year manager [David Moyes](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-moyes) in April 2014.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/tables/premier-league/2013-14/all-matchweeks) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27107795) It was the first season after Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013, ending a 26-year spell in charge during which the club had won the 2012/13 league title.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/manchester-united-needed-a-manager-who-understood-the-clubs-culture-david-moyes-arrived-with-a-small-club-mentality-and-made-poor-decisions-nani-on-why-red-devils-struggled-after-sir-alex-fergusons-retirement)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premier League finish | 7th of 20; 38 played, 19 won, 7 drawn, 12 lost, 64 goals for, 43 against, 64 points[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/tables/premier-league/2013-14/all-matchweeks) |
| Managers | David Moyes, 1 July 2013 to 22 April 2014; player-coach Ryan Giggs took charge for the rest of the season[4](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-united/spielplan/verein/985/saison_id/2013) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27107795) |
| Points drop | 25 points fewer than the 2012/13 title-winning season (64 versus 89)[5](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/13/premier-league-2013-14-the-season-in-numbers) |
| Home form | 7 home league defeats, the club's most in a season since 1973–74; home record 9-3-7 for 30 points[5](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/13/premier-league-2013-14-the-season-in-numbers) • [6](https://fbref.com/en/squads/19538871/2013-2014/c9/Manchester-United-Stats-Premier-League) |
| Champions League | Unbeaten group stage (4 wins, 2 draws, 12 goals for, 3 against); eliminated by Bayern Munich 4–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals[7](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/General/02/16/11/83/2161183_DOWNLOAD.pdf) • [8](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/results/_/id/360/season/2013) |
| Domestic cups | League Cup semi-final, lost to Sunderland 3–3 on aggregate and 2–1 on penalties; FA Cup exit in the third round[9](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Seasons/2013-14/ClubResults/2013-14.ManchesterUnited.html) • [10](https://www.transfermarkt.com/manchester-united/startseite/verein/985/saison_id/2013) |
| Final match | 1–1 draw away to Southampton, 11 May 2014[11](https://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/season/2013-2014) |
## Background and managerial change
Ferguson announced his retirement at the end of 2012/13, and the club appointed David Moyes, another Scot with extensive Premier League experience at Everton, on a six-year contract.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/manchester-united-needed-a-manager-who-understood-the-clubs-culture-david-moyes-arrived-with-a-small-club-mentality-and-made-poor-decisions-nani-on-why-red-devils-struggled-after-sir-alex-fergusons-retirement) Moyes took up the post on 1 July 2013.[4](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-united/spielplan/verein/985/saison_id/2013) The Premier League as a whole entered new territory that season: it was the first campaign without Ferguson, and Manchester City, Everton, and Chelsea also began the season under new managers.[12](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/693673)
Moyes later said he was unhappy with the opening fixture list, which pitted United against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City within their first five games.[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27107795) One early setback came at Anfield on 1 September 2013, where Liverpool beat the champions 1–0 through an early [Daniel Sturridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-sturridge) goal.[13](https://www.lfchistory.net/images/newspapers/riley/20130901vmanutd.pdf)
## Premier League campaign
United finished seventh with 19 wins, 7 draws, and 12 losses, scoring 64 and conceding 43.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/tables/premier-league/2013-14/all-matchweeks) The Guardian's season-in-numbers review recorded two markers of the decline: United won 25 points fewer than in the previous season, and lost seven home games, their most in a season since 1973–74.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/13/premier-league-2013-14-the-season-in-numbers) Their form was actually stronger away from home, with 34 points from a 10-4-5 away record against 30 points at [Old Trafford](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-trafford).[6](https://fbref.com/en/squads/19538871/2013-2014/c9/Manchester-United-Stats-Premier-League)
**Heavy defeats to the leaders' rivals.** During Liverpool's 11-match winning run in the spring, the Reds won 3–0 at Old Trafford, one of the results that ended United's hopes of a top-four place.[12](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/693673) United finished outside the top three for the first time in Premier League history, and Tottenham Hotspur held them off for the second Europa League place.[12](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/693673) The season closed on 11 May 2014 with a 1–1 draw at [Southampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/southampton) under Giggs.[11](https://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/season/2013-2014)
## Cup competitions
United's best domestic cup run came in the League Cup, where they reached the semi-final against [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland). The tie finished 3–3 on aggregate over two legs and United lost 2–1 on penalties.[9](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Seasons/2013-14/ClubResults/2013-14.ManchesterUnited.html) In the [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) they exited in the third round.[10](https://www.transfermarkt.com/manchester-united/startseite/verein/985/saison_id/2013) The club therefore ended the season without a trophy, unable to win any of the competitions it entered.[14](https://www.manutd.com/en/club/history/history-by-decade/2010-onwards)
## Champions League
In Europe the season went better than at home. United won their Champions League group without losing, taking 4 wins and 2 draws from 6 matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding 3.[7](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/General/02/16/11/83/2161183_DOWNLOAD.pdf) In the quarter-finals they faced eventual competition winners Bayern Munich and lost 4–2 on aggregate, with Bayern winning the second leg 3–1 on 9 April 2014.[8](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/results/_/id/360/season/2013)
## Moyes's dismissal
With the club seventh and the title defense lost, United announced on 22 April 2014 that Moyes had left the club, less than a year into his six-year contract.[4](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-united/spielplan/verein/985/saison_id/2013) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27107795) Player-coach Ryan Giggs, a club legend, took charge until a permanent appointment could be made, and one of his matches in charge was a shock home defeat to Sunderland in the league.[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27107795) • [12](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/693673) Moyes later said that in January 2014 he had traveled to Germany and reached an agreement for midfielder [Toni Kroos](https://www.edgepedia.org/toni-kroos) to join that summer, and that [Gareth Bale](https://www.edgepedia.org/gareth-bale) had been his first transfer target on taking the job, with United's offer exceeding Real Madrid's before Bale chose Spain.[15](https://as.com/futbol/2016/12/24/primera/1482569810_314513.html)
## Players and assessment
[Sky Sports](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-sports), working with Opta, named young Belgian winger [Adnan Januzaj](https://www.edgepedia.org/adnan-januzaj) as the club's star man of the season. He averaged 1.9 successful dribbles per game, ranking 11th among Premier League dribblers, and was fouled 2.2 times per game.[16](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/9312260/manchester-united-season-review) Pundit Jamie Redknapp, reviewing the season for Sky Sports, called it a horrendous campaign and argued the squad needed five or six new players, work that could not be completed in a single transfer window.[16](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/9312260/manchester-united-season-review) Former United winger [Nani](https://www.edgepedia.org/nani-footballer) later attributed the struggles to a manager who, in his view, did not understand the club's culture and made poor decisions.[3](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/manchester-united-needed-a-manager-who-understood-the-clubs-culture-david-moyes-arrived-with-a-small-club-mentality-and-made-poor-decisions-nani-on-why-red-devils-struggled-after-sir-alex-fergusons-retirement)
The season became a reference point for the club's post-Ferguson decline. The club's own history pages describe 2013/14 as a disappointing season in which United, lying seventh and trophyless, saw Moyes leave before the campaign ended.[14](https://www.manutd.com/en/club/history/history-by-decade/2010-onwards)
## References
1. [Premier League Table, Standings & Form Guide for 2013/14 season](https://www.premierleague.com/en/tables/premier-league/2013-14/all-matchweeks)
2. [David Moyes: Manchester United manager sacked by club, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27107795)
3. [Nani on why Red Devils struggled after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/manchester-united-needed-a-manager-who-understood-the-clubs-culture-david-moyes-arrived-with-a-small-club-mentality-and-made-poor-decisions-nani-on-why-red-devils-struggled-after-sir-alex-fergusons-retirement)
4. [Manchester United - Schedule 13/14, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manchester-united/spielplan/verein/985/saison_id/2013)
5. [Premier League 2013-14: the season in numbers, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/13/premier-league-2013-14-the-season-in-numbers)
6. [2013-2014 Manchester United Stats, Premier League, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/squads/19538871/2013-2014/c9/Manchester-United-Stats-Premier-League)
7. [2013/14 UEFA Champions League season review, UEFA](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/General/02/16/11/83/2161183_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
8. [Manchester United 2013 Results, ESPN UK](https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/results/_/id/360/season/2013)
9. [Manchester United results 2013/14, footballsite](https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Seasons/2013-14/ClubResults/2013-14.ManchesterUnited.html)
10. [Manchester United - Club profile 13/14, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.com/manchester-united/startseite/verein/985/saison_id/2013)
11. [Manchester United 2013-2014 Season: Results, Fixtures & Statistics, mufcinfo](https://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/season/2013-2014)
12. [2013/14 Season Review, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/693673)
13. [Liverpool v Manchester United match report, 1 September 2013, lfchistory](https://www.lfchistory.net/images/newspapers/riley/20130901vmanutd.pdf)
14. [2010 Onwards, History by Decade, Manchester United](https://www.manutd.com/en/club/history/history-by-decade/2010-onwards)
15. [Moyes desvela los dos fichajes que el Madrid le 'robó' al United, AS](https://as.com/futbol/2016/12/24/primera/1482569810_314513.html)
16. [Manchester United season review, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/9312260/manchester-united-season-review)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › Domestic leagues and league seasons › English Premier League and top flight*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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