Manchester United quadruple chase 2022-2023: Red Devils' quest for four trophies in a single season

Simon Borg

Manchester United quadruple chase 2022-2023: Red Devils' quest for four trophies in a single season image

Given the lean seasons that Manchester United have experienced recently, supporters of the club would have been content with any piece of silverware from the 2022/23 season.

But the Red Devils are incredibly in the running to win all four competitions, with new manager Erik ten Hag eyeing what would be a historic quadruple. No team in England has managed to win all three major domestic trophies, plus a European trophy.

Rivals Manchester City did their own quadruple in 2018/19, but that consisted of four domestic trophies, including the Community Shield. Outside of England, German side Bayern Munich won four trophies in 2012/13, including the Champions League and the one-off DFL-Supercup (the equivalent of the Community Shield).

Manchester United secured a famous treble in 1998/99 by winning the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, and the FA Cup, but they were knocked out in the League Cup quarterfinals by Tottenham.

Looking back over half a century, Celtic's famous Lisbon Lions (1966/67) bagged themselves five trophies in one season, including the European Cup (vs. Inter Milan), plus the Scottish league title, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup and the local Glasgow Cup.

The Red Devils have already clinched the Carabao Cup, defeating Newcastle United in the Wembley showpiece with a 2-0 victory. 

Below is a look at how Manchester United are faring so far in the other competitions of the 2022/23 campaign.

MORE: How many trophies have Manchester United won in their history?

Carabao Cup

Newcastle United fell to Ten Hag's resurgent Red Devils at Wembley in late February, as a Casemiro header and a Sven Botman own goal sealed a 2-0 triumph. 

That victory ended a six-year trophy drought for the Old Trafford club, while Ten Hag became the first Dutch manager to win the three-handled English trophy. 

The club's march to the first silverware of the season included winning all six matches by two goals or more. 

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Date Stage Opponent Result
Nov. 10 Third Round Aston Villa (H) W / 4-2
Dec. 21 Round of 16 Burnley (H) W / 2-0
Jan. 10

Quarterfinals

Charlton Athletic (H) W / 3-0
Jan. 25 Semifinals 1st Leg Nott'm Forest (A) W / 3-0
Feb. 1 Semifinals 2nd Leg Nott'm Forest (H) W / 2-0
Feb. 26 Final Newcastle W / 2-0

Europa League

  • Next match: Quarterfinal (1st leg)
  • Opponent: vs Sevilla
  • Date: Thursday, April 13

After opening Europa League play with a home loss, Man United recovered to win the remaining five group-stage matches. But it wasn't enough to overcome Real Sociedad for first place in Group E, and the goal difference tiebreaker sent the second-place Red Devils into the Knockout Playoff round.

There they were drawn against Spain's La Liga leaders Barcelona in the Knockout Playoffs with Man United claiming the 2-1 in the decisive second leg to win 3-2 on aggregate after a pulsating 2-2 at Camp Nou.

Against more Spanish opposition in the form of Real Betis, United seized control of their Round of 16 tie in the first leg, cruising to a 4-1 victory. Marcus Rashford secured a 1-0 win in Spain and a 5-1 aggregate result.

Pitted against Sevilla in the quarterfinals, United were cruising in the first leg at Old Trafford before somehow allowing the game to finish 2-2 via two own goals.

MORE: Manchester United vs. Barcelona head-to-head history

Date Stage Opponent Result
Sept. 8 Group Stage (Group E) Real Sociedad (H) L / 1-0
Sept. 15 Group Stage (Group E) Sheriff Tiraspol (A) W / 2-0
Oct. 6 Group Stage (Group E) Omonia Nicosia (A) W / 3-2
Oct. 13 Group Stage (Group E) Omonia Nicosia (H) W / 1-0
Oct. 27 Group Stage (Group E) Sheriff Tiraspol (H) W / 3-0
Nov. 3 Group Stage (Group E) Real Sociedad (A) W / 1-0
Feb. 16 Knockout Playoff 1st Leg Barcelona (A) D / 2-2
Feb. 23 Knockout Playoff 2nd Leg Barcelona (H) W / 2-1
March 9 Round of 16 1st Leg Real Betis (H) W / 4-1
March 16 Round of 16 2nd Leg Real Betis (A) W / 1-0
April 13 Quarterfinal 1st leg Sevilla (H) D / 2-2
April 20 Quarterfinal 2nd leg Sevilla (A) TBD

FA Cup

  • Next match: Semifinals
  • Opponent: vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
  • Date: April 22/23

Manchester United have benefited from a favourable draw in this competition and have so far played all of their games at Old Trafford. 

After seeing off West Ham in the Round of 16, the Red Devils next hosted Fulham, who they beat 2-1 in November. The visitors went 1-0 up early in the second half, but a remarkable implosion, in which they conceded a penalty and had Willian, Aleksandar Mitrovic and manager Marco Silva sent off, allowed United to emerge as winners and keep up their strange record of winning all their FA Cup matches this season by the same scoreline.

MORE: Why Manchester United want to revamp Old Trafford stadium

Date Stage Opponent Result
Jan. 6 Third Round Everton (H) W / 3-1
Jan. 28 Fourth Round Reading (H) W / 3-1
Mar. 1 Round of 16 West Ham (H) W / 3-1
Mar. 19 Quarterfinals Fulham (H) W / 3-1
April 22/23 Semifinals Brighton (N) TBD

Premier League

  • Next match: Matchday 30 of 38
  • Opponent: at Nottingham Forest
  • Date: Sunday, April 16

Any real suggestions that Man United could win the Premier League this season were dismissed rather emphatically with that shocking 7-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool. The fact Arsenal and Manchester City have continued to pick up wins hasn't helped, either.

It is still technically possible for Man United to win their first league title since 2012/13. Back-to-back home wins over Brentford and Everton mean they can finish the season with a maximum of 83 points, which would put them 11 clear of leaders Arsenal as things stand. In other words, the Gunners need only take 12 points from their remaining nine games to make it mathematically impossible for Man United to win the league.

MORE: When did Manchester United last win the Premier League?

Matchday Date Match Result Table
Position
Points
from 1st
Title
Probability
24 Sun, Feb. 19 vs. Leicester City W / 3-0 3rd 11 pts 4%
25 Sun, Mar. 5 at Liverpool L / 0-7 3rd 14 pts <1%
26 Sun, Mar. 12 vs Southampton D / 0-0 3rd 16 pts <1%
27 Sun, Apr. 2 at Newcastle L / 0-2 4th 22 pts <1%
28 Wed, Apr. 5 vs Brentford W / 1-0 4th 19 pts <1%
29 Sat, Apr. 8 vs Everton W / 2-0 4th 16 pts <1%
30 Sun, Apr. 16 at Nott'm Forest W / 2-0 3rd 15 pts <1%
31 Sat, Apr. 22 vs Chelsea        
32 Sun, Apr. 27 at Tottenham        
33 Sun, Apr. 30 vs Aston Villa        
34 Sat, May 6 at West Ham        
35 Sat, May 13 vs Wolves        
36 Sat, May 20 at Bournemouth        
37 TBD at Brighton        
38 Sun, May 28 vs Fulham        

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.