2001–02 Manchester United F.C. season
The 2001–02 season was Manchester United's tenth season in the Premier League and their 27th consecutive season in the top division of English football. The second full season of the new millennium was a great disappointment for the Red Devils in comparison to the previous three years. The club finished in third place in the Premier League, their lowest finish in the history of the Premier League, and they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round. League Cup success was not expected, and the club duly obliged by playing what was effectively a reserve team against a strong Arsenal side in the third round, the day after both teams were on League duty. United's best success in the 2001–02 season came in the UEFA Champions League, in which they reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen on away goals. Ultimately, United's failure to win anything boiled down a dismal run of form in November and early December when they suffered five defeats in seven league games, including three defeats in a row against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United in December. They also lost six home games in the Premier League, their worst home record since the 1977–78 season. They only lost three more league games all season, but that terrible form earlier in the campaign counted against United for the rest of the campaign and they finished 10 points behind champions Arsenal and three points behind runners-up Liverpool.
Before the season began, Sir Alex Ferguson had announced his intention to retire from football at the end of the season, and the club began the process of trying to find a successor for the most successful manager in their history. However, Ferguson went back on his decision to retire citing his wife and three sons as the reason for the u-turn.
Assistant manager Steve McClaren left the club before the start of the season to become the manager of Middlesbrough. Youth team coach and former player Mike Phelan was promoted to first-team coach and took over some of the assistant manager's responsibilities, but McClaren was not replaced until the summer of 2002, when Carlos Queiroz was appointed the new assistant manager.
Winger Ryan Giggs was honoured with a testimonial match against Celtic, having now been at United for more than a decade.
£19 million striker Ruud van Nistelrooy did what was expected of him by scoring 36 goals in all competitions and collecting the PFA Player of the Year award, but £28.1 million national record signing Juan Sebastián Verón was a major disappointment in midfield, though it was in defence where United were at their weakest following the shock departure of Jaap Stam to Lazio just after the start of the season, and the surprise acquisition of 35-year-old Frenchman Laurent Blanc as his successor.
2001–02 was the final season at Old Trafford for veteran players Denis Irwin and Ronny Johnsen after 12 and six years at the club respectively. Also on the way out of the club were goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw and striker Dwight Yorke. Striker Andy Cole left United after seven years when he sealed a transfer to Blackburn Rovers at the end of December.
Pre-season and friendlies
On 4 August 2001, United played two friendly matches simultaneously, against Wrexham and Hereford United. The first-team squad was split in two, with Jimmy Ryan taking charge at Hereford.FA Charity Shield
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 August 2001 | Liverpool | N | Van Nistelrooy 51' | 70,227 |
Premier League
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 19 August 2001 | Fulham | H | Beckham 36', Van Nistelrooy 51', 53' | 67,534 | 4th | |
| 22 August 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | A | Giggs 20', Beckham 78' | 29,836 | 3rd | |
| 26 August 2001 | Aston Villa | A | Alpay 90' | 42,632 | 5th | |
| 8 September 2001 | Everton | H | Verón 4', Cole 40', Fortune 46', Beckham 90' | 67,534 | 2nd | |
| 15 September 2001 | Newcastle United | A | Van Nistelrooy 29', Giggs 62', Verón 64' | 52,056 | 4th | |
| 22 September 2001 | Ipswich Town | H | Johnsen 13', Solskjær 20', 90', Cole 89' | 67,551 | 3rd | |
| 29 September 2001 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | Cole 46', Blanc 58', Van Nistelrooy 72', Verón 76', Beckham 87' | 36,038 | 2nd | |
| 13 October 2001 | Sunderland | A | Varga 35', Giggs 59', Cole 66' | 48,305 | 3rd | |
| 20 October 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | H | Verón 25' | 67,559 | 3rd | |
| 27 October 2001 | Leeds United | H | Solskjær 89' | 67,555 | 5th | |
| 4 November 2001 | Liverpool | A | Beckham 50' | 44,361 | 6th | |
| 17 November 2001 | Leicester City | H | Van Nistelrooy 21', Yorke 50' | 67,651 | 4th | |
| 25 November 2001 | Arsenal | A | Scholes 14' | 38,174 | 6th | |
| 1 December 2001 | Chelsea | H | 67,544 | 7th | ||
| 8 December 2001 | West Ham United | H | 67,582 | 9th | ||
| 12 December 2001 | Derby County | H | Solskjær 6', 58', Keane 10', Van Nistelrooy 63', Scholes 89' | 67,577 | 5th | |
| 15 December 2001 | Middlesbrough | A | Van Nistelrooy 76' | 34,358 | 5th | |
| 22 December 2001 | Southampton | H | Van Nistelrooy 1', 34', 54', Solskjær 41', Keane 72', Neville 78' | 67,638 | 4th | |
| 26 December 2001 | Everton | A | Giggs 78', Van Nistelrooy 85' | 39,948 | 5th | |
| 30 December 2001 | Fulham | A | Giggs 5', 47', Van Nistelrooy 45' | 21,159 | 5th | |
| 2 January 2002 | Newcastle United | H | Van Nistelrooy 24', Scholes 50', 62' | 67,646 | 2nd | |
| 13 January 2002 | Southampton | A | Van Nistelrooy 9', Beckham 45', Solskjær 63' | 31,858 | 1st | |
| 19 January 2002 | Blackburn Rovers | H | Van Nistelrooy 45', Keane 81' | 67,552 | 1st | |
| 22 January 2002 | Liverpool | H | 67,599 | 1st | ||
| 29 January 2002 | Bolton Wanderers | A | Solskjær 15', 39', 64', Van Nistelrooy 83' | 27,350 | 1st | |
| 2 February 2002 | Sunderland | H | P. Neville 6', Beckham 25', Van Nistelrooy 28', 44' | 67,587 | 1st | |
| 10 February 2002 | Charlton Athletic | A | Solskjær 33', 74' | 26,475 | 1st | |
| 23 February 2002 | Aston Villa | H | Van Nistelrooy 50' | 67,592 | 1st | |
| 3 March 2002 | Derby County | A | Scholes 41', Verón 60' | 33,041 | 1st | |
| 6 March 2002 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | Beckham 15', 64', Van Nistelrooy 43', 76' | 67,599 | 1st | |
| 16 March 2002 | West Ham United | A | Beckham 17', 89', Butt 22', Scholes 55', Solskjær 64' | 35,281 | 1st | |
| 23 March 2002 | Middlesbrough | H | 67,683 | 1st | ||
| 30 March 2002 | Leeds United | A | Scholes 9', Solskjær 37', 39', Giggs 54' | 40,058 | 2nd | |
| 6 April 2002 | Leicester City | A | Solskjær 61' | 21,447 | 2nd | |
| 20 April 2002 | Chelsea | A | Scholes 15', Van Nistelrooy 41', Solskjær 86' | 41,725 | 2nd | |
| 27 April 2002 | Ipswich Town | A | Van Nistelrooy 45' | 28,433 | 2nd | |
| 8 May 2002 | Arsenal | H | 67,580 | 3rd | ||
| 11 May 2002 | Charlton Athletic | H | 67,571 | 3rd |
FA Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 January 2002 | Round 3 | Aston Villa | A | Solskjær 77', Van Nistelrooy 80', 82' | 38,444 | |
| 26 January 2002 | Round 4 | Middlesbrough | A | 17,624 |
League Cup
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 5 November 2001 | Round 3 | Arsenal | A | 30,693 |
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 18 September 2001 | Lille | H | Beckham 90' | 64,827 | 1st | |
| 25 September 2001 | Deportivo La Coruña | A | Scholes 40' | 33,108 | 2nd | |
| 10 October 2001 | Olympiacos | A | Beckham 66', Cole 82' | 73,537 | 1st | |
| 17 October 2001 | Deportivo La Coruña | H | Van Nistelrooy 7', 40' | 65,585 | 2nd | |
| 23 October 2001 | Olympiacos | H | Solskjær 80', Giggs 88', Van Nistelrooy 90' | 66,769 | 2nd | |
| 31 October 2001 | Lille | A | Solskjær 6' | 37,400 | 2nd |
Second group stage
| Date | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Group position |
| 20 November 2001 | Bayern Munich | A | Van Nistelrooy 74' | 59,000 | 2nd | |
| 5 December 2001 | Boavista | H | Van Nistelrooy 31', 62', Blanc 55' | 66,274 | 1st | |
| 20 February 2002 | Nantes | A | Van Nistelrooy 90' | 38,285 | 1st | |
| 26 February 2002 | Nantes | H | Beckham 18', Solskjær 31', 78', Silvestre 38', Van Nistelrooy 64' | 66,492 | 1st | |
| 13 March 2002 | Bayern Munich | H | 66,818 | 1st | ||
| 19 March 2002 | Boavista | A | Blanc 14', Solskjær 29', Beckham 51' | 13,223 | 1st |
Knockout phase
| Date | Round | Opponents | H/A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 2 April 2002 | Quarter-final First leg | Deportivo La Coruña | A | Beckham 15', Van Nistelrooy 41' | 32,351 | |
| 10 April 2002 | Quarter-final Second leg | Deportivo La Coruña | H | Solskjær 23', 56', Giggs 69' | 65,875 | |
| 24 April 2002 | Semi-final First leg | Bayer Leverkusen | H | Živković 29', Van Nistelrooy 67' | 66,534 | |
| 30 April 2002 | Semi-final Second leg | Bayer Leverkusen | A | Keane 28' | 22,500 |
Squad statistics
Transfers
United's first departures of the 2001–02 season were midfield duo Jonathan Greening and Mark Wilson, who both signed for Middlesbrough on 9 August. On 27 August, Jaap Stam was controversially sold to Lazio for a fee of £16.5 million, while on 8 November, Jesper Blomqvist signed for Everton.Arriving in the summer transfer window were Northern Irish goalkeeper Roy Carroll, Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, Argentinian midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón and French defender Laurent Blanc. Out of these players, only van Nistelrooy made much of an impact, staying at United until 2006 and scoring 150 goals in 219 appearances for United.
Departing during the winter transfer window were forward Andy Cole, who left United after six years, and Michael Clegg, who signed for Oldham Athletic on a free transfer. Paul Rachubka left United on 20 May for Charlton Athletic. Goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw signed for West Ham United on 28 June on a free transfer, while on 30 June, defenders Denis Irwin, Ronny Johnsen and Ronnie Wallwork were released.
Luke Steele joined United on 11 May for a fee of £500,000.