1-1 draw with Sociedad 

©TM/IMAGO

Manchester United’s hopes of rescuing any solace from an atrocious season rest upon the Europa League. Ruben Amorim’s men were knocked out of the FA Cup on Sunday and they’re destined to record their worst ever Premier League finish with the English giants languishing in 14th place. Despite inconsistent performances, United won trophies in the last two seasons under Erik ten Hag – the League Cup in 2023 and FA Cup in 2024.

The famous triumph over rivals Manchester City at Wembley last May secured their participation in the Europa League but their only hopes of qualifying for European competition next season hinge on winning UEFA’s second biggest club competition. That looks increasingly unrealistic given their troubles and their last 16 tie with Real Sociedad is perfectly balanced after a 1-1 draw in the first-leg in Spain. United have a terrible recent record against LaLiga sides and they’ve been eliminated from Europe 13 times against Spanish opposition this century.

Manchester United’s Spanish curse

Remarkably, Manchester United have been eliminated in 13 of their 24 European campaigns since the 1999/2000 season – finals in defeats have been included. United have lost in three European finals to Spanish opposition, twice to Barcelona in the Champions League in 2009 and 2011, plus the Europa League final on penalties to Villarreal in 2011 – United also lost to Real Madrid in the Super Cup in 2017 but that’s not been included.

As the graphic below illustrates, United have only won 17 of 57 games against Spanish opposition since 2000 with an average of 1.25 points per game. United’s goal difference stands at -1 across those 57 fixtures and they’ve been eliminated on aggregate across two legs on several occasions. Worryingly, United have also struggled against Spanish clubs outside of the big three. Sevilla have knocked them out of Europe on three occasions and Athletic Club and Deportivo de La Coruña. The graphic below displays United’s individual record against each La Liga club they’ve faced and they’ve failed to win a single game against three Spanish clubs.

The view from Spain on Manchester United

On Manchester United’s troubles against Spanish opposition, Iván Turmo – Transfermarkt’s LaLiga expert – said: “The English giant is one of the favourite foes of Spanish teams in European competitions and they have been another victim of the sensational streak of Iberian football, which has not lost a major international final since May 2001. The last meeting against a LaLiga club ended in defeat for the Red Devils in the quarterfinals of the Europa League against Sevilla, who would go on to win the tournament in 2022/23. A season earlier, they were eliminated by Atlético Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

“The most notable episodes of Manchester United’s Spanish curse were defeats in three finals: two Champions League finals against FC Barcelona and the dramatic Europa League final against Villarreal CF, in which the Yellows won on penalties after a missed kick by Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea after he failed to save a single spot-kick.”