Next season will be the tenth campaign since Manchester United last lifted the Premier League trophy and this year saw them languish a whopping 35 points off top spot.
While the situation may seem particularly bleak for United, they could look to Italy for an example of a historically successful team who had gone through a prolonged slump before re-finding success. Milan had not won a league title since 2011 and in the 2019/20 campaign – the same wait that United had this year – had collected just 14 points from their opening 13 league games, and appointed Stefano Pioli.
Fast forward two-and-a-half years and the Rossoneri clinched their first Scudetto in 11 years with Sunday’s three-goal victory at Sassuolo ensuring they beat city rivals Inter to the crown by two points. It was the club’s first league title in more than a decade and confounded expectations for the campaign which had been to land a top four finish.
