A campaign that saw Manchester United struggle in the Premier League ultimately ended on a successful note as Jose Mourinho lifted two major trophies in his first season in charge of the club and achieved the minimum aim of qualifying to the Champions League next season.
Mourinho was brought in with the express purpose of improving United's fortunes in the league following dismal campaigns in the three seasons following Alex Ferguson's departure. United spent big in the transfer window, including signing Paul Pogba on a world record fee while also bagging Zlatan Ibrahimovic's signature on a free transfer.
While they made a steady start to the campaign, winning their first three league games, things quickly began to unravel as United struggled to kill their opponents and though they dominated majority of their games, they lacked the ruthless touch in front of the goal. Heavy defeats against rivals Manchester City and Chelsea left United scrambling for a place in the top four and though they created a new club record of going unbeaten for 25 games, just over half of them were converted in victories.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was doing his bit by scoring goals on a consistent basis but the Swedish striker too was guilty of missing chances and it was at the back where United emerged stronger, with Eric Bailly's signing proving to be a big success while Ander Herrera also showed the sort of quality that United lacked in the center of the midfield.
Despite a poor league form, United went from strength to strength in the cup competitions, lifting the League Cup following a controversial win over Southampton in the final, while also staying the course in both the FA Cup and the Europa League. Injuries in the second half of the season meant that Mourinho had to get his priorities right and the United coach decided to focus more on the Europa League which presented the best opportunity for his side to qualify for the Champions League next season.
A narrow defeat in the FA Cup semifinals to Chelsea meant that United were left with just the Europa League to concentrate on and though there were scares against both Anderlecht and Celta Vigo, the final proved to be an anticlimatic affair with United smothering Ajax out to lift their first European trophy since winning the Champions League back in 2008.
Despite the success, Mourinho will be aware that United are still short in some areas, especially in the attack following Ibrahimovic's injury that rules him out at least until the end of this year while a specialist left back and a central defender is also on the agenda for United during what promises to be another busy summer.
