MUFC Milestones: United's 2017/18 Targets

Our MUFC Milestones series started with a look at Manchester United's various feats in 2016/17 and ends with a look at what the Reds can achieve in the new season ahead...

TITLE NO.21?
Challenging for the Premier League title will, of course, be a primary objective in 2017/18. If the Reds can win it for the first time since 2012/13, it will extend the club's record tally to 21 and put Jose Mourinho in the clear as the competition's second-most successful manager after Sir Alex Ferguson. To date, the current United boss and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger have been champions three times apiece in England's top flight.

FA CUP CATCH-UP
Following Arsenal's victory at Wembley in May, United are again playing catch-up in the table of FA Cup winners. The Reds' success in 2016 under Louis van Gaal had the two teams tied on 12 triumphs but no.13 is now the target for Jose Mourinho's men if the Gunners are to be matched once more.

NEW NAME, SAME WINNERS?
United's defence of the EFL Cup will be attempted under another new name for the competition, the Carabao Cup. The Reds are currently joint-second in the winners list, having drawn level with Aston Villa and Chelsea by lifting the trophy for the fifth time after last season's final.

FOURTH WOULD BE FANTASTIC
Away from the domestic competitions, the chance to win Europe's premier tournament for the fourth time in the club's history will also be very much on Mourinho's mind. The 2018 Champions League final in Kiev will fall on 26 May - exactly 19 years after United completed the Treble in Barcelona and five days over a decade since the Reds last won the competition with that memorable Moscow shoot-out against Chelsea. As for Jose's personal place in the record books, he will join Bob Paisley (Liverpool) and Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan, Real Madrid) at the top of the winning managers' chart if he can lift the famous trophy for the third time, and he'll be as intrigued as anyone to see the outcome of the group-stage draw on 24 August.

SECOND SUPER CUP
The highly anticipated UEFA Super Cup clash against Mourinho's former employers Real Madrid is now just seven weeks away, meaning the Reds could soon be winning another piece of silverware in this successful calendar year. The showpiece clash with the La Liga and Champions League winners will take place in Macedonia on Tuesday 8 August, just a fortnight after the sides' pre-season meeting in the United States, and days before the start of the new Premier League campaign. United's only previous Super Cup win came in 1991, when a goal from Brian McClair gave Alex Ferguson's men a 1-0 win over Red Star Belgrade at Old Trafford. A repeat result against Real will surely be the target in Skopje.

1,000 PREMIER LEAGUE GAMES
While many of United's targets for 2017/18 will depend on a number of factors, one statistic that should certainly happen is the club's 1,000th match in the Premier League - currently scheduled for Sunday 13 May 2018, against Watford at Old Trafford. So far, the Reds have gained 2,021 points in the competition since its 1992 inception, with the 962 games breaking down into 604 wins, 209 draws and 149 defeats. 

Credit: Manutd.com