Manchester United's players began to look weary at the business end of the season, with a gruelling schedule finally taking its toll.
The 2022/23 Premier League campaign began earlier and finished later than usual to accommodate the winter World Cup in Qatar and Erik ten Hag wasn't afraid to regularly point out just how absurd and demanding the fixture list had become.
United took part in four different competitions and they reached the final of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, meaning by the end of their season, they had played 62 games, which was 13 more fixtures than had been played in 2021/22.
To their credit, the players competed twice a week for the majority of the calendar year and the final whistle in the FA Cup final at Wembley on June 3 signalled the end of a mentally and physically challenging few months. ALSO READ: Hojlund breaks silence on Man United transfer interest Ten Hag wants his team to play on the front foot, with energy and intensity and the difficulty of maintaining those levels when playing twice per week, especially when sometimes just training once ahead of a fixture, should not be underestimated.