But a quick glance at the final league table makes one fact startlingly clear: the Reds owe the third-place finish to our back five. The contribution of Harry Maguire, David De Gea and co has gone under the radar for the overwhelming majority of the campaign, but it's there in the final reckoning, bold as brass.
Chelsea trail Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Reds in fourth not by points, but by a whopping goal difference of 15. Why? Because the Blues' goals-for column is healthier than United's by three, yet they conceded 18 more. That's the difference.
And critics who malign the 20-times champions of England for being satisfied with finishing in lowly third place might also note that although United came in a huge 33 points behind Liverpool and 15 behind Manchester City, their defensive record is almost on a par with those teams.