After another exciting day in the Barclays Premier League, Manchester United sit third in the table, one point behind in-form Arsenal and one point ahead of Manchester City, who play on Monday. We look at the major turnaround in the top four race for the Reds.
How smug did things look around 9:15 pm a month ago, when United played their mid-week game at St. James’ Park? While the rest of the contenders for the all-important Champions League places were winning their matches, Reds were struggling to create and score against average Newcastle side. Arsenal were winning at Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur at home to Swansea, Liverpool were cruising versus Burnley, Chelsea and the Citizens also with a three points within their reach and things were looking rather negative for United, who also had a hell of a fixture list to complete until the end of the season. This is how would the top of the table look if that game stayed goalless:
Luckily, the goal came and instantly the feeling changed. That composed finish by Ashley Young who capitalised on a Tim Krul mistake after some tireless pressure by the captain Wayne Rooney is probably the most important kick of the season so far and you could tell it right after the ball nestled in the net. Not only United remained in the fourth place before two crucial games against direct rivals for the spots, but the general atmosphere also improved significantly. If we count in the disappointing FA Cup exit to Arsenal just days later, that was the definite sign for United to push all of their forces into the only competition left to play, with some decent foundations to build their hopes on.
Precisely 31 days later, Louis van Gaal’s side beat Aston Villa, in which would be their fifth consecutive win in the league. The Dutchman and his players caught the form at the best time possible and from this point in time, second place at the end of May looks more likely than a Thursday night football of Europa League next season. This sense of security was made possible by Southampton defeat at Goodison Park, who we can now definitely write off and more importantly Arsenal’s battering of Liverpool in today’s early kick-off.
United’s biggest rivals now sit big eight points behind with seven matches left to play, which should surely end their realistic intentions of top four place this season. The remaining side with a possibility of leap-frogging United, Tottenham Hotspur, would come as close as six points, if they do their Easter job at Turf Moor.
As things stand, the battle for runners-up place will be fought between two Manchester clubs and Arsenal, with a “photo-finish” expected. The game that could decide which side will go directly into the Champions League groups is scheduled for a penultimate match-day. Gunners are topping all the current form tables and have been really convincing since the turn of the year, having also won the prior mentioned FA Cup tie away to United, and they will undoubtedly be a worthy opposition.
The next game on the menu for Manchester United is against City. Manuel Pellegrini’s outfit are not in a blistering form, but a win for them would be a fourth consecutive triumph at Old Trafford and a grounding for the high-flying Reds. Motivation shouldn’t be a problem for this one, because alongside the usual bragging rights, a win for United would be the first one over City in more than two years and it could mean a lot in finishing above their “noisy neighbours”. If that proves to be the case, this season will have to go down as a “successful” one, especially considering the fact that United really started to play like they should do after the catalytic win at Newcastle.
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