Until Miguel Almiron netted a minute from time there was still hope of a Brighton draw at Newcastle. A point would not have made much difference to Brighton but viewed through the Manchester United lens it would have put a dent in Newcastle’s night and eased Champions League anxieties at Old Trafford.
Micro gains donated by other teams are all part of the United landscape as they head to Bournemouth in search of a vital three points to put distance between them and Liverpool. United have struggled all season to justify their Champions League pretentions. With three games remaining a win at Bournemouth has assumed painful significance in light of Liverpool’s late surge, which might yet gobble them up should they falter once more on the road.
United dwell in two dimensions, the past as well as the present. Their history is both a source of pride and a drag on performance. Living up to it in this age of state-backed power clubs exemplified by neighbours Manchester City is a burdensome responsibility. City’s fifth title in six seasons is inevitable – the champagne already on ice at the Etihad ready to blow after Sunday’s visit of Chelsea – and coincides with the tenth anniversary of United’s last Premier League triumph.
Meanwhile Erik ten Hag works assiduously to maintain United’s relevance, to nick a trophy here and there, to hang on to Champions League qualification until such a time as providence puts enough money in the bank to mount a serious attack on football’s new order. For now catching up with City will have to wait.
“When you see this project, it’s first of all important to get into the Champions League. I don’t think today of that standard [City]. I look to the next game and that’s Bournemouth. We have to win that to get in the Champions League, we have everything in our hands. So, we focus on the game and the games coming up, the first game is the most important.”
Whilst the current ownership waits on prospective buyers to throw another billion into the pot, Ten Hag must negotiate the final three games and shape his summer transfer plans not knowing whether he will be answering to the Glazer family, fellow capitalistic prospector, chemicals magnate Jim Radcliffe, or an arm of the Qatar royal family.
Whomever takes over, they will be inheriting a team that needs upgrades between the posts, in midfield and up front as well as a new stadium in which to play. That’s another couple of bills on top of the pile being funnelled to the Glazers. “We are talking every day,” Ten Hag said of his planning meetings with chief executive Richard Arnold and football director John Murtough.
Ten Hag’s immediate demand is to secure the two wins from three games he needs to shut down Liverpool, starting at Bournemouth in a second successive 3pm kick-off. Following the Europa League exit to finalists Sevilla, Ten Hag has had another full week to prepare, which proved beneficial against Wolves, when United demonstrated increased energy output if not the goals that would have made the job easier.
Putting the ball in the net has been an enduring weakness, not helped by the presence of the anti-Haaland, Wout Weghorst, who has returned just two goals in 28 appearances, as opposed to the divine Erling, who has netted 52 times in 49 for City, since his post World Cup summons on loan from Burnley.
United’s tally of 51 goals, ten fewer than City’s goal difference alone, is the lowest in the top half of the Premier League. Indeed United are the only team in the top seven not to notch at least 60 and sit a massive 41 goals behind the champions elect. To compound the problem, top scorer Marcus Rashford reported sick on the eve of the Bournemouth game having trained all week.
With Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes again in tandem, and Alejandro Garnacho back in the squad, United ought to have enough to compensate for Rashford’s absence and make Liverpool sweat at home to Aston Villa. A United win at the Vitality Stadium coupled with any kind of success for Villa at Anfield would at least diminish the stress of the closing home games against Chelsea and Fulham, both of whom are capable of making Old Trafford weep.
On the other hand a return at Bournemouth of the tension that gripped United at Brighton and West Ham would leave the world’s most expensive sports brand on the edge of things once more, consigned to another season of Thursday night football in Europe and further removed from their gloried past.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/aj4DHTU
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