The fun of this year’s Premier League has not been the two-team competition for the title. That was largely decided before the season started, when Jose Mourinho signed Diego Costa and brought back Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea blowing their lead now - even reduced to five points - would be stunning.
The jam-up for the Champions League qualification spots, however, is finally getting good. With each passing weekend, the point totals and goal differentials get tighter. Some teams (we're looking at you Arsenal and Liverpool) are tearing up the table, others are faltering, and Manchester United is the enigma in the middle.
The Red Devils lost at Swansea City, 2-1, on Saturday in Wales. Jonjo Shelvey banked one in for the winner:
Maybe the Swans simply have Louis van Gaal’s side figured out, but with 12 games to go, United is in danger of missing the top four altogether. The club simply cannot afford anymore losses like this.
Most people laughed at van Gaal’s recent comments about United being the “best team in the league,” but they’re going to need to be in the last three months of the season. United has away fixtures at Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Everton, and home ones with Tottenham, Manchester City, and Arsenal remaining.
More frightening, though, is the fluctuation of lineups and players this late in the season. Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham found working solutions to all their problems (and have gotten healthy), but United doesn’t have much stability. Van Gaal substituted off Angel di Maria for Juan Mata in the second half of Saturday’s loss, Wayne Rooney’s position is shifting around, and Ander Herrera got a Premier League start for the first time since December 2 (and scored). It’s the constant tinkering that makes supporters and players nervous about the remaining games on the schedule.
We should heap some praise on Swansea, though. The Swans are ninth in the table after wins over Southampton and United in February. They now have at least 10 Premier League wins in each of their four Premier League seasons, and at least that many in every campaign since 2000-01. They’ve rebounded nicely from the transfer of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City, and they play a style of soccer that’s quite easy on the eyes.
But, still, United should expect to win games like the one they lost Saturday, especially if they’re being touted by their manager as the best form team in the table. Obviously that’s an offensively untrue statement at this point.
Where's United again? Photo: SkySportsNewsHQ | Twitter
United are playing like a mediocre team, but they are still in fourth position in a deeply mediocre table. With the remainder of the schedule the way it is, though, and with Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham charging hard, Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils might be looking at the Europa League spots at the season’s end.
