Manchester United failed to finish as runners-up in the Premier League after a 2-2 draw with Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday (26/12).
One additional point from Leicester’s headquarters makes Man United now ranked fourth with 27 points. Remain at the top, but failed to realize the ambition to approach Liverpool at the top of the standings.
Failed to continue the winning trend at home to opponents, Manchester Red are temporarily four points behind Liverpool who lead the standings and will only play the match in Week 15 on Sunday (27/12) against West Bromwich Albion.
In addition, Man United has temporarily dropped to fourth place because Everton won over Sheffield United so that the Merseyside Blue camp, which is now in the runner-up position, has now collected 29 points or is only two points adrift of Liverpool.
Meanwhile, one additional point from Leicester’s headquarters meant that Man United could only add one point to 27 points.
Playing at the King Power Stadium, Man United looked ambitious to get full points as soon as the referee blew the kick off whistle. The plan of the game by pressing the opponent who is in possession of the ball almost ends in success. Marcus Rashford’s header in the second minute which was still wide started Man United’s imperfections.
After the Rashford opportunity, the minus value of Man United was again visible. Leicester was not affected by Man United’s pressing efforts. Even Jamie Vardy almost scored in the third minute.
Following that, David De Gea almost blundered. Intending to provide feedback to Harry Maguire, the ball from De Gea was taken by Vardy. Luckily for Man United, none of the home players could take advantage of this situation.
The drama for the initial 10 minutes seemed to prove that Man United were still not really united to compete in the race for the Premier League title this season.
Individual inconsistency also affects unstable team play. The proof is they are able to score two goals and are twice in a superior position. It’s just that twice failing to keep the score in the lead, making Man United suffer losses.
If Man United can maximize every chance to score and play more neatly at the back, it is not impossible that their seventh win away from home will result in a runner-up position.
Behind the mistakes made for 90 minutes, Man United played not very badly. Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes seek to be the motors of constant attack. Fred also tried to provide a layer of defense with Scott McTominay.
Maguire and Eric Bailly also fell and fell to fortify De Gea from the threat of Vardy cs who presented surging attacks from various sides.
The draw with Leicester also shows Man United have a pretty good squad depth considering that last week they faced Everton in the Premier League Cup quarter-finals.
Each line has equal players to appear on the adjacent match agenda making it easier for the coach to prepare a starter as well as prepare a backup plan as seen in the second half when Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Axel Tuanzebe came onto the field.
The busy schedule at the turn of a typical year in the Premier League will be a test for Man United in the face of competition this season. The two closest matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa could be fatal challenges if underestimated.
The Premier League is not halfway there, the distance from the top three clubs is not too far. There is still enough time for Man United to fix the consistency of the team which can also improve their chances of competing at the top. But if the other teams manage to appear stable first and for longer, then Man United could be thrown back from the status of the top English League team.
