Can Manchester United actually get into the Champions League?

Karan Ahgun

— 2 min read
Can Manchester United actually get into the Champions League?

There have been multiple occasions when Manchester United could have climbed into the Top 4 this season but on each occasion, they have failed to take advantage of other teams' slip ups. Looking at the Premier League table as it stands, there are only 4 points separating Liverpool in 4th and Everton in 10th. It's clear to see that the gap in the level of quality between the teams chasing Champions League football isn't that big, so there's a great likelihood that the race could go down to the wire.

After crashing out of the League Cup and FA Cup at the earliest possible times and having no European football, United will only have Premier League matches to focus on. This could give them an advantage over the other teams in the race as there will be less issues with fatigue, and less squad rotation. But they've already had scenarios like this come up, as mentioned above. Losing to 10-man Everton and drawing to West Ham and Wolves at home were really disappointing results, not just because they were games which you'd expect United to win but also because they were the opportunities to climb the table as teams such as Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United were dropping points. Now with Michael Carrick in charge, could there be a lift in the United squad which will help them focus on their main objective for the season?

Carrick's first game in charge couldn't have gone much better. A 2-0 win and a complete performance against Manchester City brought back some joy for United fans, and there was some more enjoyable football to watch despite the team having around 30% possession on the day. Some of the blistering counter-attacks on the day brought back memories of the Fergie days but those associated with the club will know that this won't be replicated across all the games left to play this season. United have a tough test against Arsenal in their next game but after that, there are some winnable games where we'll see how the team plays when the impetus is on them to dominate the game. There is room for optimism when it comes to securing Champions League football for next season and it kind of feels like its in United's hands whether or not they achieve this objective.

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