Manchester United, Chelsea, Leicester City: Who will finally stumble through Champions League door?
After Manchester United’s latest slip, drawing at home to West Ham, the slightly farcical race to finish in the top four remains wide open with one game left to play
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Your support makes all the difference.Does anyone actually want to play in the Champions League next season? For the second year running, the top-four race has been more like a power walk.
Chelsea have taken nine points from a possible 18. Leicester City have taken 12 from 33. Even Manchester United, the form team of the restart, have now failed to win two of their last three Premier League games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was right to point out that only drawing 1-1 with West Ham at Old Trafford on Wednesday night was fundamentally not much different from beating David Moyes’ side by a goal or two.
Given that United were level on both points and goal difference with Leicester before kick-off and considering they travel to the King Power for the climax this weekend, the two extra points they would have earned with a win could have easily been wiped out in one fell swoop on the final day.
“A draw or 1-0 win or a 2-0 was more or less the same outcome for us, with the same starting point on Sunday,” he said. United’s task is simple, anyway: avoid defeat to Leicester and they will return to the Champions League.
Still, a comfortable win against West Ham – boosting United’s goal difference and their goals scored columns – would have allowed Solskjaer to sleep a lot easier between now and then. And from the slumped shoulders and exasperated body language on display at full time, you could tell some of his players had hoped to end the night in a more secure position.
It would be wrong to accuse United of failing to take the opportunities that have come their way during this run-in. You only need to look at the ground they have made up over the last few weeks to realise that.
Before lockdown, they were eight points adrift of third-placed Leicester. On New Year’s Day, the gap between the two was as many as 14 points wide. Now, Solskjaer’s side are a point ahead and in third place themselves. If they can extend their unbeaten league run just one game further, they will achieve what has always been their main target for the season.
But it has been a trait of Solskjaer’s United so far that, when the door is finally opened for them, they fail to walk through it. Last Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea was a case in point, with United offering up their worst performance in months on the biggest stage of their season to date.
You could say the same about the EFL Cup semi-finals back in January. Despite United winning the second leg at the Etihad, Manchester City never looked worried after an evisceration of their rivals at Old Trafford.
Neither of those semi-finals bode particularly well for Sunday’s shoot-out at the King Power. “We’ve gone out in two semi-finals,” Solskjaer grinned. “We’ve got to embrace this final now we’re in one!”
Opportunities have gone begging in the league too. Before Leicester’s remarkable collapse, Chelsea appeared to be the ones that United would have to dislodge from the top four and there have been several occasions when Solskjaer’s side have failed to capitalise on slip-ups by Frank Lampard’s men.
The most recent example came last Monday against Southampton, when Michael Obafemi’s late equaliser denied United the chance to steal a charge after defeats for both Chelsea and Leicester at the weekend.
Before that, there was the draw at Goodison Park after Chelsea dropped points at Bournemouth; the draw with Wolves after Leicester and Chelsea held each other to a stalemate at the King Power; the defeat to Burnley after Lampard’s side drew with Arsenal; the defeat to Liverpool after Chelsea were beaten at St James’ Park.
That is partly why, remarkably, Wednesday night was the first time United have finished a full round of fixtures inside the top four since September.
They now look likely to finish there. United have not only helped create a top-four race, but they lead it with one game remaining, and Solskjaer deserves credit for successfully reining Chelsea and Leicester in.
All that United must now do is prove they can capitalise on the advantageous positions they make for themselves and close the deal. One point will do it.
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