Manchester United
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Jose Mourinho has never been one to settle. He leaves success in his wake with an abundance of silverware before his relationship with the club comes to a toxic end, usually during his third season in charge. It certainly seemed as if the ‘third season syndrome’ had arrived two years ahead of schedule as the dust began to settle during his introduction to life and Manchester United’s manager.
After a modestly bright start to proceedings, Manchester United suffered an alarming dip in form, the result of a two-one loss to Manchester City. United only won three of their next eleven games as Mourinho threw excuses at every corner of the pitch.
He stated they had been unlucky to draw so many matches which they deserved to win. Their opponents stood toe-to-toe with them and as good as some of the defensive displays were from teams such as Burnley and Hull, United undeniably lacked an attacking spark.
Too often has the thirty-five-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic carried the goalscoring threat on his shoulders and this is something that is yet to change. The problem here is that Ibrahimovic can not win every game for them.
There have been points where goal droughts have occurred or he has been suspended, as he is now. More often than not United end up winning by the slightest of margins or only succeeded at accomplishing bore-draws such as their most recent result against West Bromwich Albion.
Due to this, they find themselves hovering outside of the top four and with an ever-dwindling amount of games left to recover.
Summer acquisitions have also been a mixed bag. Eric Bailly has been an inspired signing as he solidifies his place amongst the back-four. Less so has been Paul Pogba who at first appeared more interested in his global branding that his football.
Yet as the season progressed, his once lifeless performances with flickers of talent slowly gave way to ones of promise and intent, mirrored by United’s performances as a whole.
A balance has been instilled between defence and attack via the vision of Michael Carrick and the natural tenacity of Ander Herrera to take a hold of the game by the scruff of its neck. Unsung heroes such as themselves, Antonio Valencia and others have shown the admirable industry that Jose Mourinho’s teams are known for.
Manchester United have now remained unbeaten in their last nineteen Premier League matches with their last defeat coming against leaders Chelsea back in October and have already acquired the EFL cup this season.
They have a plausible chance of winning the Europe League since Tottenham have departed and though they may have lost out on the chance to retain the FA Cup due to another loss against Chelsea, there is still hope they can reach the Champions League next season without the help of winning the Europa League.
Their upcoming fixtures are arguably the most daunting of any of the sides in contention of a top four position. Still to play are Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal and they were only able to win one of these respected games first time round.
Though Mourinho’s teams rarely lack self-belief and they will pounce on any sense of weakness shown from the teams above. It would certainly be naive to dismiss them quite yet.
Chances of a top four finish - 7/10
