Manchester United got away with murder again but they cannot hide from public opinion. Everyone can see they are an absolute shambles. Erik ten Hag’s side avoided what would have been a record 13th Premier League defeat of the season away to Bournemouth thanks to a combination of winning a fortuitous penalty and then not conceding one after a VAR review deep into stoppage time overturned a spot-kick for the hosts.
But after a lucky escape you can normally breathe more easily and start to relax. Ten Hag and United cannot do either. They have failed to build on the momentum of their heroic win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
That victory should have provided them with a springboard from which they could gatecrash Champions League qualification. But they have thrown away their chance, despite having the most generous of rivals in Tottenham and Aston Villa
Three points out of 12
The day that United beat Liverpool in the Cup, Tottenham had been thrashed by Fulham and Villa had been held to a draw at West Ham. Tottenham had a six-point lead over Ten Hag’s side in fifth, while Villa, sitting in fourth, had a nine-point gap.
With next season’s expanded Champions League gifting two extra places to the team’s finishing fifth in the two highest-ranked European leagues, the race was on.
Now it is off. Since that joyous day at Old Trafford, Villa have taken four points from three games while Tottenham have picked up seven in four. United, inexplicably, have earned just three points from a potential 12 in their four games. And the gap with both their rivals now stands at 10 points with six games to go. And this is despite Tottenham and Villa dropping plenty of points and United having a relatively easy set of fixtures.
Brentford, Bournemouth and Chelsea were all in the bottom half of the table when they faced them yet they were played off the park by the Bees and the Cherries and beaten by two late sucker punches at Stamford Bridge. They should have been targeting between nine and 10 points from those four games but instead have been left with a just a third of their desired haul.
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