The Manchester United side knows fully well that they are out of the top four race as they took on title runners-up Tottenham and Europe hopefuls Southampton all on the road.
The Saints lost 0-2 to Arsenal some days back while Tottenham defeated United 2-1 to wrap up things at home on a fine note.
The Red Devils have their sight set on the Europa League finals but there are some lessons we learnt from both games as United picked up just one point from a possible six on the road.
On this note we evaluate the lessons from the last two fixtures involving the Red Devils.
TOTTENHAM AVENGE DEFEAT
The host Tottenham Hotspur avenged United defeated with a 2-1 home win at White Hart Lane. The Tottenham side lost 1-0 to Manchester United at the “Threatre of Dreams “courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s lone strike when both sides met earlier in the season last year.
That three points lost happens to prove costly for Tottenham Hotspur in the wake of the title race. They were bent on avenging this defeat which they did with forward Harry Kane getting on the score sheet.
Tottenham took the lead through central midfielder Victor Wanyama through a towering header before United equalized from Wayne Rooney’s effort after some good works from Anthony Martial in the box.
The host later got the winner and what they wanted when Harry Kane rose to get a touch on the ball to guide it in making it 2-1 as they gave their fans who came out for the last time at White Hart Lane something to cheer with a 2-1 home win against United.
THE THREAT OF GABBIADINI
The Italian forward was once again a thorn on United’s flesh as Southampton battled it out against Jose Mourinho’s men. The Italian who hopes to make the cut to the Italian Squad for next Year’s World Cup with an Impressive outing for Southampton was at it again just like he did against Chelsea and particularly against the Red Devils in the EFL Cup Finals at Wembley.
The Italian showed his ability and composure when he turned in the goal against United on two occasions after opposing forward (Ibrahmovic) had given United the lead on two occasions. United eventually won but José Mourinho’s side needed to go the extra mile thanks to goal heroics from injured Zlatan who made sure that Mourinho and the Red Devils claimed the EFL Cup with a 3-2 win at Wembley Stadium.
Manolo Gabbiadini’s threat was evident as he nearly snatched the winner at St.Mary Stadium only for Sergio Romero to make a crucial save to keep the forward at bay as the game ended goalless in the course of the 90 minutes of action.
TOTTENHAM ARE ONE OF THE BEST.
The host side Tottenham displayed impressive attacking football that caught United defence napping as the likes of Marcos Rojo and Eric Baily were taking aback by Tottenham’s attacking incision.
The likes of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen were productive going forward as they took the game to the visitors. This is a clue of what Manager Mauricio Pochettino’s men can do on their day as they head to Europe next season in the UEFA Champions League.
With their positive performance against the Red Devils we can confidently say that Pochettino’s team is good to go in their quest to become one of the best sides in the European game.
All credit must go the Argentine Manager who has worked tirelessly to put together such a great team that gave English giants Chelsea a run in the title race up until the last two games of the Premier League this season.
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