United View: Are the Reds' Top Four Chances Under Threat?

As Saturday arrived my excitement was once again sparked at the prospect of watching United following an extended break.

There were 18 days between United’s second leg defeat to Atletico Madrid and Saturday’s clash with Leicester, but the match itself was certainly not worth the wait. 

A disappointing 1-1 draw at home sees the Reds sink down to seventh place as Spurs and West Ham both won. But, with Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat on Monday night, the Reds still find themselves in contention to finish in the top four.

Seeing no Marcus Rashford in the starting eleven despite the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani speaks volumes of Ralf Rangnick’s current perception of the forward. It’s clear this is taking a toll on his confidence as he had to watch on from the bench as Bruno Fernandes lead the line. 

Even though Rashford’s performances this season probably haven’t warranted himself a start in the team, to play without any recognised forward just struck me as a strange choice. It felt as though we were playing with 10 men due to the lack of presence up top. However, when Rashford was eventually brought on he added little to a flat United display. 

The first half was poor with neither side being able to command any authority in the opening 45 minutes. I was more surprised at Leicester being so reserved given United’s poor home record, but after Iheanacho broke the deadlock in the second half I got a deflated feeling that I have become so familiar with this season. 

That was until Fred equalised only a few minutes later, which I naively believed would be followed up by an attacking onslaught from United. However, the final 20 minutes featured little to suggest United would win, with only VAR coming to our aid to disallow a late goal for Leicester. 

With big games still to be played, United must perform better than they did last Saturday if they are to claim that final Champions League spot. Despite my dwindling confidence in our ability to achieve this feat, there is still a chance considering the difficult run of fixtures those surrounding United must face. 

The flames of this underwhelming season are only fanned by the dominance of both City and Liverpool, who are still competing for every piece of silverware left to play for. It feels like watching a friend open their birthday presents, but instead of a friend it’s your mortal enemy and there is no slice of cake to soften the blow. 

I feel drained discussing United, the speculation around the new manager and uncertainty of the players’ futures at the club is almost too much to keep up with. Despite there being eight games left in the season I do look forward to the end so we can reset and get a break from the media circus that has followed us throughout the campaign.  

Despite this, there is still plenty of football to be played, with United travelling to Goodison Park to take on an Everton side in more disarray than ourselves. With both teams desperate for points for different reasons, I expect nothing less than a cagey affair between two sides trying to build momentum in the final stretch of fixtures. 

Even though I am looking forward to the game on Saturday, I still have that worrying feeling that United are going to perform in a similar fashion to the Leicester game. I hope I am proved wrong of course, but until then we will just have to hope this game will be worth the wait.