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Manchester United are in third place, and even Roy Keane wonders if they could get closer to Premier League leaders Liverpool. It’s time to take the title at Old Trafford.
Was this the day Manchester United announced their title credentials? What they are doing certainly cannot hurt.
Last month, Roy Keane said Sky sports Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s players “will get the sack off him.” On Sunday, following his 6-2 demolition of Leeds, he said there is “no reason United should not be able to advance” all the way in the race for the Premier League title. Much has changed in six short weeks.
Realistically, Solskjaer’s team has been going under the radar for some time, winning six of their last seven games to narrow the gap from the top of the table to five points, albeit with far-from-perfect performances. In back-to-back victories against Southampton and West Ham in the past month, at halftime they both looked more like a team fighting for relegation than for the title.
But now, if he wins the game to be reorganized against Burnley, whenever that is, the difference would be reduced to two. From the talk of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s work on the scales just over a month ago, his Manchester United side could now be on the verge of emerging as Liverpool’s closest rival.
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FREE TO SEE: Highlights from Manchester United’s victory over Leeds United in the Premier League
Finishing third last season was “an improvement, but not where we want to be,” according to Solskjaer himself before Sunday’s 6-2 win over Leeds at Old Trafford.
That is the position his United team now occupies, five months after securing qualification for the Champions League on the last day of the 2019/20 season. But far from the 33-point gap with champions Liverpool last season, United could find themselves within reach of leaders Jurgen Klopp when they travel to Anfield on January 17.
What has Solskjaer changed in a few months? Maybe not so much. The signs have been there for a while, this United team has great potential, but defensive problems and fitness problems have haunted them at times during the first weeks of the campaign.
It seems that the problems with playing on the fast break could finally have been left behind. Sitting deep and hitting at the break, which worked so well in the first weeks of Solskjaer’s reign, was great against open teams, but when opponents started sitting deep, goals and results quickly dried up.
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Roy Keane praises Manchester United’s ‘excellent performance’ after wrecking Leeds United
It is a problem that has cost time and money to solve, but it is not an exaggeration to suggest that the arrival of Bruno Fernandes has been the key.
Throughout Solskjaer’s career as United manager, United have accumulated 2.15 points per game when they have less than 50 percent possession, but when they don’t, it drops to just 1.7 points per game.
Since Fernandes joined, that gap has been extinguished. In the 27 games since their debut against Wolves in January, United has a better record with most of the ball than without it.
Still, as recently as November 8, United’s 3-1 win at Everton was the only thing that kept them from registering their worst start to the season in the league in more than 30 years. His points count at home going into Saturday’s game with Leeds was the lowest after six games at Old Trafford since the 1930s.
“The name of the game is proving the people wrong,” Keane told Sky Sports after United tripled their record for goals at home this season in a short 90 minutes. “Maybe, just maybe, this group of players can do that.”
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reflects on his impressive win against Leeds, where Scott McTominay shone
That question mark will remain until United can prove their worth more than a team with a streak on them; The kind that saw them shake off a terrible start a year ago to lose just two of their last 25 and sneak into the Champions League places on the final day.
With the gap with leaders so small, this could be the time. “If they can put their house in order at home, there’s no reason why they can’t stay there,” Keane added. United are in their best league career away from home, with 10 consecutive road wins. “You wonder what they could do if they solved their house shape.”
Maybe this is the moment. “We looked like a stronger and fitter team,” was Solskjaer’s accurate assessment after demolishing Leeds. His team had just run 5km more than in their opening match against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. They’ve only made more physical changes at home this season when they led Chelsea to a 0-0 draw in late October.
Defensive problems can become the manager’s biggest concern; his side have kept three clean sheets all season, just one more than 19th-ranked West Bromwich Albion. But on such an impressive streak of league wins away from home, back to form at home and Even giving Keane reason to smile, it’s worth wondering how close United is to staying the course.
When is the next Crystal Palace, when is the next Arsenal? Who knows. But Keane is a man willing to eat his words. “I think Liverpool are still the best, but there is no reason why United cannot imagine their chances of pushing them.”
Leicester, Wolves, Aston Villa and Fulham are their next four games before taking on Liverpool in the new year. Take this momentum to Anfield and never say never.
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