Doubts are creeping in now for Solskjaer
CLOSE: Cavani hooks the ball just wide in the dying minutes
MANCHESTER UNITED are spluttering – and possibly on the verge of choking completely.
After blowing the chance to go top of the table in midweek – when they crashed to rock-bottom Sheffield United at home – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (below) and his Reds failed to respond last night.
And that means they are all but waving bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool towards a two-horse title race.
Okay, the opposition yesterday was a lot better than Wednesday, with Arsenal on a roll of form.
But the knew they had to deliver a win in North London to stay hot on the heels of Pep Guardiola’s leaders.
Instead, they huffed and puffed, without ever fully flicking on the engine and demonstrating they can cope with the pressure of life at the summit.
That is what genuine, authentic title contenders do. They shrug off the occasional, inevitable blip and come roaring back.
From nowhere, United had grabbed pole position after Christmas. Yet suddenly, one appalling result meant fears they could collapse in equally unexpected fashion were very real.
It’s what happens in the congested Covid 202021 campaign, after all. Fortunes fluctuate fast amid the relentless fixture overload.
One minute up, one minute down. Just ask Arsenal who were flying in November before sinking to an historic low and then storming back.
So, this was United’s chance to defy that pattern and nip doubts regarding their title credentials in the bud. Amazingly, given the record of these two clubs and the top-billing this clash is always guaranteed, it is eight years and counting since either ruled the domestic scene supreme at the end of a season.
However, United’s sensational form after losing to Arsenal at Old Trafford in November had catapulted them from also-rans to favourites in little over a month of action.
The 2-1 reverse to Chris Wilder’s men was their first defeat since that Gunners clash. If that sequence was impressive, it was nothing compared to their form on the road.
They arrived in the capital unbeaten in 17 away dates – and on the back of this result have broken the club record of 18 held by United’s 1999 Treble winners.
Fair to say, at the moment that is as close as this class of 2021 crop are going to get to being mentioned in the same breath as those legends.
Had Edinson Cavani taken one of two great second-half chances, we might be thinking differently.
But the United hitman could not find the net with either when he should have done better – and that ensured his side are still three points behind City, having played a game more.