Manchester United’s Title Hopes Could Still Become A Reality Despite The Chelsea Defeat – Here’s Why
Manchester United were humbled 1-0 at Stamford Bridge by the defending Premier League champions on Sunday, and this could potentially come as a rude halt to their hopes of making a title challenge this season. Although Jose Mourinho was quick with the fighting talk after the defeat, the fact is that they are 8 points adrift of Manchester City, who are at the top of the Premier League.
There is simply no excuse for it. United were poor and it costed them three precious points in the end – but could that mean it’s time for them to bid goodbye to their hopes of winning the league this season? Of course, no championship has ever been won in November, but we have seen some aspirations die at this stage of the campaign.
By the time Manchester City pay a visit to Old Trafford in early December, United’s title ambitions may fizzle out completely. For now, at least, one might argue that United can overcome the defeat but is it really possible?
With City in such formidable form, it is difficult to envisage anything other than the Premier League trophy returning to the Etihad Stadium in May. For Guardiola’s team not to win the title from their current position, it requires a collapse on their part and a rival to hit unbeatable form – and that simply looks very unlikely.
As of now, United were believed to be the ones to pose a serious challenge to Manchester City but they unfortunately lack the kind of form to make life difficult for Guardiola and his players. While it can be argued that their slump in form is because of their injury concerns, there is nothing Paul Pogba or Zlatan Ibrahimovic could add if the other players are so poor.
City, on the other hand, are blowing teams away, week in and week out. In contrast, United cannot score when they travel to the homes of their top-six rivals, and this latest episode means they have now netted just once under Mourinho in 7 Premier League away games against the likes of City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.
It almost seems like an uneven battle at this point. At the end of the day, Mourinho’s game plan needs to be changed if he is to succeed. City are discovering that fortune really does favour the brave, while Mourinho’s United continue to take the safety-first approach, which is not really doing much for them.
Having said that, Mourinho knows he has what it takes to win the Premier League, so maybe he is right and United can come back stronger when their big players return. However, that might just end up becoming a situation of too little too late.