We pick out four important areas, including City’s newfound prowess at crossed set plays and where Stones and Rashford are deployedUnited’s victory in the last derby turned out to be nowhere near as pivotal as it felt at the time. It was a ninth win in a row for Erik ten Hag’s side and took them to within a point of City; approaching the halfway point of the season, they seemed very much part of the title race. A draw at Crystal Palace and defeat at Arsenal in the two games that followed exposed that as fallacy. But that does not mean the game was not meaningful – even if that significance was probably felt more by City than United....
City’s treble hopes and Manchester derby make things interesting but the unappealing aspects of elite football remainHas the FA Cup lost something? You know, something intangible. Something that made it more special all those years ago. What’s the word? It’s “Tada”, it’s “Abracadabra”, it’s “Piff Paff Puff” … it’s magic perhaps – yes that’s it. Remember when it was magic. Ricky Villa, Norman Whiteside, the Crazy Gang, the Cream Suits. Bert Millichip, velvet bags, Sutton United, Tim Buzaglo, Mickey Thomas, Ronnie Radford.How could we get it back? Did Des Lynam remember to cryogenically freeze the legendary Gerald Sinstadt before he retired? Could we reanimate him and get him on the Manchester United coach at 8am? Could we all give our...
Everton have relegation battle in their own hands, Aston Villa fans face a dilemma and there will be emotional farewells galoreFor the third time in 29 years, Everton’s Premier League status is on the line on the final day at Goodison Park although, unlike against Wimbledon in 1994 or Coventry in 1998, survival is in their own hands. The task sounds straightforward enough: beat a Bournemouth team with nothing to play for and a 70th consecutive season in the top flight is guaranteed. Everton, though, have an aversion to the straightforward. Sean Dyche does not have a decent striker available with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been integral to the team’s recent improvement, hamstrung again. Unless Vitaliy Mykolenko recovers from a...
Erik ten Hag’s side have been in a slump since defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League and it has put their hopes of Champions League qualification in jeopardyManchester United’s priority this season is Champions League qualification. February’s Carabao Cup triumph sprinkled winners’ stardust on the club after a six-year wait and Erik ten Hag’s side can add the FA Cup by beating Manchester City in next month’s final. But each would be exchanged for the top‑four finish which is viewed, as Ten Hag has said, as a must. Yet since being 2-0 ahead at home to Sevilla on 13 April in their Europa League quarter-final first leg, United’s form has flatlined. That game ended 2-2 and only two of...
Poor form of Erik ten Hag’s side since late February has meant they could miss out on next season’s elite club competitionThey’re behind you. No really, they are. For Manchester United, what had looked not so long ago like a gentle jog to the line in the Premier League, maybe even – really, this wasn’t so long ago – some kind of title challenge, has now become a cliffhanger. We have jeopardy here.Liverpool’s victory over Brentford on Saturday means we have a classic two-horse run-off to the line. And really, this could go any way from here after a limp, muddled and generally uncomfortable 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium, during which relegation-haunted West Ham looked by far the more...