Premier League: United look for any way out of result rut

Manchester United’s new boss Ruben Amorim confirmed after Monday night’s defeat to Newcastle, that the side is in a fight to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.

In a season of many surprises, that Man United would be fretting over the relegation trapdoor is probably the most unexpected. Manchester United, with the second-most expensive squad in the Premier League and another record-breaking year for revenues that saw Old Trafford rake in over €800m in cash, does not do relegation battles.

But there they are, 14th place in the table, just seven points away from a relegation spot, but 23 points and a game in hand away from their opponents tomorrow, Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Portuguese manager has not enjoyed the cliched new manager bounce since his arrival at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon. And his statement smacks more of a threat to his players than a genuine fear that United would go down. Still three defeats in a row, four in a row if you count their loss to Spurs in the Carabao Cup, is definitely relegation form. Especially when you consider that their next two opponents are first and second in the table, Liverpool, and Arsenal.

Correctly, Amorim identified, “we have to acknowledge our position, the way you see the league, everybody can beat everybody. So, we have to engage and focus on surviving.” This is so true and while said to get a rise out of his team, it also can provide a source of comfort for United fans, as in any given Sunday any team in this league can beat anyone else, even Liverpool. And while the Merseysiders are looking to create a record run of unbeaten games, it must be remembered that even Liverpool have lost this season, in a very unlikely result at the time but not so surprising now, to Nottingham Forest. Even while having one of their best seasons ever, Liverpool have scraped wins and draws out of some difficult situations, not least the recent draw against Fulham, the 3-2 win against bottom side Southampton or the 2-1 win against Brighton, all of which required big dig-outs by Liverpool when not playing at their very best.

It must also be remembered that despite a run of bad seasons United came back from a record 7-0 league defeat to Liverpool in 2023 to beat the same opponents 4-3 in the FA Cup semi-final a year later. United have a habit of bouncing back from defeats to their hated neighbour with positive results over the years. Against that fact though, is the reality that it is unusual for it to happen at Anfield. United haven’t won any of their last eight league away games against Liverpool (drawn four, lost four), their longest such run since a run of nine between 1970 and 1979. Indeed, United have only beaten Liverpool twice in the league since 2016, both at Old Trafford.

Beyond United’s recent poor run of results is the performance of their players, especially in that match against Newcastle last Monday. Casemiro and Christian Eriksen looked slow and unfocused driving on the Man United attack, and without the suspended Bruno Fernandes the side seemed bereft of initiative. In defence, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire were too easily ghosted by the Newcastle attack, especially Alexander Isak, who popped up unmarked so often that it remains a question how Newcastle didn’t win by more. On the other side of the United defence, Matthijs de Ligt was constantly burned for pace by Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon.

The unfocused aspect of United’s play showed up in their sloppy passes to the opposition or the sideline by Noussair Mazraoui, Diogo Dalot and Joshua Zirkzee , when under no pressure at all by Newcastle. As for the cheering by United fans of Zirkzee’s substitution, while sad for the young United player, it is a clear demonstration of the frustration of the watching United fan base.

All of this does not look promising for United, but their fans can be assured that they will not be relegated, there are too many sides below them already in the table with little hope of digging their way out of their situation. As much a United might lose games, they will lose more.

And as we have said this season, any side can win against anyone else in the right set of circumstances. And no better circumstances than an injured Man United against a maybe over-confident high-flying Liverpool. And while the form suggests otherwise, you underestimate United at your peril.