When Manchester United were enjoying the spectacular winning streak from February to April, top four finish was all but secured. However, the last two defeats at Chelsea and Everton reminded everyone that the Reds were far from securing it.
Fortunately though, United’s closest rival for top four Liverpool have helped the Manchester Reds massively with their poor run of late. In the last five league games, Liverpool have won just once, drawn once and lost the other three. As a result of which, United’s recent poor run has not done much harm to them.
In fact now all United need is just five more points from the remaining twelve to secure the top four places. United are currently on 65 points. So they need just one win and two draws in the remaining four, or two wins to make it safe.
Because the maximum points the fifth and sixth placed Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur can secure is only 70 points. If all the three Manchester United, Spurs and Liverpool end up on the same total of 70 points, it will still be United who will be qualifying for the Champions League, due to their superior goal difference.
The goal difference of Liverpool and Spurs are 10 and six respectively, whereas United’s goal difference is a whooping 25. So it’s unlikely they can overtake United on that front. Hence, both clubs should try to gain an extra point than the Reds, but that prospect looks slimmer with every passing game.
Even Spurs never quite offered a real threat for the top four positions, it was Liverpool who were on the verge of getting it. But, the defeat to Manchester United at Anfield last month dealt a huge blow to their ambitions. They followed that with an hammering at Arsenal, which sealed their fate.
However, with United losing their last two games, Liverpool fans might have had a slimmer of hope. However, those hopes faded away soon as Liverpool was able to just draw against West Bromwich Albion, before losing to Hull City on Tuesday night. As a result of which, Liverpool failed to take advantage of United slipping and thereby handed the initiative straight back to their fiercest rival in the rat race for the coveted top four places.