(Football news) Andoni Iraola’s men are still fighting for European nights next season, whereas Ruben Amorim’s squad could be forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal in the Premier League amid their pursuit of Europa League glory.
From the highs of an extraordinary Europa League comeback against Lyon to the lows of another Premier League home defeat – this time to fellow bottom-half battlers Wolverhampton Wanderers – Manchester United fans, players and coaches experienced the fullest range of emotions possible last week.
As Amorim’s attackers floundered once again, Wolves’ Pablo Sarabia produced a moment of mastery with a sublime free kick to settle the scores at the Theatre of Dreams, condemning Manchester United to a second straight Premier League loss and fourth consecutive match without victory in the competition.
At the very least, Man United cannot be mathematically relegated as they remain in the lower echelons of the Premier League table with an embarrassing 15 losses on their record; not since the 1989-90 campaign have they been beaten in more top-flight contests.
However, what happens in the Premier League between now and the end of May will prove largely inconsequential if Manchester United go all the way in the Europa League; Amorim’s team head to the Basque Country for the first leg of their semi-final with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Before continental thoughts take precedence once again, Manchester United endeavour to avoid a sequence that they have not suffered since the pre-COVID days of 2019 – a five-game winless run in the Premier League – which both Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag managed to avoid.
Sharing Manchester United’s zero-goal fate last weekend, Bournemouth could not make the most of three highly contentious decisions going their way against Crystal Palace, where both Tyler Adams and Alex Scott avoided second yellows either side of Chris Richards not being so lucky.
Despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half, the Cherries could not pick off the depleted Eagles as their already slim top-seven hopes suffered another setback, one which leaves them eight points below Aston Villa having played a game fewer.
However, Bournemouth’s eighth-placed position could still suffice for a Conference League spot depending on the outcome of the FA Cup, although a measly record of just one victory from their last seven in all tournaments is hardly European-worthy form.
Nevertheless, last weekend’s draw at Selhurst Park saw Bournemouth amass a club-record 49 points for the Premier League season, and the Cherries could also now record three straight clean sheets in the competition for the first time since November 2019.
The omens are particularly promising in that regard; the last time Bournemouth kept three successive Premier League clean sheets, the third came in a 1-0 win over none other than Man United, who were humbled 3-0 at home yet again by Iraola’s European hopefuls during a dreadful December.
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