Premier League: Despite Draws, Manchester United is still in thick of Championship Race
The Premier League is tough. Not just attitude wise but competition wise. To put it in NBA terms, it’s like the Western Conference traded the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns for the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The League is that competitive. What makes it that more interesting are the tables. It’s not the American sports where you play for a few months then the top eight teams fight for the Championship in a playoff format. The Premier League is a winner-takes-all season and that makes for great rivalries and even better stories.
Take a team like Manchester United who is in the midst of 16th straight non-defeats. Now, you would think with a streak like that Man U would be atop the standings but they currently sit 6th. Even with that current streak, it shows how hard it is to gain ground. But, MAN U is only 12 points behind table leader Chelsea.
As good as Man U has been, what has hurt them the most has been their inability to get the big goal when needed. 25 matches in and they have managed only three losses but it’s the draws that have hurt them. As of this publication, they have nine draws on their record which has accounted for one point each. While teams like Chelsea and their rival, Manchester City has three and four respectively. If Man U could have shown a little dominance over Stroke City or Hull City then this is a different conversation. That’s four points left off their table.
Being down 12 is not the end of the world for Manchester. There is still time to make a run but it will take a killer instinct to get the job done. With up coming games against Man City, Bournemouth, South Hampton and Middlesbrough they have a chance to continue their point streak and possibly makeup ground. It’s not over, and while Chelsea and Man City fans may think they have Man U beat, one slip on their part and everything could change.
Regardless of the draws, the fact still remains that Man U has not lost a League match in 16 outings. That alone should cause serious concern for the table leaders.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
