The Leicester draw demonstrates that average Manchester United do not belong in the Champions League
Manchester United dropped two more points at Old Trafford, giving a further blow to their chances of finishing in the top-four of the Premier League. Manchester United's season is already "dead," according to Paul Pogba.
So it should come as no surprise that the players produced a lethargic showing for the majority of Saturday's Premier League meeting with Leicester. Manchester United had more to play for at Old Trafford than Leicester City.
Leicester remain entrenched in mid-table, with their sights set on Thursday's first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final against PSV.
Manchester United have one win in their last four Premier League games ⛔️
They’re three points out of fourth place and Arsenal have two games in hand https://t.co/gCNnqf7Vwc
The PSV game is Leicester's best hope of qualifying for Europe next season. Manchester United, on the other hand, needed to win Saturday evening's kick-off.
Manchester United are losing their top four race battle
Manchester United went into the game trailing fourth-placed Arsenal by five points, despite having played one more game. The three points were therefore critical to their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Despite this, United only managed to play with any intensity or urgency after Leicester took the lead in the 63rd minute, thanks to Kelechi Iheanacho.
Ralf Rangnick stated on Friday that his players were motivated to finish the season well. But there was little sign of energy or emotion until the final moments of a disappointing 1-1 draw.
The unfortunate reality is that the level of football generated by United this season does not belong in the Champions League. And, having lost two more valuable points, it now appears improbable that they will be competing at Europe's biggest club football event in the near future.
United still have eight games remaining, but they are scheduled to go to Liverpool and Arsenal in the coming weeks. The feeling before kickoff was that those two trips would define their top-four challenge.
But after Saturday's draw, it's all but over if they don't take six points from their next two games, against Everton and Norwich. To reach the top-four, they will require not just a helping hand from their opponents, but also a significant improvement.
Rangnick calling for a Man Utd "rebuild" in the summer, adding that "the team could do with some more highly-talented, hungry players".
Says a lot about the lack of quality players in this squad.
I love this man. Too honest.
Owing to Cristiano Ronaldo's unavailability due to 'flu-like symptoms', they used a striker-less setup. This could explain the absence of consistent attacking tactics and the fact that Kasper Schmeichel was rarely threatened.
They were once again relying on magnificent quality moments – which just did not materialize. The real inspiration came from the other end of the pitch when James Maddison produced a wonderful ball in for Iheanacho to head home Leicester's goal.
Then again, when the England midfielder delivered a lovely free-kick that pushed David de Gea into a fantastic save to deny Wesley Fofana. It was just another one of those mediocre United performances.
They improved marginally in the second half, but their offense was largely impotent. They were given a reprieve for their shoddy defense when VAR ruled out a Maddison winner for a foul on Raphael Varane.
At this juncture in the season, every point dropped is another hammer blow to those dwindling top-four hopes. United's season isn't "dead," but it's obviously in decline after this latest defeat.