Manchester United's Dutch manager Erik ten Hag watches the players from the touchline during the English Premier League football match against Arsenal at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on May 12, 2024. Picture: Paul ELLIS, AFP
Michael Sherman
As crushing, although not surprising, as Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Premier League title-chasers Arsenal was at Old Trafford on Sunday, thousands of fans had to contend with a section of the stand which was pouring with rain through the roof.
Though the unfortunate fans were in a covered area of the stands, rainwater could be seen gushing down from the top of the stadium with rain water as a leak somewhere in the roof was the cause.
The loss to Arsenal, was United’s 14th of their league campaign to go with their six draws and 16 victories.
With two matches remaining, United find themselves in eighth place on the log, three points behind Chelsea and Newcastle in seventh and sixth place on the log respectively.
It’s ironic that Old Trafford should be battling a leak in its roof, as United’s defence has also been leaky this season as they’ve conceded a staggering 56 goals for a goal difference of -4.
In comparison, Arsenal have conceded exactly half the number of goals from 37 games this season. They’ve also scored 37 more goals than United’s blunt attack.
ℹ️ The latest fitness updates from both sides ahead of Wednesday's game 👇#MUFC || #PL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 13, 2024
As it stands, the fifth place finisher on the English Premier League table will qualify for the Europa League, and the team that finishes sixth will be exempt into the Europa Conference League.
However, the winner of the FA Cup is also granted qualification into the Europa League. Manchester City are set to take on United in the final.
Should City win, their Europa League qualification will be transferred to the sixth-placed team on the league, since the Citizens have already qualified for the Champions League. The team that finishes seventh will then qualify for Europa Conference League.
Thus, it seems United’s only hope of European competition next season will be to beat their much-fancied derby rivals in the cup final on May 25.
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