Despite beating rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford last weekend, Manchester United should not yet be considered genuine title challengers.
That is the view of former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes there are still too many games to play in the Premier League to pick an eventual champion.
United are on an incredible run though. They have won all of their last eight games, in all competitions, including an important 2-1 victory over fierce rivals and noisy neighbours Man City on Saturday afternoon.
Following their latest victory, which saw attacker Marcus Rashford find the back of the net for the 16th time this season, the Red Devils now sit nine points behind leaders Arsenal and just one behind Pep Guardiola’s Citizens.
However, speaking about United’s chances of winning their 21st league title, Collymore, who spoke in an exclusive interview, said: “I’m still not convinced they’re title challengers. Not just yet anyway.
“There is such a long way to go and because of the World Cup last month, it feels like we’re closer to the end than we actually are. We’re at the halfway stage and if any club knows titles are not won after 18 games, it’s Man United.
“The same can be said for Arsenal. We need to see more before we can start talking seriously about them being potential champions. Next weekend’s match against Man United is a huge game though, no one can deny that. If the Red Devils win that one, as well as their midweek game against Crystal Palace, then I’ll concede that they’re in the running, but right at this moment in time, not for me – not just yet.”
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Going on to speak about the clear progress the 20-time league winners have made under current boss Erik Ten Hag, Collymore highlighted the team’s aggression as a major factor, and suggested the club have got their ‘soul back’.
“With that being said, the biggest change I’ve noticed in United is that their soul is back,” the ex-Liverpool star added.
“There were times under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick when there was no passion, no desire, and even the crowd, at times, seemed flat. All that has changed under Ten Hag. They’re angry on the pitch, they’re fighting for each other and you can feel those same emotions back in the crowd. It’s a great time to be a United fan again.”
Do you agree with Collymore’s assessment? – Or do you think United can win this season’s title? – Let us know in the comments.