Yahoo Sport 
Manchester United Fan View: United head into the Europa League final with a worrying lack of momentum
Manchester United and Jose Mourinho are currently stuck in footballing purgatory as they count down the days until the Europa League final against Ajax on May 24. It’s a match that will define their season. Unfortunately for fans they still have two Premier League games against Southampton and Crystal Palace to endure before then, and if the recent encounters against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are anything to go by they will not be pretty.
READ MORE: Mourinho takes another swipe at United’s fixture list
READ MORE: Pogba given compassionate leave following for his father’s funeral
But since Jose Mourinho has been so up front about his ploy to sacrifice the Premier League and prioritise the Europa League it feels wrong to be overly critical, even though United have been appallingly lacklustre in recent games. In many ways, Mourinho has built the perfect defence mechanism around him, as he’s repeatedly reminded us that he’s only had a roster of 15 players to pick from, been hampered by injuries, and has had to contend with juggling his squad with games on Thursdays and Sundays.
Considering the improvement Manchester United showed before the EFL Cup final, which saw fans chanting about how Jose had got the team playing the way United should, the fact he already has a trophy in the bag, and is tantalisingly close to delivering a second that will also confirm Champions League qualification, fans have given Mourinho the benefit of the doubt. But it’s an awfully risky game he’s playing, because Manchester United have now won just 1 game in 6 going into their clash with Ajax, and they’re currently trundling towards rather than displaying any genuine momentum heading into the Europa League final.
READ MORE: Koscielny reveals he will need daily treatment on his injury until he retires
READ MORE: Gossip – Rodriguez ‘rejects Chelsea’, Liverpool ‘want Michael Keane’
It doesn’t look as though United will gather this propulsion in the games over Southampton and Crystal Palace, either. Mourinho is likely to rest his first choice players and save them for the final, especially as it falls just three days after United take on Sam Allardyce’s side. Mourinho witnessed first hand just how profitable fresh legs can be in a final back in February, when Southampton out-ran and out-played United for most of the EFL Cup final after they’d been provided the luxury of 15 days rest. Fortunately for United, who had played three times in those 15 days, they had Zlatan Ibrahimovic to inspire them to the trophy.
They’ll be without the Swede in Stockholm, but Mourinho will still be hopeful that one of Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata, Paul Pogba or Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be able to step into the void, otherwise Jose Mourinho and Manchester United’s plans for next season will change drastically. They’ll plunge from purgatory down into the hell that is another season of Thursday night football and the Europa League.
