Premier League Review - Manchester United in danger of Champions League qualification

Manchester United’s victory could keep Van Gaal in a job, which would be a disaster

Manchester City might have had 26 shots on goal, but they could have lost by more. Michael Oliver should have awarded a penalty when Martin Demichelis clattered Marcus Rashford in the box towards the end of the first half. Not for the first time, Oliver gave City an easy ride - remember him electing not to send off Joe Hart for headbutting him in a previous match?

Demichelis, like Oliver (who should have sent off Chris Smalling for a second yellow), was awful. He had earlier lunged towards Rashford for the only goal, allowing him an easy path in towards goal. He then gave an appalling backpass to Joe Hart which forced the ‘keeper to rush out to clear, and injure himself in the process. It wasn’t the only injury for City, who lost Raheem Sterling to a groin injury early on. It was, then, a terrible day for the home side, who are now just one point ahead of United and West Ham, in danger of losing their Champions League place.

While it is true that City had 26 shots, only three were on target, and most of the efforts were without threat. United only seemed in danger because they gave up the ball increasingly as the match went on, not because City were doing anything more dangerous with it at the same time. It was a case of sitting back and waiting to be underwhelmed, and United managed that calmly.

For United, it’s a double-edged sword. Yes, Rashford, an 18-year-old Mancunian scored the winner in a derby. Yes, the defensive performance was much improved. Marouane Fellaini did not spend a minute on the pitch and they were evidently far better with 11 men, rather than 10 and a galoot. They showed good spirit to hang on, and a few of them got involved with some aggro after their penalty appeal was turned down. But City were there for the taking, as they were last time they played, and all Louis van Gaal could do was think about rotating his full-backs.

The manager is still perplexing, and still likely to make the wrong choices. They may have won today, but they won despite Daley Blind in central defence, and despite having a squad that is far too small, and full of mediocrity and underperforming senior players who have given up on their manager. There is a chance that Manchester United might steal fourth place. If that happens, Van Gaal could keep his job, and that would be a disaster for the players, club and fans.

Newcastle and Sunderland continue to give themselves hope as they fail to spark

When Aleksandar Mitrovic took an elbow to the face, with a few minutes remaining, he was knocked out cold. It appeared sufficiently serious that opponents waved on the physios, such was their concern. Thankfully, he was up and about within a couple of minutes, but was plainly groggy as he left the field.

As he trudged up the sidelines he was clearly arguing with the medical staff, imploring them to let him continue. They weren’t interested. It wasn’t safe for him to continue, and they weren’t going to let him prove that by going back on. So next he tried his manager, and Rafael Benitez deserves praise for not risking the health of his player as he chased vital points. There have been managers, like Andre Villas Boas, who have not shown the same duty of care for their staff. At one point, Benitez even had to restrain Mitrovic from going back on the pitch.

Things are desperate for Newcastle, and indeed for Sunderland. They are the worst sides in the league except Aston Villa, who are almost unimaginably cack. But they should not give up hope, Norwich City are still within touching distance, so there is a chance that at least one of the North East’s sides with survive for another season. With Benitez and Sam Allardyce, two managers who have a mutual dislike, they have a chance of pulling off an escape. Newcastle’s defence was staffed by poor players, but they were more organised than they had been under Steve McClaren. Benitez ended a run for four consecutive defeats, and the players at least tried until the final whistle. Sunderland played ugly, sending long balls for Jermain Defoe to chase, but they’re more effective with every passing game. They have a chance, but time is running out.

Leicester City and Spurs show their strengths

With Arsenal winning, it would have seen mentally weaker teams throw away points. Not Leicester, and not Spurs.

Leicester have looked close to spent, physically, in the last few weeks. They have had a couple of injuries and suspensions to highlight the shallowness of their squad, but they have kept the fine margins intact and even stretched their lead at the top. They could only manage one goal against Crystal Palace, but that was enough. They have, though, not won a game by more than two goals since they played a disheartened Manchester City at the start of February. They only have seven games remaining, that they keep winning suggests that the problem, should it come for them, will not be a psychological one but a physical one.

Spurs don’t appear to have either problem. They strolled to an easy victory on Sunday, helped by an exceedingly early Harry Kane goal, which will have taken the edge off the efforts of their failed Europa League campaign. In the end, that should help them focus on the league, and keep their energy for just a single tournament. The focus of Mauricio Pochettino’s training is not just tactical, but is designed to maximise the fitness of his sides as they run miles and miles across the pitch to close down the opposition. So far, after so many matches, it is evidently working. The obstacle for Spurs is a rather boring one. It is not a physical challenge, nor a mental one, but the fact that they are simply running out of games.

Hiddink has few tools to make serious progress at Chelsea

Chelsea are undefeated under Guus Hiddink in the Premier League, but that isn’t fooling anybody. Of course, arresting defeats after the chaos and depression of Jose Mourinho’s decline and then exit, was vital. If Hiddink had kept the side losing, then it would make an eventual repair job in the summer that much harder. He had to show the players that they should work for him for the remaining few months, even if that’s all they had with him.

And he has managed that. The recovery against West Ham, after conceding the lead not once but twice, came with some assistance from the referee. Cesc Fabregas engineered an advantage at the free kick, moving it back once the wall was set, and his penalty was from a penalty that came from a foul outside the box. But however the goals come, they came as a result of forcing the referee to make a decision, rather than just rolling over as they were doing before Hiddink. The spirit of the side is no longer a desperate problem.

But Hiddink has not been able to address the other fundamental weaknesses of the side that came about through underinvestment over the summer. Branislav Ivanovic still plays without sufficient responsibility and awareness, and they don’t have a backup striker of the required quality when Diego Costa is absent. Alexandre Pato is not enough, and nor is Loic Remy. Hiddink has done a more than reasonable job to arrest the slide at Chelsea, and they may squeeze into the Europa League next year if they keep it up. All he has done, though, is minimise the scope of an unavoidably extensive rejig in the summer.

Roberto Martinez is running out of excuses

Roberto Martinez is a man who is very keen on absolving himself of blame. No wonder - most of us have the trait in us. It makes good evolutionary sense for the individual, to protect yourself from the chop and to be held in higher regard than you really should be. But sometimes you can over-egg the shifting. If things are never, ever your fault according to you, then there are two things that need to happen. One, your excuses have to be foolproof, and two, you have to have an audience who are willing to take you at face value.

For the first season at Everton, Martinez was fortunate. By contrasting his season with David Moyes at Manchester United, it put into stark contrast just how different the fundamental approaches were. It isn’t really fair on Moyes, because as out of his depth as he was at United, he nevertheless performed admirably at Everton. Not perfectly, but far better than most would manage. In his second season, however, Martinez’s traditional flaws took prominence over his skills. He spent a decent amount of money, but in the end his inability to coach a defence meant that the pretty (and often effective) passing has started to grate.

Everton fans resented Moyes for his lack of creativity. Now they are starting to resent Martinez for his lack of defensive resilience. At some point, given this was a problem at Wigan too, he will have to admit that an improvement is needed, and it is his fundamental weakness. He has been given money, and he has spent most of it outside of defence. The calls to sack him are probably a little unfair now. However, if he doesn’t use the new financial resources of a television deal and a new owner wisely, and sort out the defence, then even he won’t be able to come up with a believable excuse.