Opinion: Manchester United’s run deserves immense credit

However, as was the case before the break for the World Cup, we finished on a high against Fulham, earning a 3-1 victory as the Cottagers went down to nine men and were no match for the Reds in the end.

So where does that leave us? From the 25 games crammed in between 21 December and now, a record of 19 wins, four draws and two defeats. Two of the draws came on the road, one at the Nou Camp, and one of the home ones was, as previously mentioned, when we were down to 10 men for a large chunk of the game against Southampton. The losses were at Arsenal and Liverpool.

The season’s first available silverware has already been paraded at Old Trafford and is in the bag. A place in the top four is still very much in our hands, as we sit third, with Southampton’s late equaliser at the weekend preventing Tottenham moving above us. There is all to play for, in this regard, and some will point to other rivals not having such a hectic schedule as a possible factor in the run-in, but United will be pulling out all the stops to safely navigate the remaining 12 games to seal Champions League football in 2023/24.

There is another route to that goal, of course, by winning the Europa League. Our quarter-final contest is over two legs against Sevilla, another La Liga side, and one with an incredible record in the competition. In terms of the FA Cup, Brighton & Hove Albion will be formidable opponents at Wembley, with Manchester City facing Sheffield United in the other semi-final.

If there is any time for reflection at all during this international pause, the main take is this: Manchester United are continuing to fight on all fronts and that is of immense credit to the manager and his players. Anfield aside, there is not a lot more than could have been asked for when we embarked on this taxing period.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.