Louis van Gaal has started to show United fans that he is the right man to push this side forward, with them now sitting one place above their local rivals City and after Monday night’s defeat to Crystal Palace, it’s fair to say to that the title is well out of reach for City after falling nine points behind Chelsea with the leaders having a game in hand.
On January 1st, Manchester City were second in the table on goal difference after initially being 8 points a drift. But after clawing their way back into the title race, a run of four wins out of there last fourteen in all competitions has seen their season fall apart.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini has come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks after being eliminated from the FA Cup and Champions League. Their league form has dipped with disappointing results against Hull, Liverpool, Burnley and Crystal Palace, making people wonder whether it was just a fluke that City won the league last season.
Their’s no question that City possess one of the most expensive squads in Europe with the likes of Aguero, Silva, Nasri & co all costing big money but it appears that the team is in desperate need of a revamp, with youth and exuberance needed to compliment the experience of the bigger stars at City.
Summer signings Fernando and Mangala have struggled to come to terms with the demands of the Premier League while Fernandinho and Yaya Toure have been out of sorts this campaign.
Toure was arguably City’s most important player last year but he hasn’t been able to replicate that form. Vincent Kompany’s form has dipped with him struggling to find a partner to compliment his ability with Demichelis and Mangala both being rotated which will only unsettle any defence.
Will the derby determine Pellegrini’s fate?
Possibly, it’s been a torrid few weeks for City, but a win could maybe illustrate to the money men in Abu Dhabi that he still has the dressing room. On the other hand, defeat could possibly mean the chop at the end of the season for the former Real Madrid manager.
With doubts over the future of Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabeu, the Italian could be a perfect replacement especially since he’s proven in this league after winning the title with Chelsea in 2010.
United come into this game in fine form, winning their last five in the league including victories over top four rivals Tottenham and Liverpool which has instilled some much needed confidence at Old Trafford following a dreary defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup.
It’s fair to say that there were questions being asked about whether the Dutchman was the right man to take United forward, but recent results have shown he has the capability to do so.
It’s not only the results but the performances in recent weeks that have pleased United fans. There were chants at QPR in mid-January from some of the travelling support of “Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!” as Van Gaal’s side’s seemed to lack ambition going forward, instead ponderously playing the safe ball from side to side.
The turning point seemed to be Tottenham with the performance against Pochettino’s side displaying that United were capable of playing free flowing football with Young, Mata, Rooney, Fellaini all combining very well to derail an in-form Spurs.
It continued the following week with that huge game at Anfield where United’s first half performance was perfect, disrupting Liverpool’s game and also being effective down the other end of the field which was refreshing to see.
There will be questions for some time as to whether this is the United of old, but that’s how it is if your most successful manager and manager of 26 years leaves the club.
With the Red Devils looking down on City for the first time in 16 months having played the same number of games, they’ll look to extend their one point gap to four with victory in the derby on Sunday. To do so could spell the end of Pellergrini at the Etihad, so what will give at Old Trafford?
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