Roy Keane has claimed that Manchester United can push Liverpool for the Premier League title and will be the Reds’ closest challengers this season.
While speaking to Sky Sports, Roy Keane has made big claims over the credentials of Manchester United as Premier League title contenders. The former United captain believes that the Red Devils will be the closest challengers to the reigning champions’ throne this season.
Manchester United have indeed recovered quite well from a sluggish start to the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, which included a shock defeat to Crystal Palace to open their season and a 6-1 hammering at home at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. A 1-0 loss to Arsenal last month also added to their woes, with the Red Devils being mired in midtable in the first couple of months.
?️ “Liverpool are the strongest but Man Utd can be best of the rest…”
Roy Keane believes Manchester United could be Liverpool’s biggest threat in the Premier League this seasonpic.twitter.com/ZcByp6ef15
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 20, 2020
However, aided by some stunning form on the road – they have won each of their six away games in the Premier League this season – Manchester United have mounted a charge up the table. The latest result – a 6-2 thrashing of Leeds United on Sunday – has left Manchester United just five points adrift of Liverpool.
Speaking of Liverpool, the defending champions have not been at their fluid best in the first third of the season, with a number of underwhelming performances meaning they have already dropped points five times this term – one fewer than the entirety of 2019/20. Now, though, ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane has opined that United could be the Reds’ closest challengers.
“I think over the last few months they’ve been heavily criticised, particularly over the home record. I’ve been quite critical of the back four, the goalkeeper, questioning where this team is going, but the name of this game is proving people wrong. Maybe, just maybe, this group of players can do that. They’ve been winning games, and that’s all you can do.”
“United are in a great position considering how slow they were out of the blocks. If United can get their house in order at home, there’s no reason why United can’t stay up there. I think Liverpool are still the best, but there’s no reason why United should be fancying their chances in terms of pushing Liverpool. Liverpool are still the strongest, but United could be the best of the rest.”
As iterated earlier, Manchester United are just five points behind Liverpool, having climbed up to third on the Premier League table. However, that gap could be down to two points if United win the game they have in hand over the Reds, thereby setting up a close contest with the champions ahead of their meeting in January.
Having said that, Liverpool do seem to be getting back to their best, as evidenced by the 7-0 rout of Crystal Palace. It will, thus, be interesting to see if Manchester United do indeed push Liverpool to the limit going deep into the season and if they can be in the Premier League title race come May.
Manchester United will win a trophy if they improved their defence.