Manchester United are officially Premier League title contenders again. With a 1-0 win at Burnley tonight, they are now in first place, all by themselves. The last time United were top of the table this late in the season, it was back in the Sir Alex Ferguson era. It was actually 2012-13, Fergie’s last season, which of course ended with a Premier League title.
After 17 games last season, United were 6th in the league, with 25 pts, and that was 24 pts behind top of the table Liverpool. This season after 17 games, they’re on top, with 36 pts and three clear of Liverpool. Progress has been made, ans that’s undeniable.
Said man of the match Paul Pogba, who scored the game’s only goal: “I am always happy when I win, today we won so I am happy and I am happy we are top.”
The Frenchman is in fine form, and his revival has coincided with the Red Devils climbing the ladder up the standings.
“We know that the game today was very hard, very difficult and obviously we wanted to win,” he added.
“We know it’s not easy to play here. We got the three points and we’re happy for that, but there’s still a long way and now we focus again until the end of the season.”
Up next is a trip to arch-rivals Liverpool, and the Sunday matinee clash is looming as large as any league fixture in the past half-decade.
“What a brilliant position to be in,” said United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“We know it’s going to be hard but we’re ready and hungry which is good and we couldn’t have asked for a better time to go there.
“We go there knowing we’re playing the best team by a mile in the country in the last year and a half. We’re looking forward to it and it’s a great test of where we’re at against a good team.
“Of course we know we’re going to the champions, they’ve had an unbelievable three-and-a-half seasons so we know that’s going to be a difficult game for us but we’re ready for it.”
Solskjaer has done it. He’s brought it back, at least for now. You got to hand it to the Norwegian, and you got to tell the #OleOut crowd to eat a little crow.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.