Man Utd clicking in time for Christmas, can revived Red Devils rally to crash top four?

Man Utd top four odds appealing post Spurs

Nothing but victory would do for Manchester United against Tottenham at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, if Jose Mourinho’s men were to stay in the hunt for the Premier League top four. But cling onto that sliver of hope they did, albeit by the skin of their teeth. The festive fixture list could now be kind to the Portuguese’s contingent, with an important marker laid down versus the north Londoners.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s first-half rampage down the pitch to rifle past Hugo Lloris, almost a mirror image of his midweek Europa League strike, stirred the home crowd, but then proceedings began to take an all too familiar turn. Were United about to let slip another slender lead?

After Paul Pogba’s ferocious free-kick ricocheted violently off the bar, pressure was building and the script set for another last gasp goal to deflate Red Devil hopes. But… it never came.

There had been much talk of bad luck by the Northwest giants, that old gripe of playing well but not getting the rub of the green.

And it’s true lady luck did appear to have turned her fickle back in games such as Everton, when late penalty pain saw two points dropped, with more drama against Arsenal and also heroics from old boy Tom Heaton in Burnley’s net.

In reality, pundits could point to unadventurous and ill-advised late substitutions by Mourinho, lack of defensive organisation in crucial moments and wayward finishing. Which combined, looks less like a lack of luck and more akin to drooping confidence and over cautious play.