Manchester United no longer in title contention, says Red Devils legend

Gary Neville says Manchester United are not and do not want to be in contention for the title. Erik ten Hag is said to have confirmed this by selecting the starting eleven in the game against Leeds.

The Red Devils took all three points from Elland Road on Sunday afternoon after Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho fired their team to a 2-0 win late in the game.

Erik ten Hag’s charges were able to cope with their opponents without key defenders Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. Somewhat surprisingly, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw appeared in the midfield.

According to Gary Neville, former Manchester United star and current football presenter, this choice speaks clearly about United’s goals this season, which are not to attack the league title but the Europa League.

“I honestly don’t think they are in contention for the Premier League title,” the legendary United player said after the game on Sky Sports.

“Erik ten Haga’s priority is the Barcelona game. He has rested Martinez and Varane ahead of that game and put Shaw and Maguire at centre-back instead. If he thought he could still win the Premier League, he would of course have it as a priority, but he doesn’t.

The Red Devils managed the Leeds game even with a changed stopper, but I don’t think they can win the Premier League. They still have a lot of games to play and in my opinion they are not at the level of Manchester City and Arsenal at the moment,” Neville added.

Although the Red Devils have closed to within five points of first-placed Arsenal, the Gunners still have two games in hand, while Manchester City have a two-point lead over their city rivals and one game in hand.

At the moment, Manchester United’s best chances of winning valuable metals are cup competitions such as the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and also the Europa League. United will face Barcelona in the already mentioned Europa League on Thursday at Camp Nou and three days after that they host Leicester City in the Premier League.

Source: Goal, Twitter