ATHENS – Thanks to a stunning 2-0 loss to Olympiakos in Greece, Manchester United’s Champions League hopes are in serious jeopardy.
Going into the first leg of their Champions League knockout fixture in Greece, United sit in sixth position and 15 points of table leaders, Chelsea. Not only is United 15 points off the top of the table, but also they are 11 points off Liverpool who sit in fourth position.
No United fan would have believed this if they heard it at the start of the season.
With 11 games left in the season, United have fixtures against Everton, Liverpool, and their derby rivals, Manchester City. Those are three games where United might not gain many points. The most amount of points United can possibly get after 11 games is 33, and realistically they will not get all 33 points.
For the sake of the article, let’s say United gain all 33 points. Considering that United have 45 points, adding 33 would only give them 78 points. Typically, 78 points would qualify a team for a Champions League place, but this season it could be unlikely.
Plus, the chance of United not dropping a single point between now and the end of the season is highly unlikely. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and City have logistically locked up the top four this season. Spurs are the only team capable of possibly overtaking one of the big dogs in the top four, but considering they are six points off, this United side just isn’t what it has been in the past five years.
The last five years, United has averaged 86.6 points a season. That number is nine points higher than what United are capable of even without dropping a single point. This year, United is just not capable of catching up to one of the big dogs in the Premier League this season.
Considering numbers never lie, their current domestic form and lackluster effort in Greece, it is highly unlikely United have a chance to finish in the top four in England and qualify for the Champions League in 2015.
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