On some occasions, we earn revenue from content. This commercial content is compiled via expert opinion. Clicking in certain hyperlinks within this article will redirect you to a 3rd party.
It may only be December, but it has already proven to be a rocky road for Manchester United supporters this season. More than a few fans of the club called for the head of inexperienced manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the back of a poor run.
The 46-year-old Norwegian appears to have turned the corner, however, and the Old Trafford board will hope their patience and understanding will be rewarded by a top four finish come the end of the season. Winning the Premier League title already appears to be beyond Man Utd, as Liverpool blaze a trail of glory, but the club are eyeing a return to Champions League football and there’s no reason why they can’t achieve that under the guidance of Solskjaer.
Followers of English football’s top-flight have witnessed a turnaround in fortunes for Manchester United in recent weeks and, with 16 games on the board, the club sit in fifth place, five points off Chelsea and the prize. Six wins, six draws and four defeats isn’t what Ole and his coaching staff would have hoped for, but 24 points gives them a fighting chance as we head into what will be a crucial festive period. It’s a cornerstone to build on for the reds.
Rashford making headlines
One man in particularly caught everyone’s eye during that upturn - the young striker Marcus Rashford. The 22-year-old forward sits amongst the Premier League leading scorers and will be an integral part to his team’s success.
Rashford has scored 10 goals and provided four assists so far this season, putting 51% of his shots on target. He signalled his return with a crucial goal against derby rivals Manchester City in a famous 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 7 December. Marcus kept his cool to score the opener from the penalty spot with 23 minutes on the clock to give his side the lead. Anthony Martial forced home a second minutes later before Nicolas Otamendi fired back for the beaten side late in the day.
The win over current champions Man City was the second game in quick succession where Rashford made headlines, downing Jose Mourinho’s Spurs earlier in the week. He starred against his former boss Mourinho at Old Trafford just three days previously, scoring a United beat Tottenham 2-1 in a gripping contest.
Striker scores to end Tottenham’s winning run
Rashford struck early to help end The Special One’s winning streak as Tottenham boss by firing home for a second time in the opening exchanges of the second half. Those goals came either side of a reply from Dele Alli in what was a tense encounter.
Both Man Utd and Rashford have got football fans talking. Betting firms focusing on football have reacted to his recent form and slashed the odds on the young striker winning the Premier League top goal scorer award in 2020.
Rashford to win the golden boot is sitting at 16/1 with bet365 and, keeping his recent scoring in mind, that will surely catch the eye of value hunters. There will be no interest in the red devils pulling off an epic upset and winning the Premier League – they are already 22 points behind leaders Liverpool – but the club remain contenders finish in the top four. Skybet trade a stunning 9/2 and that won’t go unnoticed.
Red devils target a strong finish
Man Utd have come through a tough run of fixtures in recent weeks but things appear to be easing and the games scheduled to take place between now and January suggest the red devils could finish what has been a difficult year on a high.
They host a struggling Everton side at Old Trafford on Sunday before travelling to relegation threatened Watford a week later. It’s then a home tie against Newcastle on Boxing Day, followed by a trip to Burnley in the squad’s finish outing of 2019. Solskjaer and his crew will believe they now have the confidence they need to ramp up the pressure on those sitting above them in the table.
The Herald encourages readers to gamble responsibly. For advice and information, please visit the BeGambleAware website here for free, confidential help.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article