Matheus Cunha completely agrees with Darren Fletcher about Manchester United’s goal for the rest of the season as they prepare to face league leaders Arsenal.
Michael Carrick began his second interim spell as Manchester United manager with a 2–0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford.
United controlled much of the match and created enough chances to suggest the margin of victory could have been greater.
Following a series of disappointing results towards the end of Rúben Amorim’s tenure, the performance represented a marked improvement and was not widely anticipated beforehand.
Carrick set his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and handed Kobbie Mainoo his first start of the season after his absence under Amorim. Mainoo performed well in central midfield alongside Casemiro.
The match also saw Amad and Bryan Mbeumo return from AFCON duty. Both players featured on the right side and showed signs of their form from December, combining effectively during the game.
Cunha and Fletcher agree on Champions League ambitions
United’s convincing 2-0 win over Man City in the derby means the side sits in 5th, just one point behind Liverpool. Speaking after the game, Matheus Cunha spoke about the goal for the rest of the season, saying, “Now we have until the end of the season playing only the league, and our goal is to return to the Champions League. “It only depends on us, and we will give our best.”
The Brazilian echoed the statement made by Darren Fletcher during his two-game stint in charge of Manchester United, who, after their FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton, said: “It’s not a great moment. Yeah, let’s be honest, out of the cups early. But as I said, there’s still a Champions League place to fight for, and I still think that can be achieved this season.
“And it’s probably not what fans want to hear about Manchester United because you should be winning cups and challenging for the Premier League. But probably the objective this season, with the quality we’ve got and the league positions and how tight it is, they’ve still got a lot of league games left that they can achieve that.
“So, that should be [what] all their focus and energy is going into. Improving as a team, improving quickly, and don’t waste the season.”
No reason why Champions League isn’t achievable
Seven points separate Aston Villa in third from Liverpool in 4th, but from the Merseyside club to Fulham in 11th, there is just a five-point difference, showing how open the league is this season.
Manchester United currently sit in 5th on 35 points, in pole position for the final Champions League place, with it being expected that the Premier League will be given a fifth spot in Europe’s elite competition, given the performances of English sides.
Despite a string of disappointing results under Rúben Amorim, United are still very much in the race for Champions League football, and now find themselves with the advantage of playing just one game a week, having been eliminated from all of the domestic cup competitions, as well as not competing in any European competitions.
Champions League football is critical for a side that is looking to attract an elite manager at the end of this season, as well as elite midfield reinforcements, with names such as Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Elliot Andersom being linked with moves to Old Trafford in the summer.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.