Liverpool losing a game of football is generally a reason for Manchester United fans to revel in some schadenfreude, and plenty of them will inevitably have done so after Jurgen Klopp’s side were thrashed at home by Atalanta on Thursday night.
Indeed, darts maestro Luke Littler – an avid Red Devils supporter – took to Instagram after the result to poke fun at the Merseysiders, but what he and his fellow Old Trafford brethren mightn’t have realised is that the heavy loss could actually have a negative impact on his club.
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As noted by The Mirror, the defeats for LFC and West Ham in the Europa League last night have seen England’s coefficient remain beneath Italy and Germany, the nations who are currently on track to take the two Champions League berths reserved for fifth-place domestic finishers.
There’s still time for the Premier League to nudge ahead of the Bundesliga for the second such slot, but Liverpool’s chastening result has made that less likely to happen.
As things currently stand in the Premier League, sixth-placed United are currently 11 points behind both Tottenham (fourth, having played the same number of matches) and Aston Villa (fifth, having played one game more) with 21 more points for which to play.
Winning their fixture in hand on Unai Emery’s side to bring them within eight points of fifth place would offer renewed hope of leapfrogging the Midlanders, but making up a double-digit gap to Spurs without the luxury of an extra match seems a tall order at this stage of the season.
Although the Red Devils staged a late resurgence to pip Leicester for a top-four finish in 2019/20, they’ll need an extraordinary turnaround to catch both Tottenham and Villa from hereon, whereas usurping one of them might still be viable.
If Liverpool were to pull off a phenomenal comeback in Italy next Thursday and go on to win the Europa League – in tandem with fellow English clubs going the distance in the other European tournaments – that could yet see fifth place be enough for Champions League qualification.
As it stands, though, the Reds’ humiliation last night has lessened United’s chances of featuring in Europe’s premier club competition in 2024/25. Maybe those Red Devils fans sneering at our woes should actually be seething at the impact it could have on their own wildly inconsistent team.
Do not expect any less from short-sighted Manure supporters and players alike. Are they even in any European competition!!!!????
The truth is the Mancs need us, to bring the best out of them which is not much.