Following Manchester United’s comprehensive 2-0 win over top four rivals Tottenham Hotspur, former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has weighed in on the race for Champions League football, making Erik ten Hag’s team favourites to land a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
In his column for LiveScore, Lescott has hailed Antony’s impact after joining from Ajax, with the ‘old-fashioned winger’ set to score the goals to take United back to the big time.
“I wasn’t sold on Manchester United’s top-four prospects at the start of the season – but now I think the Red Devils are up to the task.
“For the first time in a long time, you are expecting United to get the job done against a lot of teams. They are rediscovering the habit of grinding out victories.
“Of course, this has still only been a six- or seven-week period of positive results. They still have to show it is more than just a good run of form.
“The City defeat was a stark reminder of why they aren’t yet title contenders, but I do think things are moving in the right direction.”
Speaking about Antony, Lescott added: “Antony’s impact has been really impressive.
“He’s a bit of an old-fashioned winger in the way that he looks to pick up the ball on the half-turn and just run at his man.
“Most importantly, he’s shown a goalscoring touch and even in the games he hasn’t netted, he is offering a constant threat.”
I also think that has always been Ten Hag’s aim this season – to get United back in the Champions League!
Stretty News verdict
I think it is far too early to be talking about top four prospects and right now we need to be focused on being in the top four when the World Cup kick-offs.
Beating Chelsea on Saturday would help us achieve that and give Ten Hag’s team good ground to stand on as we approach 2023.
I, for one, fancy our chances of achieving Champions League football next season. We are a lot better than what we were last season.
