Gary Neville believes Manchester United have a 'great chance' of pipping Liverpool to a top-four place after they beat West Ham United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Marcus Rashford scored his fourth league goal of the season to push the Red Devils into fifth place, a point off Newcastle United in fourth, and seven above above ninth-placed Liverpool, who dropped yet more ground on their Champions League -chasing rivals after they were beaten 2-1 by Leeds United on Saturday evening. The defeat ended the Reds' 18-month unbeaten home league run and condemned them to their worst start to a season under Jurgen Klopp.
Results elsewhere over the weekend means the Anfield club are now closer to the bottom three than they are to a top-four spot with three of their four likely rivals joining Arsenal and Manchester City - who are first and second respectively - in picking up three points. Prior to Liverpool's late kick-off on Saturday night, Newcastle thumped Aston Villa 4-0, while Tottenham Hotspur came from 2-0 down at Bournemouth to win 3-2 in the dying minutes.
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Despite Chelsea losing at Brighton, a dismal weekend for Liverpool's European hopes got worse this afternoon when Erik Ten Hag's Man United team battled for a tight 1-0 win over the Hammer, increasing their unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions as they settle into life under the Dutch boss. And former Red Devils captain Neville believes that after a rocky start, his old side are in with a great shout of a top-four place come May - potentially at Liverpool's expense.
"I think they [Manchester United] have got a great chance of finishing in the top four now, great chance," Neville told Sky Sports after the final whistle at Old Trafford. "I think there’s enough around Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham for United to feel confident that they can really push through that bunch. I never would’ve thought that four, five weeks ago."
Liverpool will hope to close the gap somewhat before the league breaks for the World Cup in two weeks time. Klopp's side face a trip to Spurs next Sunday before a home game against Southampton on the final day before players head to Qatar. Man United face Aston Villa and Fulham, while Tottenham's fixture after next weekend sees them host Leeds.
Newcastle go to Southampton next weekend before hosting Chelsea, who welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge next weekend before they head up to St James' Park.
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