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Manchester United edged out Everton to win a crucial three points on Monday night.
The 1-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium demonstrated great character and courage, even though the team struggled for large parts of the game.
Former player turned pundit Gary Neville gave his view on the match while speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast for Sky Sports.
High expectations
After watching United return to fourth place in the league and move just three points behind third-placed Aston Villa, Neville was optimistic about the Red Devils’ end to the season.
He explained, “there was a period for about five or six weeks where they played games where you kept thinking they could go into the top four and they didn’t. And now they are, they’ve got an incredible opportunity to finish in the top four.”
Neville continued, “I think they will. The other teams start playing in Europe, they’ve got distractions. United haven’t got any distractions.”
Getting the job done
The former defender was hardly complimentary of the performance on the night, but he did explain that the team is now getting the job done, something they would not have managed earlier in the season.
He went on to add, “I think they could finish third, I really do think they could finish third. I said a couple of weeks ago I thought Villa might just get pulled back a little bit. These teams have got European football in front of them and that’s a big distraction. Manchester United don’t have that and I think they’re in a decent place.”
Strong spirit in the camp
Neville was also quick to praise the attitude of the players and claimed they look like they are in a good place at the moment.
He elaborated, “they’re winning when they play well, they’re winning when they don’t play well, they’re picking up a point when they didn’t play well at West Ham, so all the right things are starting to happen.”
Neville finished by stating that he knows at times this season he has said United have no chance of Champions League football, but it is a “bizarre” season with teams regularly dropping points all over the show.
Finally, he added that United are now in “pole position” to finish in a Champions League place this season, which could be transformative for their future plans.
The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
