Manchester United’s slender hopes of a top-four finish were ended in shambolic fashion when they surrendered an early lead to relegated Huddersfield, allowing the club marooned at the bottom of the table with 14 points to claim a wholly unexpected 15th.
Not that much has gone for the Terriers in their two-season stay in the Premier League, but at least the side that shares the early relegation with Derby County can take pride in taking four points from Manchester United in two league meetings at the John Smith’s stadium. Huddersfield won this fixture last season, and despite a shocking start to the game they had their chances in the second half to cause a similar shock.
In the circumstances they were more than happy with a draw, however, which is more than can be said for United. Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side were hoping to stay in contention until the final day of the season at least, but this result coupled with Chelsea’s win against Watford means a Champions League placing is now out of reach.
United had no one to blame but themselves. They played some good stuff in the first half, mainly because they were allowed to, with Juan Mata, Paul Pogba and even Alexis Sánchez finding it easy to slice through the home defence. Yet in terms of end product the visitors were almost as ineffective as Huddersfield themselves, and only turned round in front because Jonas Lössl failed to make a routine save from Scott McTominay’s speculative shot.
It was the sort of mistake David de Gea has been making of late. Lössl was probably unsighted as McTominay sent a shot goalwards from the edge of a crowded area, but even so an effort of no great pace went straight through the goalkeeper to give United an early lead.
De Gea himself retained his place in the United goal, as Solskjær had promised, though if the idea was to help rebuild his confidence he had to wait until the 40th minute, when a Phil Jones mistake led to a shooting chance for Karlan Grant, for an attempt on target to deal with.
De Gea duly saved with his legs, probably leaving the striker feeling he could have done better with the sort of opportunity Huddersfield have been failing to put away all season.
Pogba headed against the bar just before the interval, and Marcus Rashford might have been sharper to react at the near post when Sánchez beat Erik Durm to a ball the defender thought was rolling dead, though United were unable to translate their clear superiority into goals and on occasions Pogbas and Sánchez were downright wasteful in possession.
A better team than Huddersfield might have made them pay early in the second half when Sánchez gave the ball away on halfway and Juninho Bacuna drove purposefully towards goal, but instead of returning his pass Grant blazed high over the bar.
United still felt safe enough to send on Ander Herrera for Nemanja Matic and Tahith Chong when Sánchez went down injured, but just past the hour Huddersfield hit them with a route one sucker punch. With everyone but Luke Shaw up for a corner, Lössl caught Mata’s cross and punted the ball downfield, where the bounce eluded the defender’s attempt to cut out the danger and allowed Isaac Mbenza to run on and place a shot under De Gea for his first Huddersfield goal.
The stadium erupted, Huddersfield fans having had little to cheer in recent weeks, and when a chant went round the ground reminding the visitors that they were playing a relegated side some of the United supporters joined in.
Arsenal’s hopes of a top-four finish are all but over after their 1-1 draw against Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday.
While Unai Emery’s could still equal Tottenham’s points tally of 70 on the final day with a victory at Burnley and defeat for their north London rivals at home to Everton, they would still require an eight-goal swing, which is highly unlikely.
Brighton came into this match on a high after Cardiff’s defeat at home to Crystal Palace ensured they would remain in the Premier League and were able to play without pressure.
However, they were behind on nine minutes thanks to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty after Brighton’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh had fouled Nacho Monreal.
But, Arsenal failed to add a second and conceded a penalty of their own 61 minutes when Granit Xhakabrought down Solly March — and Glenn Murray made no mistake from 12 yards.
The home side piled on the pressure after Brighton’s equaliser and Aubameyang in particular was guilty of a shocking miss — while Brighton’s Pascal Gross blazed over when it appeared easier to score.
Arsenal still have the chance to play Champions League football next season, as success in the Europa League would mean a place in Europe’s premier competition.
Brighton stay 17th, but will be playing Premier League football for a third consecutive campaign.
