It was a huge weekend in the Premier League, with results across the division having a major impact on all of the key questions still to be answered between now and the end of the campaign.
Manchester United secured a wonderful three points as they dispatched top-five rivals Chelsea to stretch the gap between themselves and Liam Rosenior’s side to ten points.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur found themselves in even deeper trouble at the bottom of the league, with Brighton’s last-gasp equaliser in the capital compounded by wins for Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.
Then there was the small matter of the title race on Sunday, with Manchester City flexing their muscles and heaping the pressure on Arsenal with a 2-1 win against the current league leaders, now making them favourites to end the season top of the tree.
As reported by Yahoo!, Arsenal’s defeat also had an impact on United, with Michael Carrick’s men now the only side in the league to boast a rather impressive stat.
After losing to Bournemouth last weekend, Arsenal’s damaging loss at the Etihad means United are the one remaining side who have not suffered back-to-back defeats throughout the campaign.
The stat does feel a little hollow given the sacking of Ruben Amorim in January and their disastrous showings in cup competitions this year.
However, United have made it to 33 games without losing two games in a row and have recovered from their woeful campaign last year to almost-certain Champions League qualification this season.
Should United carry the record on until the end of the May, they will have their ticket back to Europe’s top table secured and fancy their chances of what would be an excellent top-three finish.
Carrick’s side do face a tough-looking run-in, but with only five games left, they will expect to keep the stat intact and finish the season in the strongest form possible.
Furthermore, three of United’s remaining five games are at Old Trafford, which starts next Monday with the double-header of home games against Brentford and Liverpool respectively, next on the list.
United then travel to Sunderland, who will pose a threat after a fine season back in the English top flight, before entertaining Europa League semi-finalists Nottingham Forest at the Theatre of Dreams.
Should United avoid back-to-back defeats in their next three, only a loss against Forest would leave the record vulnerable heading into the final game of the campaign away at in-form Brighton.
Despite it not being a season to remember for the right reasons, United will use this undoubtedly notable achievement as a base to build on going into next term.
If they can turn some of the damaging draws into wins next year, who knows where they could finish, with the gap in quality between United and the top of the league not feeling as insurmountable as it did this time 12 months ago.
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