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| Juan Mata and Mkhitaryan turned on the style to help United ease past Leicester City |
At least there is consistency in the fact that Manchester United are now 15 league games unbeaten in the premier league. In isolation, that is no mean feat considering the nature of the English top division. Indeed, United are the only club in the league without at least one defeat in the past 10 league games.
Ironically, that unbeaten run has not really been in tandem with the club's Champions league ambitions this term. The number of sterile draws that the club have suffered within that run has ensured that they have been in the same league position for the best part of five months of the season.
The projections for the final league standings in May have United in 6th place simply because a familiar trajectory of results in the first half of the season will leave the club firmly at the bottom of the summit's mini-league.
That predicament will in no minor terms be down to the club's profligacy. The Red Devils are the league's worst chance conversion side and as a result have scored less goals than all the teams above them and quite a few below them. Except that it hasn't always been the story even in this unusual of all seasons.
At the King Power Stadium last night, Manchester United were as ruthless with their chance conversion as we've known, so much so that the game was won within the final 88 seconds of the first half. A couple of sucker punches when it looked like the game was heading into the now familiar stalemate at halftime were enough to deflate the Champions. That venomous accuracy was maintained at the start of the interval to effectively render the second half useless.What fans would give for consistency in putting away chances between now and the end of the season. Given the weaknesses that sit above us in the league, even a run of three or four wins from hereon would dramatically change our league campaign. Such is the inconsistency among the five of the top six clubs. Incredibly, United could still finish the campaign in second place with just five points separating second placed Spurs and sixth placed United.
All that though rests on finding a consistency in chance conversion that has eluded United up to this point of the season. It's difficult to come up with more than a couple of games this term in which United have been dominated to the extent of being denied chances. It is therefore frustrating that the club is miles off the pace when the software is in place to do so much better. At the moment it feels its a case of touch and go if United will drop their casualness and turn on the mean face. Like many of the sides above them, it has left inconsistency as the only thing consistent about 2016/17. We can't really put a finger on how and where it will end. But at least we can cross that finger and hope that the team finds its ruthless self consistently.