Martin Keown: What gives Man United edge in the title race
The Arsenal legend is confident Manchester United can grind out some key results in the Premier League title race
Martin Keown is confident the Manchester United squad know-how to grind out some key results in the second half of the 2017-18 season.
The 20-time English champions have made a brilliant start to the current campaign following six wins and two stalemates in their opening eight fixtures.
Manchester United had scored 21 times and kept six clean sheets before Saturday’s trip to Liverpool to underline their title credentials.
Indeed, the Red Devils started the weekend level on points with Manchester City and six points clear of defending champions Chelsea.
However, Mourinho’s men produced a defensive performance in a 0-0 draw at Liverpool as Manchester United dropped two points behind Manchester City, who were 7-2 winners against Stoke City.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho won the Premier League title three times during two spells in charge at Chelsea.
Mourinho’s success was in part to the west London side’s ability to grind out close-fought victories in the business end of their title-winning seasons.
And ex-Arsenal defender Keown warned Mourinho’s current Manchester United crop that their title challenge won’t be as seamless as the opening seven weeks of the campaign.
“There are already similarities between this season and Jose Mourinho’s title-winning campaign with Chelsea in 2014-15,” Keown told the Daily Mail.
“Then, Chelsea had a relatively easy start which allowed the team to build up momentum and play with more freedom.
“After Christmas, we started to see the hard-fought victories that are associated with Mourinho teams.
“This season, the easier start has helped United really express themselves — but this team also knows how to grind out results.”
Manchester United haven’t won the Premier League title since 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
