Manchester United’s Three-Win Surge Reopens Title Debate
Manchester United’s recent run has put an unlikely Premier League title discussion on the agenda, even though the scale of the task remains clear.
United won three consecutive games in a fortnight, beating Manchester City at home, Arsenal away and Fulham at home. The nine-point return prompted a reassessment of what might be possible for the side led by interim head coach Michael Carrick, according to Sporting News journalist Joe Wright.
The 3-2 victory at the Emirates Stadium handed Arsenal their first home defeat of the season. United then recovered from surrendering a two-goal lead against Fulham on February 1, with Benjamin Sesko scoring the winner in another 3-2 success. That result left United fourth, five points behind Aston Villa in third, six behind Manchester City in second and 12 adrift of Arsenal.
An unlikely title conversation
United’s position made a title push difficult to frame as anything other than a long shot. Ruben Amorim had been sacked less than a month earlier, United had finished 15th in the previous season, and their campaign had included an EFL Cup elimination by League Two side Grimsby Town. They had also lost to 10-man Everton and drawn at home with West Ham and Wolves in December.
Overturning the gap to Arsenal would require a substantial swing in results. United would need the leading sides to drop points repeatedly while producing a level of consistency that had been beyond them for years. Opta’s prediction model gave United a 0.03% chance of winning the title.
Why the race remained open
There were nevertheless reasons to view the situation differently. Arsenal had gone three league games without a win before beating Leeds United. Manchester City had taken seven points from a possible 18 in 2026, while Aston Villa had won two of their previous six matches. Chelsea had also gone five league games without a win between December 20 and January 7, and Liverpool had struggled for consistency.
United also had a lighter schedule than their rivals. With no domestic cup or European competition to balance, they had 14 matches remaining, all in the league, fewer than the other teams in the top five. Patrick Dorgu and Matthijs de Ligt were the longer-term injury absentees identified at the time.
By February 8, United would have played Arsenal, City and Tottenham twice, as well as away matches against Aston Villa and Liverpool. Their more demanding remaining fixtures included away games against Newcastle United and Chelsea, plus Liverpool at Old Trafford. Arsenal, City and other rivals still had league commitments alongside cup and European fixtures.
The bigger picture
United’s three wins changed the tone around their season, but they did not alter the basic mathematics of the title race. The team needed to win most of its remaining games and rely on multiple setbacks for those above them.
The immediate test was whether United could sustain their improved results. A failure to beat an inconsistent Tottenham side in the following fixture would quickly make the title discussion look premature. But with several leading teams showing vulnerability and United able to focus solely on league football, the possibility could not be dismissed entirely.
