José Mourinho’s team have already won the League Cup and are in a good position to qualify for the Champions League – but it is very difficult to judge how good they are
There is probably a meandering long-read thesis to be written on the different responses to the same match of football fans inside the ground and those who watch remotely. Wayne Rooney is routinely cheered at Old Trafford. Outside it he is a divisive figure among the diaspora, victim perhaps of unfavourable TV direction, short attention spans and boredom. Defeats are often met with cheers and warmth inside a ground, recognition of the effort expended. The same result, flashed up solely as a scoreline will draw shrieks of betrayal at one digital remove.
In similar vein, a gruelling late-season point at Manchester City on Thursday night was met with sustained applause from the large group of United supporters. Naturally there will be overlaps and crossovers. But the away fans saw doggedness and fight in a match that was a disappointment to the TV spectator, bringing as it did a combined total of 150 tackles, fouls, clearances and interceptions, but little in the way of devil, dash and otherwise swanking across the stage in a velvet cape juggling a bone china dinner service.
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