Late Tackle: Premier League race at risk of becoming boring after Chelsea beat Man United

IT’S a strange day when a Manchester United defeat makes the Premier League less exciting. Who’s got the balls to stand up to City?

Boring, boring Jose? A rich man’s Louis van Gaal. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

IT is a strange day when a Manchester United defeat makes the Premier League a little less exciting.

It’s not quite schadenfreude. Is there a word for deriving pleasure from watching someone you don’t like in trouble but also knowing that will have a negative effect in your wide enjoyment? It’s complicated but if anyone can pull it off, it’s the Germans.

Chelsea’s victory over United brings a little thrill to those legions of Mourinho haters — but it is tinged with a sign of frustration as it only lengthens Manchester City’s lead of the top of table.

Eight points isn’t unassailable — this isn’t La Liga, we’re talking about.

But given how City are flying and the wild resources at Guardiola’s disposal, it’s difficult to see where the break in the waves might come.

VIDEO: Watch all the weekend’s Premier League goals

Alvaro Morata did more than just hurt United. AFP Photo / Adrian Dennis

Take quick look at the City’s fixture list — between now and January, City only play two top-four teams; the derby on 11 December, then hosting Tottenham on 17 December.

Beyond that, it’s cannon fodder. Grist to the mill. Twitter to Trump. Pep Guardiola’s side will just own it.

What’s interesting is how the teams below them appear to be shooting themselves in the foot then tripping each other up as they try to drag themselves back up.

United hold Liverpool. Liverpool get smashed by Spurs. United nick Spurs. Chelsea nick United. Arsenal just kinda mooch around with the big boys, trying to look cool but hoping no one notices them. And are pretty sorry when they do ...

Boring, boring Jose? A rich man’s Louis van Gaal. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Mourinho’s struggles at United have become fascinating. Having rebuilt the club into the big red steamroller of old, United have, surprisingly, run out of steam.

For all that money spent, they look just as stodgy as the David Moyes-era United or the Louis van Gaal-era United. Capable of standing up to the best but never able to conjure that white-knuckled, freewheeling spirit of Ferguson that would overwhelm their rivals. And it’s not all down to Paul Pogba’s injury.

Chelsea, for all their problems — largely the fitness of N’Golo Kante — are hanging on like Rocky Balboa, a bloodied champion who won’t fall over. Antonio Conte was heralded as a genius for guiding that squad to the premiership. What could he do if given the funds to rebuild?

But that won’t happen this season and, if rumours are correct, who knows if the Italian will be around for the next.

Liverpool have perhaps learned from the Spurs bashing. Even against an admittedly awful West Ham side Jurgen Klopp’s side were much more compact without the ball, and once again devastating with it.

In three games since the Tottenham trouncing, the Reds have scored 10 goals and conceded just one. That’s not a bad rebound. But until they prove it against a team above them on the table, Liverpool remain suspect — and a perceived frailty can be just as a dangerous as a real one. 

So it falls to Spurs, who also failed to do just that against United last week. The Champions League victory over Real Madrid was a magical moment for Mauricio Pochettino’s team. Their quality is evident.

Somehow, victory over Crystal Palace didn’t come quite so easily.

But they must be as callous as Guardiola’s City, running their rivals over, all the while tooting the horn, playing obnoxious music and throwing their trash out the window on their opponents’ front lawn.

They failed to do this on their first trip to Manchester. So the league needs them to turn up all speakers blaring on 17 December. Otherwise, this Christmas won’t be very exciting at all.

Originally published as Late Tackle: Premier League race at risk of becoming boring after Chelsea beat Man United