Manchester United may not have been in the Champions League tonight, but their season has been heavily impacted by one of the results this evening
Michael Carrick would have had a keen eye on the Champions League fixtures last night(Image: 2026 Charlotte Wilson/Offside)
Arsenal’s win against Sporting means fifth will be enough for Manchester United to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The Gunners needed a draw or a victory in Lisbon this evening to ensure the Premier League topped the UEFA co-efficient rankings.
Defeat for Mikel Arteta’s side would have put the onus on Liverpool against Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow evening, with a draw or a victory for the Merseysiders being enough to top the table. However, Arsenal’s 1-0 victory in Portugal has guaranteed the Premier League an unassailable lead at the top of the rankings.
This is a huge boost for United as it means a fifth-placed finish will be enough to qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
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Michael Carrick’s side are comfortably lodged in third position, but Arsenal’s performance this evening gives the Reds an extra layer of security in regard to the race for Champions League qualification.
This was provided by Kai Havertz’s late goal for the north Londoners in Lisbon. The German’s late strike wrapped up a 1-0 away victory for Arteta’s side and ensured at least five Premier League teams will be among the 36 sides in next season’s competition.
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Carrick’s side are back in action in the Premier League this weekend. They travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in west London.
The Blues, who are currently sixth in the table, would have also been buoyed by the Gunners’ result, although their margin for error is much smaller than United’s. While the Arsenal result is undoubtedly good news for United, Carrick will not allow his players to rest on their laurels.
Before the international break, the United interim manager warned his stars they have to aim for a much higher finish than fifth position. The ex-United midfielder said: “We just need everything we’ve got fully flat down on the floor, there’s no other way.
“It might change, it might not. There needs to be quite a big swing for it to not be fifth but, ultimately, that’s not something that we can control.
“Ideally, we’d like to be fighting above that anyway. So we’re not in the mindset of what’s going to be enough. It’s literally game by game and trying to win.
“It sounds really obvious, but you can’t plan for if you finish fourth or fifth. You’re going to the next game, and we’re all in on this game.
“It’s not something you can plan for really is what I’m getting at. So if we keep our heads up, be really positive and focus on what we can achieve and try and move up the table, it’s a lot better place to have that mindset for.”
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