Manchester United closed to within two points of the top four thanks to Anthony Martial’s hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Sheffield United on Wednesday as Liverpool hope to move to the brink of a first title in 30 years.
Victory for Jurgen Klopp’s men over Crystal Palace at Anfield will mean Manchester City have to win at Chelsea on Thursday to deny the Reds being crowned champions.
United are still far off challenging again for titles at the top of the table, but there are growing signs of momentum for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men as they extended their unbeaten run to 13 games.
Martial produced two predatory first-time finishes before half-time to put the Red Devils in command.
Sheffield United were riding high in March before football’s shutdown for three months, but the Blades have now picked up just one point and failed to score in their three games since the restart.
United could have piled on much more pain after the break, but were content with one more goal as Martial completed his first career hat-trick with a cheeky chip from Marcus Rashford’s pass.
“Very happy for Anthony. Of course when you get your hat-trick, it’s just unfortunate he didn’t celebrate with our fans,” Solskjaer said.
“The third goal was a great goal, but for me the first and the second were better.
“He’s in the box, ready to go. We have worked on that, getting in the box in that situation more often.
“I thought our performance deserved a win, definitely.”
Fifth-place could still be good enough for a place in next season’s Champions League depending on the outcome of City’s appeal against a two-season ban from European competition.
