Manchester United end round in relegation zone for first time in 40 years

Manchester United dropped into the Premier League relegation zone without playing on Saturday (7), according to Trivela. Nottingham Forest's 3-1 win over Manchester City lifted Oliver Glasner's side out of the bottom three and pushed the Red Devils into 18th place. United stayed there after drawing 4-4 with Aston Villa on Sunday (8).

Before the 10th round, United were outside the relegation zone only on goal difference. Michael Carrick's team had seven points after nine matches, two more than Sunderland and one more than Forest.

Trivela reported that United ended Saturday in the bottom three after playing at least nine matches of an English top-flight season for the first time since November 1986, when the club was 21st after 15 games of the old First Division. That month was also marked by Ron Atkinson's departure and Sir Alex Ferguson's arrival; Ferguson recovered the team and led United to 11th that season.

The result contrasts with United's 3-2 comeback win over Roma in the Champions League in midweek. Against Villa at Old Trafford, a win would have lifted United to at least 16th, but they fell 2-0 and then 4-2 behind before equalising in stoppage time. The report said the board had already decided to wait until the November international break before taking a definitive position on Carrick's future, making the Villa match the last test before that review.