Manchester United are on course to finish second in the Premier League.Barring a monumental decline in their final seven games, the Red Devils will be able to toast their joint-highest finish in England's top-flight since Sir Alex Ferguson hung up his hairdryer in 2013.It's a pretty impressive achievement really, particularly when you consider Manchester City essentially ran away with the competition courtesy of a yawning unbeaten run over the winter.

Man Utd's 2020/21 season

However, despite the great swathes of positives to take from United's season, there's a surprising atmosphere of, well, 'meh' around Old Trafford with many supporters feeling rather underwhelmed.

And it's not as though rival fans are quaking in their boots either because there actually seems to be more hype surrounding Chelsea and West Ham United than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men.

Take from that what you will, but it's clear that many supporters are skeptical of United's success and one reason you might hear to explain that fact is their track record with referees.

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Are Man Utd lucky with referees?

We've all heard the old stories of how officials almost never gave penalties against United at Old Trafford, but that tired narrative has evolved into 'VARchester United' during the modern era.

Sure, the glut of penalties that Bruno Fernandes readily dispatches might have dried up in recent months, but there's still an uneasy feeling that the Red Devils get the rub of the green.

Whether that's Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial shouldering accusations of diving or Harry Maguire 'getting away' with controversial incidents, we've all seen claims of the likes across social media.

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Twitter thread defending Man Utd

But I bet you'd be more surprised to learn that a Twitter thread, which has attracted real attention in its first few hours of existence, has pedalled the counterargument that United aren't in fact lucky.

I can picture Liverpool fans reaching for their picket signs and Gooners searching for their pitchforks already, but let's hear it out because Twitter user @josephhowes77 makes an intriguing case.

So, without further ado, check out the full Twitter thread down below to see if it changes your mind about United's fortunes in the Premier League:

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Forget VARchester United, more like United have been VARd done by. I'll see myself out...


GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

Now, look, I'll be the first person to pick faults with VAR, but let this Twitter thread show that the unpredictability of the technology often means that it's swings and roundabouts for the 20 clubs.

While there's no getting away from the fact that United have won an inordinate amount of penalties, you only have to look at the evidence above to see that they've suffered tough calls too. 

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And you've got to credit the United fan for showing both sides of the story, happily highlighting the decisions that they were lucky alongside those that were cruel. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, if you like.

So, sure, I don't doubt for a second that the Premier League would look a very different place without VAR, but one can't help feeling that it'd be the same old lottery either way.