At Christmas, the superstar of the Premier League season was undoubtedly Manchester United’s main man Robin Van Persie.
He was scoring for fun: long-range and close-range goals; volleys; headers; important goals. You name it, he’d scored it. He was the key difference between United and their rivals Manchester City, and his last-minute free-kick against them in December was a big moment in the title battle.
However, in the last 10 games the Dutchman has failed find the back of the net, looking fatigued and slow in the last few weeks. His finishing was so good at one stage in the season you just knew he would score when the ball came his way, but now he looks lacking in confidence when key chance fall his way.
There is no doubt that Van Persie’s decline in form has affected United’s performances too. They are suddenly lacking an attacking threat without the 29-year-old in the awesome form he showed before 2013 rolled around. He has missed amazing chances in massive matches against Real Madrid and Chelsea of late, which has helped influence his side getting knocked out of both the Champions League and FA Cup.
With the Premier League title safely in United’s hands this campaign, Van Persie has an individual award to play for: the Premier League top scorer, or Golden Boot as it’s known. He currently stands three goals behind Liverpool’s Luis Suarez in the rankings, and if he is to stand a chance of beating the Uruguayan he needs to find his ‘A game’ sooner rather than later.