LONDON — One defeat hardly constitutes a crisis but when English champion Manchester United loses 1-0 to newly promoted Burnley, it inevitably dominates the back pages and phone-ins.
Suddenly United's game at Wigan Athletic is a must-win match and that, incredibly, is not an overreaction. There are 114 points available to each team in the Premier League and in recent years the champion has amassed around 90 to lift the title.
Already United and Liverpool, which lost at Tottenham on the opening weekend, have lost one-eighth of their "allowed" total. To drop six points after three games would give little room for error in the remaining 35 matches.