Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has apologised to fans after his team were beaten 4-0 by Everton at Goodison Park to severely dent their hopes of finishing in the top four.
They remain two points off Arsenal, who were still to play Crystal Palace at home on the afternoon of Sunday April 21 immediately after their heavy loss to the Toffees.
Chelsea play on Monday night against Burnley and will be hoping to put daylight between themselves and their former title rivals.
Despite losing 1-0 to Manchester City on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur will feel confident about their own chances of finishing in the Champions League qualification spots, largely due to the United's recent failings.
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The defeat to Everton meant that they have now lost three of their last six games in all competitions since Solskjaer was made the permanent manager.
He had initially been appointed on an interim basis to replace Jose Mourinho in December 2018.
"From the first whistle everything went wrong," said the Norwegian to Sky Sports after the game. "I just want to apologise to the fans.
"They’re the only people with the badge on today who can hold their head high, because we can't.
"Everton were better than us at all the basics. There are so many things that we need to do better to get a result. Talent has never been enough.
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"We just didn’t perform. That was not worthy of a Manchester United team. We hold our hands up and apologise to everyone associated with the club.
"We have a perfect chance to make amends on Wednesday [against Manchester City]."
In additional post-match comments, reported by the Manchester Evening News , Solskjaer added: "We have been fantastic for long periods and it's a tough league to get into the top four, never mind winning the league - there are six teams there and Everton want to be in there.
"You have got to start somewhere and we will give it everything we have got with the last four games - massive games with City and Chelsea coming to Old Trafford - that’s where we get the best support in the world.
"We can turn it around, in football like in life things can change quickly. We have got to change it from bad to good."
United's mid-week derby match at Old Trafford is their game in hand, and Solskjaer will need to go all out to beat the Premier League champions to claw back ground on Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs in the race for top four.
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However, no matter whether they win, lose or draw against City, the 20-time champions will know that they will be granting an advantage to two of their fiercest rivals.
A victory would leave Liverpool with the chance to lift the title for the first time in the Premier League era. It would be their 19th topflight title in total, bringing them within one win of levelling United's record haul.
Meanwhile City boss Pep Guardiola is looking to become only the third manager to win back-to-back titles in the English game since the launch of the Premier League.
He would join Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson in an elite group of coaches to have defended a title win in this era.
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