~Snip~
But is that now a sign of strength or weakness when a team struggles with those teams the most that they know the best... This sounds counterintuitive and it probably is. Manchester United had some average games in the Europa League that were enough to win them while the same performances doesn't bring them any points in the domestic league as the teams in the Premier League, on average, are stronger than the teams in the Europa League that they played against.
I still have no strong opinion about them in the Europa League. They are still around and therefore will have their chance, but I don't consider them the favorite in this competition.
It is very difficult to predict which direction Man United will go in the future, but one thing is for sure, they are still in this competition and that is very good for them. However, if we talk about the favorite team, Man United is clearly not included in that list, they are still less competitive with other teams, especially since there are several teams that are dark horses such as AZ Alkmaar.
Man United must overcome the obstacle of Real Sociedad if they want to survive longer in the UEL, but in my opinion, their chances are very slim.