-Johan
Full Time Score: Everton
0 – 3 Manchester United
The
build-up to the Everton match was not ideal for Manchester United. There was Ashley Young who was out injured and the little ego
issue with Memphis Depay who seemed to think he is already a Manchester United legend “slaying
giants” as per his own tweet 3 weeks ago.
Louis van Gaal
had to act decisively and his team selection could not have been more decisive.
Blind, Valencia and Memphis were all dropped and replaced by Phil Jones, Marcos
Rojo and Ander Herrera. Anthony Martial moved to the left, Rooney assumed the lone
striker position while Jones and Rojo cemented center back and left back
respectively.
From the
whistle, Manchester United looked a much more improved unit from what we have seen the entire
season. The chemistry between the players was excellent, the fluidity of play
was quick and accurate and the team played with freedom and confidence. The
triangle between Herrera, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin created the
impression that they had been playing together for years. Mr. Calm dictated
play from center midfield while Herrera and Schneiderlin seemed to find acres
of space behind Everton’s midfield line while chasing the ball around the park.
Herrera
showed of his class when he went close early in the game from just outside the
box and Howard tipped it over the bar. The resulting corner saw a training
ground move easily cleared by Everton but it was in the direction of Rojo who
attempted to volley it towards the goal-post. His attempt hit Chris Smalling who showed excellent
vision to play it to the unmarked Morgan Schneiderlin who buried the ball in the top
right hand corner.
Soon
after it was Rojo and Herrera at it again with Rojo running onto a pass after
Coleman took out Martial. The referee, to his credit, played the advantage and
Rojo pinpointed his cross to Herrera who had made a run from center field and
calmly headed the ball in the bottom right hand corner of the net. Howard has
no chance.
Everton
launched a counter and it was clear to see that they were targeting De Gea.
Lakaku and De Gea went for a cross and the latter received an elbow on the jaw
for his efforts. Everton will argue it was a 50/50 ball, but soon after Everton
had a corner and Naismith was blown for a foul on De Gea when he deliberately
leaned in as the ball was crossed.
Herrera
was terrorizing the Everton midfield throughout the first half and in the 30th
minute Rooney ran onto a through ball from Darmian with the defense trying
desperately to target Herrera. Rooney ran down the right flank and then into
the box, drawing the two defenders before slipping a pass to Martial who
clipped the ball goal wards but it was saved on the line and the score remained
2-0 United.
Barkley
and Galloway combined well towards the end of the half to create and opportunity
but Smalling was an absolute beast in defense. The combination of Smalling and
Jones looked far more solid and settled than when partnered with Blind and
Everton struggled to break the line. The corner was taken by Barkley and the
initial clearance came back to Barkley who decided to dribble into the box and
rifle a shot at goal. De Gea had to react quickly and made a jumping one handed
save.
It turned out to be a game of two halves. For all of the dominance and controlled
play United showed in the first half, it dissolved when the first half ended. Everton
came out and played a more attacking game and it result in the first
opportunity for goal in the second half when Lakaku was open on the far post
from a free kick but failed to put it away.
Barkley
had a great game for Everton and put a pass through to Lennon on the right whose
cross found Lakaku but his shot was blocked De Gea.
Everton
kept bombing the United goal but in the 60th minute it was the man
of day, Herrera, again who made a delightful pass to Rooney who showed a
glimpse of the Rooney-of-old when he collected the pass, drove forward and
expertly finished it off with the ball torpedoed into the net despite Howard
getting a hand on it.
Eight
minutes later it could have been 4 nothing as it was one of the replacements,
Rojo, again who made a key pass to Rooney who ran 60 meters into the goal but
his attempted chip was collected by Howard.
KEY
TALKING POINTS
The
selection of Herrera made the most impact and you have to wonder what is next
for Depay and Young. Martial had an excellent game on the left for United and
for France the game before. It will be very hard to remove him from that
position when Rooney looked so much more confident as the lone striker. Young
and Depay will be left as second and third choice players behind Martial.
Jones
was brilliant at center back completing 49/53 passes, made 2 significant
tackles, made 6/7 clearances and won 4/5 aerial duels.
Rojo had
37/43 successful passes and contributed with an assist. He made 4/4 tackles and
3 interceptions with 2 clearances. More importantly the confidence in the
partnership of Smalling and Jones allowed Rojo to be able to successfully play
the role of a left wing back, which is exactly what Van Gaal has been looking
for.
It is
difficult to see Blind and Valencia returning to the backline for the City game
and equally so with Depay. Herrera was outstanding with 1 goal and 1 assist.
Both his attempts at goal was on target and he completed 40/43 passes. He was
also successful in 2/4 take-ons while making 3/4 tackles. It is no wonder that
Barcelona is said to be interested in him and United will be wise to keep him
playing or risk him looking at opportunities to get more game time somewhere
else. With Herrera producing a stunning display at 10, Rooney is bound to
remain upfront while Anthony Martial’s physically, pace and attacking nature
will make him first choice on the left.
OVERALL
United
had a good game and it looks as if Van Gaal might be correct in stating that
the Arsenal game was a once off result. The stats support his statement.
Manchester United enjoyed 53% possession with an 85% pass completion rate and 10
shots at goal with 7 on target.
However,
when you look into the stats a little deeper, there are still some areas of
both concern and improvement. In attack United launched 14 crosses, with only 4
of them being successful. From the 11 aerial duels in the attacking third of
the pitch, United won only 4. Despite these stats United still managed to score
3 goals but I am not convinced yet that United can successfully take on the
likes of Arsenal and City. Everton started the game way too slow and that led
to United’s first two goals and they were always going to struggle after that.
Arsenal and City will not make the same mistake.
The
biggest positive from the game was the performances of the three replacements
and I hope that Van Gaal give them the necessary recognition in retaining them
in their starting positions for the City game.
No comments:
Post a Comment