The Boy Has Goals In Him

Opening nil-nil away in the Champions League knockout round can provide for a tricky home fixture, with the away side only needing to draw.

Yet, United possess a formidable home record against European competition – nobody envies Marseille’s task, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

And, to further complicate emotions ahead of kickoff, we learn Nemanja Vidic will not play, giving us a backline of O’Shea, Smalling, Brown and Evra. Uh, okay.

A measure of worry for Red Devil supporters contrasts with a measure of hope for the French side. Shades of a 1-1 draw with Monaco in ’97 – ’98 surly crossed Deschamps’ mind.

But ultimately, none shall pass here, as Sir Alex’s men do enough to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the fifth time in a row, a tremendous achievement of consistency in this competition.

Here are three reactions to today’s match.

First off, what an enormous victory, given it was accomplished without Rio, Vidic, as well as O’Shea and Rafael with the latter two coming off within the same match and both players sustaining identical hamstring injuries.

“It’s déjà vu all over again,” to quote Yogi Berra.

Imagine for a moment, let’s say last Friday, you were able to peek into the future and only see the two starting elevens and team sheets against Arsenal and Marseille, without any other information.

Would you have believed United would beat both teams?

Sure, there’s always a strong chance simply because we’re talking about United at home, but really, many a rational mind would foresee Ferguson’s men dropping one of these two matches given the players available.

The fact the Red Devils found ways to win with improvised lineups and tactics is a credit to the entire organization, from the Tea Lady to Rooney to Sir Alex himself – playing the United way pays off yet again.

A player gets hurt and up steps the next player. It’s as simple as that.

Thus, we give props to VDS and the entire back line for playing their hearts out and getting the result today. Sure, there were some mistakes. Sure, Marseille had some chances. But largely, the revolving door of players at right back along with the improvised partnership of Brown and Smalling did well enough and that was brilliant today. Mission accomplished.

Second, what else can you say about Chicharito?

It’s more like “Little Assassin” instead of “Little Pea,” or, as a fellow blogger – forget which one – wrote a while back “the Mexicutioner” in a nod to a famous boxer and a MLB pitcher – take your pick.

The second game on the trot Hernandez’ exquisitely timed runs pay off huge for United, as they catch defenders off guard and either lead to tap-ins chances or some wonderful pockets of space for others to exploit behind the line.

The attacking formula reads: Rooney + Chicharito + Width = Goals. It’s as simple as that.

And finally, Rooney was absolutely magnificent today, with his runs and range of passing was essential to the United attack. Given time and space, Wazza provided today much of what will leave with Scholes’ eventual retirement, especially with Chicharito leading the line.

What’s scary is that Rooney and Hernandez haven’t played all that much together, as they occasionally make the same run or don’t anticipate the other’s actions. This combination will only get better in the coming days. It’s as simple as that.

Or, as in Sir Alex’s words:

“It's been developing well. Where Wayne has been playing in the past couple of games he is a real threat. He has such power and speed and Hernandez is unbelievable with his movement. The boy has goals in him.''

Goals indeed.

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Back at you after the Bolton match. Cheers.