United defended a 1-0 lead away at Everton for three HUGE points to right the Red Devil ship after the loss last week. No coincidence, then, that the man at the helm was none other than Nemanja Vidic.
United played a 4-5-1 with Cleverley, Fletcher, Park, Rooney, and Welbeck moving to the midfield and with Chicharito as the lone striker, who bagged his fourth of the season in the 19th minute. Backline included Jones, Evans and Evra partnering the number fifteen.
You felt that United, once up and after customarily going for the jugular for a 5-10 minute spell, would play compact, counter-attacking football to prove – almost to a fault – that they could staunchly hold this margin of victory in the second half.
Inevitably, at some point, Everton would open up in the quest for the equalizer, and indeed, a couple of breaks fell for the Reds. Yet, United proved wasteful with their limited chances, leaving Ferguson to take off the goal-scoring-but-possession-challenged Hernandez for the holding and heading ability of Berba in the 67th minute.
What’s striking about this game was the sheer concentration and communication among Ferguson’s men in the defensive half, in contrast to events of the past several months.
A late non-penalty call by Mark Halsey seemed spot-on upon further review as Magaye Gueye lost his footing in a 50-50 clash with Evra. Had Everton leveled at this point, much of the talk would be about United’s possible demise, and admittedly, my focus would be on lack of United possession in the second half.
Regardless, you can’t take anything away from the Man of the Match performance by Vidic. Rock solid. Clear communication. Never putting in a head or foot in wrong. The Red Devils look a different side with their true captain back in the fold.
Beyond the beloved captain, however, Cleverley demonstrated yet again that his tight one-touch passing improves United’s tempo and led to the ample space for Evra’s cross to Chicharito’s decisive goal.
Without the number twenty-three, or Rooney dropping back to a central role for that matter, United’s midfield seems too similar, with great wide players with some defensive frailties and too many utilitarian runners manning the center of the park.
Cleverley’s ample energy and rhythmic-and-intricate passing wrong foots defenders and improves the quality of United’s runs off the ball, given the mismatches it creates. Quite simply, he becomes the heartbeat in the center sorely missed the last few months.
Thus, his health yet again becomes a great concern, as let’s hope his substitution in the 57th minute proves to be more cautionary than signal another significant injury blow. The Reds can’t afford it at the moment.
Overall, surly, United can and will get better as the year progresses, but don’t be surprised to see more 4-5-1 formations in tricky fixtures, especially away.
After last week’s effort left the Reds clamoring for someone to take charge of the play on the pitch, the man from Serbia heeded the call.
Well done, Nemanja. You’re THE Captain United ever so richly deserve.
------
Back at you after the midweek Champions League tilt.
No comments:
Post a Comment