Sunday, December 23, 2012

Michu scored again as honours shared between Swansea and Manchester United


Manchester United has been historically the expert in excelling through the Christmas congested fixtures, but last year's collapse in the league has alerted Sir Alex Ferguson to ensure his team is fired up to maintain a comfortable margin above Manchester City. Captain Nemanja Vidic finally returned to the starting lineup in this tough away fixture at Swansea, to replace the injured Rio Ferdinand.

Vidic's return could not bring a clean sheet to United
Swansea started positively with enormous confidence and they put Manchester United on the back foot. The in-form Michu showed determination in challenging Nemanja Vidic, who is yet back to his best after the long layoff from injury. The defence, led by Ashley Williams, was bolstered by the dynamic frontline and did not have much trouble early on in containing the luxurious striker pair Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United had been the second best team, but they showed the quality of a champion. Michel Vorm managed to keep Ashley Young's low shot away, but poor set piece defending allowed Patrice Evra to grab his third league goal of the season.
 
Despite conceding a goal unconvincingly, Swansea continued to show the character which saw them surprise the Premier League last season under Brendan Rodgers. Routledge and Dyer provided the pace while De Guzman and Leon Britton distorted the defence with timely runs and accurate passing – something United had been lacking for the whole match. Shortly after Evra's goal, De Guzman found a gap in United's defence and was left one-on-one with De Gea, but Michu was judged to have block Evans on his route to challenge De Guzman.

A very soft foul and poor officiating ruined a golden chance for Swansea, but Routledge and De Guzman manufactured a rapid counter attack to allow Michu to claim the rebound off De Gea and levelled the match. De Gea could have done better in handling De Guzman's shot, but it was their complacency in possession that first sparked Swansea's attack. Swansea was fuelled by Michu's leveller and cheering from home crowd to push for the go-ahead goal before half time. De Guzman dispossessed Cleverley near the byline and nearly made it 2-1 with a shot towards the near post. Nathan Dyer also threatened with a wide open attempt just outside the box.

In contrast to the desire shown by the home team, the Red Devils were careless and sluggish. While Swansea focused on the defence in the final third, Michael Carrick was given acres of space to boss the midfield. However, he received limited help from his teammates. Robin Van Persie was often outmuscled and even outpaced by Ashley Williams, while Ashley Young never committed to arriving in the box to connect for crosses. Meanwhile, the absence of Rafael weakened the threat from the right flank. His replacement, Phil Jones, continued his disappointing form and was only a destructive unit in attack. Rooney's inability to pass accurately after the interval made Sir Alex's side looked increasingly unlikely to claim the victory in Wales.

Know who I am now, Alex?
Poor passes and slow decisions saw United fail to punish Swansea's carelessness on numerous occasions. Van Persie did come close but the upright denied his magnificent left foot volley. Desperation in Ferguson's mind drove him to take off Valencia and sent on Chicharito, but the lack of width together with Rooney's poor form could not see an effective return in Sir Alex's change. Swansea looked slightly exhausted after a great first half. Ki Sung-Yeung and Luke Moore were lifted from the bench to restore some energy on the field.

A match of high intensity entered its climax in the last ten minutes. Ashley Williams’s ruthless clearance inflicted a heated argument between him and Van Persie after a freekick was awarded. Momentarily after Rooney hit his last kick of the game onto Swansea's wall, Carrick's header was denied by Vorm and the upright. Ryan Giggs impressed in his ten minutes of action and showed he is a better left wing than a central midfielder, despite his age. He released Evra on the left, but efforts from Chicharito and Ashley Young were blocked respectively by Ashley Williams and Ben Davies.

Manchester United can only kick themselves for ruining numerous opportunities in the second half, but the Swans have to be credited for their brave fights in the last half an hour of the match, despite looking extremely exhausted after a brilliant first half display. Swansea sit at the bottom half of the table but is only six points away from fourth place, with Manchester United entering Christmas holding a four-point lead.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

First Manchester Derby Ends in Dramatic Fashion


Man City started with a 4-4-2 with Balotelli and Aguero replacing Dzeko and Tevez, the starting strikers in their crucial Champions League match midweek. David Silva also made the team alongside Samir Nasri, who Mancini highly rates but never regained his form at Arsenal. The visiting neighbours would open up a 6-point lead at the summit and with the majority of his team rested in midweek, Sir Alex had his reasons to be optimistic even though the in-form Anderson would be out for three weeks.

City’s domination continued but as Aguero’s heavy first touch let him down from Balotelli’s through ball, United shifted a gear up and a head-and-chest one-two between Ashley Young and Van Persie sent the English winger down the flank with ample of space before his square pass found Rooney just inside the box who then placed his shot into Hart’s bottom right corner.

Less often this season, United did not concede first.

Things went from bad to worse as City captain Kompany was forced off of an unknown injury just 20 minutes – 4 minutes after conceding – and was replaced by Kolo Toure, who was more preferred in right back this season and Lescott would sure be worrying about his future.

The tide had changed since the first goal and City found it difficult to keep possession, let alone create chances. Van Persie’s lobbed through ball found Young again but failing to get the ball down on his first touch meant the winger had no second chance as his international teammate Hart came out of his penalty box to clear the ball. Aguero, who was unexpectedly dull given the amount of rest he had has, managed to find his way out of five United defenders but his placed shot this time was comfortably held by De Gea.

United’s confidence grew with possession and they doubled their lead before the half hour mark. It was a more seemingly direct and simple but always effective goal as the Rafael overlapped Valencia to send a low cross into the 6 yard box for Rooney to drive the ball into the same corner. The Valencia-Rafael partnership on the right is blossoming into another successful one in United history.

Shortly after the restart, Evans could not shake off and Smalling came on for him whereas for City, their reason for substitution was more interesting.  Balotelli was arguably the best player for his team in the first half, seeing much of the ball and being more creative than Silva and Nasri, resembling to Rooney’s style but after he attempted and failed a backheel, Mancini was signalling Tevez to warm up. Italians are eccentric, aren’t they?

The temperamental substitution paid off in fact as Tevez totally reinvigorated his side and was looking even more threatening than his former team was in the first half. Rather than waiting to receive the ball like Super Mario, his constant movement and exchange of runs with Aguero proved more practical. The minute combination of the Argentines and David Silva was a nuisance to the United defence and the goal you felt was coming finally came when Yaya Toure slotted home into the same corner as Rooney’s brace after De Gea’s fantastic double save. The goal came just after Van Persie’s right foot curler hit the post and Ashley Young was wrongly judged offside for his tap-in.

City continued to pile on the pressure and Silva was again denied by De Gea, although unintentionally, as the playmaker’s close range shot hit De Gea’s shoulder to clip the woodwork for a corner. With less than 10 minutes to go, Mancini summoned his super-sub from the bench hoping to scramble an equaliser to say the least. It was not from Dzeko but the equaliser did come when Zabaleta unleashed a fierce low drive after United headed clear Tevez’s corner.
Zabaleta after his equalizer through the United wall of players
It was Tevez again however in the first minute of injury time when he fouled Rafael in a position where a left-footed free kick taker could hardly ask for better. Rooney, who was on a hat trick, gave way to a determined Van Persie and his shot to the far post, helped by a wicked deflection from former Arsenal teammates Nasri, went pass a fully stretched Joe Hart to not only give United their 6-point lead up the top but as well halted Man City’s unbeaten run at the Etihad.

The two Rs combine again for three points

City will only have themselves to blame though as the two goals from Rooney were far too easily conceded. The marking was disastrous with 3 defenders failing to even get close to the striker in his first goal and was nowhere near him again when he scored the second. Summer signing Nastasic was quickly given a place in the starting lineup although he always looked more convincing in European matches than in the Premier League. Clichy on the other hand was equally disappointing as his offence today was better than his defence.

For Sir Alex, it should still be concerning as his side gave away two goals, in which both were from City players arriving late in or outside the box for the loose ball. They have never really found any replacements for Roy Keane nor Nicky Butt since they both left and although the Red Devils have achieved much success still in their absence, that’s where they could do better, especially if they would want to curb their recent habit of conceding first. While Mancini continues to overlook Javi Garcia just like he did with Nigel De Jong last season, United fans would no doubt be wishing they have either one.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Second string Red Devils failed the assessment at Old Trafford

Ahead of a fixture as critical as title-decisive, it is common that managers grant extra rest to their key players. Having already qualified for knockout round of Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson still fielded a relatively strong side against CFR Cluj, who needed a win to keep their qualifying hope alive. While he believed that Rooney is a player who only gets better through playing, several players who are on the brink of first team opportunity were given the chance to show their ability in this competitive though pressure-less match.


Scott Wootton showed significant improvement from his disastrous performance in League Cup against Chelsea. He enjoyed a nearly faultless night through solid positioning and simple clearance. The young defender will hardly be an integral part of the first team in the near future, but he has certainly demonstrated the potential to become a decent centreback.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, who both had recovered from injury lately, shared the responsibility of the defence on the right. While Smalling was as composed as ever and showing better fitness than in the match vs Aston Villa, Phil Jones struggled offensively at the right back. With the Red Devils operating without a proper winger, the physical strength of the utility defender was seldom utilised through overlapping. His poor passing only made his night even more miserable. Rooney's help in the second half brought some improvement, but it would still be hard to envision Jones being able to regain a first-team regular position.

The reality is always cruel and it is indeed very hard to swallow for Manchester United fans to realise that the club legends, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, are the weakest links in the team at the moment. While there is little expectation on the loyal pair to have significant contribution in defence, their inability to create opportunities in attack had truly hurt the home team. Many simple passes were misplaced, with Scholes' one even directly linked to the conceded goal. It has not been a hard decision for Sir Alex to drop the two veterans in important matches and one will not expected to see either of them start in the upcoming Manchester Derby.

Amidst the misery in the loss, Alex Buttner deserved some praise. There is little doubt on the wing back's attacking ability, but the Dutchman had also been reliable in defence. Having only just arrive in Old Trafford this year, he has already made positive impact to first-choice left back Patrice Evra. The declining Frenchman cannot let complacency take over, with Buttner awaiting the chance to overtake Evra.

Nick Powell and Federico Macheda are the remaining two unmentioned young players, and there were little worth to mention indeed. Powell started the match on left midfield and although he showed flashes of excellent techniques, Powell were unable to fluently combine with Alex Buttner and often slowed down the attack with his indecisiveness. Macheda was once a hero in Old Trafford, but the development of the young Italian has stalled in the past few years. He had not been involved in much attack in his brief 20 minutes of the night. His lack of pace can barely fit the style of the Red Devils and only further add uncertainty to his future at the club. 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Vulnerable defence did not slow down Red Devils at Reading


Two consecutive heart-broken losses had sunk Reading a step closer to the bottom of the table. Brian McDermott would be over optimistic to hope to rebound with a win at home against league leader Manchester United. He chose to keep the team who fought hard in mid-week unchanged and hoped the extra support from the home crowd could bring them a surprise result in the late Saturday afternoon.

Despite the victory over West Ham, Sir Alex Ferguson was not completely satisfied with the team performance on Wednesday. The return of Rio Ferdinand and Darren Fletcher gave better assurance in defence, while Ashley Young, the only available winger in the squad, would be responsible for providing some width in attack.

The 4-3-3 formation enabled Manchester United to dominate possession early in the game, in particular Reading opted not to press too high up the field. Without a natural right winger, Rooney and Van Persie rotated to fill in the position, but this had left a hole in the defence, which Reading capitalised when Evans could not clear cleanly a cross by McAnuff on the left flank and Robson-Kanu stroke past Lindegaard to give Reading an unexpected early lead.

Rooney ended his goal drought with a brace
Manchester United had already got used to the story line of the season and it seemed there was little reason to panic. Nerve had caught Reading first indeed. Shortly after Anderson got the better of Federici in the near post, Jay Tabb needlessly bodychecked Johnny Evans in the box following a corner. Rooney ended his goal drought by converting the penalty and the Red Devils had once again come back from behind.

Reading fans could not believe in what they witnessed, but 10 minutes later, the head-shaking turned into delightful chanting. Two excellent corners from Nicky Shorey, together with United hibernated defence, saw Le Fondre and Morrison power two headers past the helpless Lindegaard. Hairdryers in the dressing room were already warming up, but United struggled thoroughly in dealing with crosses from both flanks. The traditional tactics were taunting Manchester United.

 The fascinating football Reading plays is truly entertaining, though the practicality is truly questionable. The depth in midfield was lacking and a few passes could penetrate the defence fairly easily. Evra and Ashley Young combined with a one-two on the left and when the cross of the French captain found Rooney, Reading's centrebacks were looking in desperation for help from their midfield. They scored three against the league leader, still they could not protect the lead merely in the first half.

Brian McDermott may still be happy with a draw at half time, but Van Persie ensured this did not happen. Rooney's flick released the Dutchman and Federici conceded the fourth goal of the match, only 34 minutes into the match. Nicky Shorey was the man to blame who failed to align with the defensive line and allowed Van Persie to beat the offside trap with ease.

Surely there would be little celebration in United's dressing room during interval, even if Robin Van Persie's effort on the rebound from Federici's save had been ruled as a goal. The shot with enormous speed was clearly over the line, but would be hard to spot with only human eyes. United ended the first half with a crazy 4-3 lead, but their two Brazilians had already finished their duties of the night. Anderson was forced off due to injury, while the booked Rafael was pulled out with his lacklustre performance in defence.

Has McDermott realised the importance of defence yet?
Three points are more important than entertaining football to Sir Alex Ferguson. The substitution of Chris Smalling for Rafael was justfied. The more defensive-minded Phil Jones also helped to stabilise the midfield. However, one goal margin was never a comfortable cushion, especially against a team with unlimited willingness to attack.

Patrice Evra had a very busy evening. Often being a creator on the left flank, Robson-Kanu had also threatened in Evra's zone with some daring runs. While Reading did not give up on equalising, United defence was much more composed than that in first half. McDermott tried to further haunt his opponents by introducing Pogrebnyak and Noel Hunt, but it was Morrison who had the final chance in the injury time.

Another comeback yet much more dramatic for Manchester United. It has not been very convincing recently, but United managed to become one of the three teams to survive the congested league fixtures with all three victories. Sir Alex will ride with the three point lead over Manchester City to begin the December.