The international games in the last week may have contributed to a lacklustre performance from both sides as James McFadden, Scottish hero in the famous 1-0 win against France last Wednesday, started from the bench for Everton and Man Utd playing at pedestrian pace and despite having another 20+ shots on goal, they were not forceful and lack conviction in trying to get that goal from open play.
I have talked so much about Man Utd having a Plan B in the previous posts last month and no surprise, it worked yet again as Vidic (again!) headed a brilliant match-winner from a Nani corner in one of the most (rare) boring Man Utd matches I have ever watched.
Man Utd allowed Silvestre his 1st start of the season and it was good to see him play as I know Ferguson is having a tough time giving his fringe players a chance to play. As a result, Nani was rested and Evra was deployed as a winger. Unfortunately, though, Silvestre suffered an awful-looking injury and had to be substituted by Nani.
The most noticeable difference was that Tevez and Giggs interchanged role as compared to their previous games. Ronaldo, coming back from a 3 game suspension was subdued by Leighton Baines and contributed poorly with 3 free-kicks outside the box.
Evra, before Silvestre's injury, seemed to be playing almost as the 3rd striker and was a menace then with his pace.
Wes Brown was awful yet again, contributing nothing offensively again and even mislaid a simple pass once more. I feel it is time O'Shea, who is technically more assured and physical as well, to start in that right back position before Gary Neville regained his place.
Saha started from the bench despite his match-winner before the international games but I won't be surprised if he starts the next time around as Man Utd are really devoid of a central striker.
Ferdinand and Vidic was superb in containing the dangerous pairing of Andrew Johnson and Yakubu, who were really on their own upfront but still provided some moments of anxiety towards Man Utd goal.
Hopefully, we will see the momentum building on in the first Champions' League match this week as Man Utd embarked on a familiar winning streak, but it will be better if they start scoring more than a single goal. This is hardly champions' form and to not score against the weaker teams may give the stronger teams eg Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool more confidence when they faced off against the champions.
~Akim~
I have talked so much about Man Utd having a Plan B in the previous posts last month and no surprise, it worked yet again as Vidic (again!) headed a brilliant match-winner from a Nani corner in one of the most (rare) boring Man Utd matches I have ever watched.
Man Utd allowed Silvestre his 1st start of the season and it was good to see him play as I know Ferguson is having a tough time giving his fringe players a chance to play. As a result, Nani was rested and Evra was deployed as a winger. Unfortunately, though, Silvestre suffered an awful-looking injury and had to be substituted by Nani.
The most noticeable difference was that Tevez and Giggs interchanged role as compared to their previous games. Ronaldo, coming back from a 3 game suspension was subdued by Leighton Baines and contributed poorly with 3 free-kicks outside the box.
Evra, before Silvestre's injury, seemed to be playing almost as the 3rd striker and was a menace then with his pace.
Wes Brown was awful yet again, contributing nothing offensively again and even mislaid a simple pass once more. I feel it is time O'Shea, who is technically more assured and physical as well, to start in that right back position before Gary Neville regained his place.
Saha started from the bench despite his match-winner before the international games but I won't be surprised if he starts the next time around as Man Utd are really devoid of a central striker.
Ferdinand and Vidic was superb in containing the dangerous pairing of Andrew Johnson and Yakubu, who were really on their own upfront but still provided some moments of anxiety towards Man Utd goal.
Hopefully, we will see the momentum building on in the first Champions' League match this week as Man Utd embarked on a familiar winning streak, but it will be better if they start scoring more than a single goal. This is hardly champions' form and to not score against the weaker teams may give the stronger teams eg Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool more confidence when they faced off against the champions.
~Akim~
No comments:
Post a Comment