Heading into last Saturday's clash against Everton, Louis Van Gaal called for a reaction after the capitulation against Arsenal before the international break. You got a feeling from the pre-match press conference that Van Gaal was simmering over the 2 weeks break and the players were perhaps fortunate to be away from facing the wrath of their manager. Everton away at Goodison Park is always a tough ground to visit and Manchester United has lost there in their last 3 visits. Therefore, it made for a really tough test of the Red Devils' character and credentials as potential title winners.
Pre-kickoff, news broke through of the sudden demise of Everton's most successful and arguably greatest ever manager, Howard Kendall. Kendall, who had also played for the club, was 69 years old when he passed on. I read on social media that some United fans felt that it was the wrong time to play against Everton as the sad news might act as an extra motivator for Everton. I felt it could be true or it might have a negative effect and totally subdue Everton as it did when United commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. Ultimately though, what matters the most is the performance of the teams on the pitch on the day of the match.
The pre-game one minute of applause was very respectfully observed by both set of fans and players. On the match itself, there was a marked change in attitude in the way the United players applied themselves as compared to their previous match. There was greater desire, determination and aggression shown. United dominated the match and won deservedly 3-0. Possession was well kept as expected of the new United under Van Gaal. There were a lot of good individual performances on the pitch as well. Daley Blind, who has done decently as a centre back was dropped and it was good to have a defender who has height, pace and strength in Phil Jones back. Jones still has the tendency to get injured in the way he plays the game. It is much appreciated by fans of the typical English-style blood and thunder game but he has to wisen up in the way he plays to avoid lengthy spells injured or suspended. He had a bloodied nose during the game but thankfully it wasn't serious enough to end his participation in the game. Jones would also need to improve his reading of the game which is an area that I feel Blind is strong in.
Marcos Rojo probably played his best match as a left back since he joined United. I feel he has been better as a centre back since he joined United but on Saturday he played well. It bodes well for the future if he can keep the level of his performances consistent and further improve on it (there were times he was caught out napping). He laid in a brilliant cross for Ander Herrera to get United's second goal and that is something we have not seen too often from United. Herrera, was deservedly the Man Of The Match for scoring one and assisting one. He was busy all throughout the match. He has the knack of finding pockets of space to operate in and cause havoc as well as popping up in the area to score. If he continues in this vein consistently, we could have found our answer to Paul Scholes. Wayne Rooney finally got his first league goal and did much better than in recent games. He held up the ball well, he didn't waste possession too much and scored one. He could have scored another but was too unselfish to lay it on for Anthony Martial.
Martial started on the left and got more dangerous on the wing as the match wore on. He tormented Seamus Coleman with his dribbles. It is this directness and skill that we have been missing from Memphis who was rightly dropped. Jesse Lingard came on at the start of the second half and didn't look out of place at all which is good to see and it is always good to see a product of the youth academy progressing to play in the first team. I don't feel Lingard did his chances any harm at all. Back to the defence, David De Gea dealt with whatever that was thrown at him which could be understated in this match but nevertheless always crucial but the star was Chris Smalling who kept a physically bigger player in Romelu Lukaku in his pocket throughout the game.
Oh yes Schneiderlin scored his first goal for United and it was well taken although some would argue that Rooney fouled Steven Naismith in the build up to it. It was also nice to see that the Everton fans did not jeer or whistle at Rooney and Maraoune Fellaini who came on in the second half.
It was a very good win and response to the bad defeat suffered at The Emirates. It is especially satisfying to have won against a team we have been unable to beat at their home for the last 3 seasons. I expect critics and pundits to say at the end of such displays and results that this is the new way United play, it got them a result today, they deserved to win, Van Gaal has proven to be successful with this style of football elsewhere, bla, bla, bla but I do know that the moment we lose a game or drop points, they will get into United and bring up comparisons with the United of old and massacre United. As for United fans, United didn't get relegated losing to Arsenal in our last league match and they didn't just win the league from beating Everton on Saturday. There is still a long way to go in the season, please retain some sanity, rationality and balance. Any team can lose and no team can win forever. No team has a legacy that lasts forever either. Be patient and support the team. Next, we have got a trip to Moscow to play against CSKA Moscow before welcoming Manchester City in the first derby of the season.
It is important not to get ahead of ourselves and look ahead to the Manchester City game and in the process treat the CSKA Moscow game as a formality. There are important points to be won in Moscow and we need the 3 points. Qualification to the knockout stage of the tournament has not been settled yet. We still need to earn the right to qualify. I just hope that Van Gaal rotates a little more than just the central midfielders against CSKA so that there is some freshness for the match against City. The team that played against Everton deserves to start against CSKA but in modern football, rotation is key to manage your resources well and obtain maximum results in different competitions. On to Moscow then.......
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