Chelsea vs United Post Match Post Mortem

KEEP CALM AND HAVE FAITH

The above message succinctly sums up my feelings, the day after our loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Following the game last night my twitter timeline was awash with reactions that ranged from disgust at the referee, dismay at the second half team performance and intense worry about what the future holds in the title race. 

Whilst I sympathise with the differing views that were expressed, now is a time for caution and optimism after reflection on the position United find themselves in. We are still in the driving seat in the quest for the magic 19th league championship and considering we have a team that are our nearest challengers in Arsenal that lack vital experience in a period that Sir Alex so wonderfully described as "squeaky bum time". It is likely that both ourselves and the Gunners will drop vital points between now and the climax of the season so the team that holds it's nerve will ultimately prevail. Have a look around our dressing room and you will see any number of players who have tread this rocky road before and experienced the highs and the lows. Looking into the Arsenal dressing room, you cannot say the same.

The team lineup

The first shock of the night was the naming of an unchanged team to the one that took the field at the DW Stadium on Saturday. This meant the continuation of a 4-4-2 formation that would ultimately please the majority of United fans eager for a more attacking style. It was also a wonderful opportunity for Javier Hernandez to start in a big game following his two goals at the weekend. Darren Fletcher continued in a right midfield role but was often tucked in a touch in defensive areas.

The 4-4-2 formation is one I prefer. The rationale behind this is that we are more of a threat from an attacking point of view and find it easier to really stretch teams than the more rigid and structured 4-5-1/4-3-3 allow. Playing this more fluent formation may well lead to us losing a few more games but also it will see a frustrating draw often being turned into a priceless three points. Having Rooney as the one that plays off a main striker also means that he is able to drop in to assist his midfield and can be assigned the role of policing the opposition defensive midfielder and ensure that he does not dictate matters.

The Big Match Talking Points:

Rooney goal:

Rooney evades the attention of five home defenders to fire United into a 1st half lead

The key to Wayne Rooney's strike in the 30th minute and how it found its way into the Chelsea net can be seen from the above picture. The five nearest defenders failed to close down Rooney allowing him the time and space to fire. Cech may well have been initially unsighted in the Chelsea goal with Nani being in his eye line which may explain his slow reaction to the powerful shot that beat him at this near post. The picture also demonstrates how United's movement in the first half unsettled the home team with Rooney dropping deep and Nani (from the left wing) and Hernandez the furthest forward. They did not know who to pick up and if so, in what position they would be in.

Luiz goal:

David Luiz at the back post pulls off Evra to create space

An excellent finish by David Luiz drew Chelsea level in the 54th minute. Following a corner, the Brazilian stayed forward and managed to draw away from Evra at the back post as United's centre backs got drawn towards the ball at the front post. Nani on the edge of the box is caught ball watching a little bit and Luiz manages to evade their close attention. The quality of the end shot cannot be underestimated and made all the more impressive by the fact that it was a centre back who drew the home side level. It would have been very easy to balloon the shot over the bar or away from goal but he did well to get his knee over the ball before smashing it home under pressure from the on-rushing Evra.

Turning Point 1 - Rooney miss

Rooney fails to capitalise on a clear opening with the game level.

The first potential turning point of the game came in the 64th minute when Rooney was sent clear down the left flank after a one-two with Nani. As Rooney approached Cech who had gone beyond his front post to confront the attacker, he had to weigh up his options. Ideally, he would have wanted to slide the ball across goal to Hernandez or towards the penalty spot for an on-rushing supporting midfielder. With the little Mexican well covered, Rooney sensibly went for goal but blazed wide when he really should have finished with the goal at his mercy. A little clip around Cech was one possibility or even straight through the keeper's legs but his finish ended up a cross-cum-shot that evaded cannoning into Terry before sailing wide. A goal at this point would have deflated a nervous, out of form home team whilst galvanising the away league leaders. The reaction of Gary Neville in the away end spoke volumes for the opportunity that had been wasted.

Luiz/Rooney incident

Atkinson has the perfect view as Rooney is blocked by Luiz

Sometimes a picture does not need words to explain itself and this is almost one of these times. Luiz clearly blocks the run of Rooney as he starts to turn away having laid off the ball to EvraLuiz challenge that somehow Atkinson lost focus and in a split second let play carry on without bringing it back when the move broke down. As clearly no advantage had been forthcoming, the correct decision would have been to award the free kick and caution Luiz and thus send him off. The loss of a crucial man at such a late stage in the game would surely have impacted on the final result so it was a major mistake on the part of the official. You could tell that Luiz knew he was in trouble by his attempt to pick Rooney up after the challenge in the hope of avoiding further punishment. Having come hot on the heels of a suspect challenge on Hernandez a few minutes previously then the player was clearly lucky to escape.

The penalty

A 50/50 penalty to decide the match? 

Having looked at the penalty decision a few times, I have come to the conclusion that it could have gone either way. If it had happened in their box then I do not think it would have been given but it seems normal now that the home teams get the benefit of the tight calls in the big games. United have profited from such calls numerous times over the years so I do not think that Atkinson should be castigated in this incident. He can clearly be shown ringed in the picture and is in a good position to view what is occurring. Zhirkov makes contact with the ball following it bouncing off Smalling and then moves as if to chase the ball but lifts his leg to make contact and goes down. Vidic was around on the cover so Zhirkov would probably have not caught up with the ball and in a split second the Russian decided to take the opportunity to take advantage seeing Smalling's outstretched limb. Clever play I would say but it can also be described as somewhat of making the most of an opportunity to give the referee a tough decision to make.

General Reflections

My overriding emotion after considering it for most of the day is of disappointment based on the encouraging performance in the first half. The Reds out-passed, out-ran and generally out-thought Chelsea who looked a shadow of the side that had swept away all before them in the early weeks of the season. The threat down the flanks was startling as wave after wave of red shirts flooded the Chelsea full backs. This is shown by the point made by Doron on the Stretford End Blog that the United full backs O'Shea and Evra spent 44% and 39% of their time on the ball in the first half in the opposition final third.

Another worrying trait in this modern United team is their inability to turn possession and pressure into efforts on target. Time and time again, we witness the opposition keeper not being overly tested in periods when we are on top and this was the case again last night. Apart from the Rooney goal, it is hard to think of another time when Cech was seriously worked despite all the possession and pressure that we had. In the days of Cantona, Hughes, Kanchelskis, Sharpe and Giggs (mark 1 version), I can remember us regularly peppering the opponent's keeper until a breakthrough became inevitable.

Half time as often can be the case came at a bad time. This allowed Chelsea to re-assess their position and go for broke in the second half. Whilst United seemed happy to sit back to a certain extent, the home team turned on the power and eventually began to create openings. Essien and Lampard started to make their presence felt in the centre as Scholes and Carrick tired as the game wore on. Do not underestimate the effect that two games in four days had on United with Chelsea enjoying a free week with which to prepare a gameplan and then put it into practice.

The two turning points as outlined above clearly affected the overall outcome of the game. It would not be bending the truth too much to say that we could have been ahead and with Chelsea down to ten men if correct decisions first by Rooney (with the chance he squandered) and then ref Atkinson (failing to send Luiz off) had been made.

The Vidic sending off was unfortunately fairly straightforward and should bring no complaints. It did not affect the game but it may well have an effect when he is missing against arch rivals Liverpool on Sunday. The manager has said that Wes Brown will deputise and I, for one, will be confident that someone once described as the best natural defender in England can step into the huge gap left by the loss of our Serbian leader.

I will conclude by going back to the original title of this post "Keep Calm and Have Faith". United fans must place trust in our fantastic manager and the wonderful team spirit that he has nurtured over the years as we embark on our quest for that record 19th title and any other piece of silverware we happen to get near to. 

Sights will now be firmly set on Anfield on Sunday and minds will be re-focused on the task in hand. A siege mentality will no doubt prevail amongst the management, the team and also the supporters at past injustices but the target is still well within our grasp and with some more performances such as witnessed in the first half last night and also some much needed luck, our destiny will surely be fulfilled.

Tweet Bits - thoughts from my twitter timeline

"We can go on about the ref all night but we just didn't do enough in the second half other than two chances. They were first to every tackle and loose ball we got what we deserved. Hurts like hell though - Mad_Manc72

"All in all totally gutted and this result makes the game at Anfield that much more important, we can't afford to lose points there. Win at Anfield is a must now" Sudheesh Marar

"No need for panic button. Played well for a good portion and that needs to translate over 90 mins. Still on course for #19" JHarbert7

"We played better against CFC than we've been lately; bad calls/non-calls by the ref and our tempers got the better of us" Samtempl

"Decisions in the big games are vital and as usual at the Bridge we didn't get any. Tough game at Anfield without Vidic now." thistimesurely

Many thanks to all of those of you who sent in their thoughts both last night and this morning. I read each and every one and hopefully picked those that sum up the mood amongst us all.

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