United vs Bolton Post Match Post Mortem

Manchester United claimed three vital points on Saturday after a late Dimitar Berbatov strike saw off the brave challenge from Bolton at Old Trafford. The Reds once again showed admirable strength in adversity following the dismissal of Jonny Evans after 75 minutes when the score was goalless. Other teams would have brought on a defensive substitute and settled for a point. Not United. Even with this numerical disadvantage they continued to swarm forward and got their reward after Berbatov followed up Nani's initial strike at goal. The Bulgarian was in the right place at the right time after a fumble by the otherwise excellent Jussi Jääskeläinen.

Here are my talking points from the game:

Berbatov Goal Analysis - The key to this goal is the movement towards the ball of David Wheater (shown centrally with arrow). As Nani prepares to shoot he makes an instinctive move towards the ball. Primarily I imagine this is to try to block the shot as it looks like the nearest two Bolton defenders to the ball are not going to be able to stop the Nani strike. In normal circumstances, Wheater's movement forwards would also have left Berbatov (currently on the penalty spot) offside when the ball was fumbled by Jääskeläinen. However, it is late in the game and left back Paul Robinson (perhaps a little tired) has not moved up at the same time.

Wheater makes his move to try to block the shot, unaware that Robinson is playing Berbatov & Fabio onside

The above picture taken from another angle at approximately the same time, highlights how Robinson has been caught late on in the game, well behind the rest of his back line. If he was up with Wheater then the follow-up would have been flagged offside and United would be reflecting on two points dropped.

If you look at the picture above you will see how just a second later from the first picture, the ball has rebounded off the Bolton keeper and without the presence of Robinson, Berbatov would have been flagged clearly offside. Above also shows how advanced Fabio is from right back and how he did well not to get in the Bulgarian's way seeing as he is currently ahead of him!

Football matches and indeed Championships are won and lost on such fine margins and this was another clear demonstration of this.

What it also emphasises for the third time in three weeks is the importance of following the ball in after an effort on goal has been struck. Two weeks ago at Anfield, Kuyt followed in after Suarez' free kick had been fumbled by Van Der Sar. Last weekend, Fabio was on the spot to get his reward after Almunia had made a fine stop from a Hernandez header and now Berbatov (with Fabio once more in attendence!) demonstrates the advantage that can be gained. Each time, it was the attacker (with a striker's knack) alive to the possibility of making a decisive impact. With Fabio being present both times for United, it adds weight to the argument that he could be a potent threat from the flanks in future.

Nani and Valencia in the same team? Saturday was only the second time this season that both of our primary wingers had started a match together. All of Nani's great success this season has come from the right flank while Valencia was recuperating from his long term ankle injury. Against Bolton, it was the Ecuadorian that was given the right hand side with Nani pushed over to the left. As the Portuguese player seems more adept on his left foot, it was the obvious solution but in all fairness, he did not perform to his usual high standard. It looked at times that he did not trust his left foot with crossing, which meant that he became slightly predictable by constantly cutting in. This meant that Steinsson often "showed" him down the left side but each time Nani seemed to cut in on his right when a left footed cross would have been the best option. A possible caveat to his performance may also be that he is still to fully restore confidence after "that" Carragher tackle and at the moment he feels more confident on the right. It was noticeable that in the final quarter when the two did swap, that Nani came more into the game and was often seen moving in-field before attempting a shot at goal or cross to a team mate. 

I would suggest that bearing in mind that Nani leads the assist table and has contributed ten goals to the United cause this season that he deserves to be first choice on the right but I can understand the requirement for a switch to accommodate the right footed Valencia. Time will tell which way the manager goes with this decision in the busy weeks to come.

Michael Carrick Midfield Maestro - The much maligned midfielder has taken plenty of stick this season and while I agree he has not always imposed himself on certain games when he should, he is still a vital player for the Reds. Generally, when Carrick plays well so do United. Without the usual presence of the likes of Scholes or Fletcher, the Englishman took responsibility and managed to marshall his veteran partner Giggs through the game. He managed to complete 82% of his passes and it was noticeable that many were over a longer distance towards the flanks which is often the Scholes role when he is in the team. The other thing that impressed me about Carrick's performance was something that may have been missed or dismissed as irrelevant at the time. In the aftermath of the Berbatov goal where the players are starting to make their way back to the half way line, he makes the below gesture to Nani and Smalling:

"Think" is the clear inference from this gesture from Carrick after the goal euphoria has died down.

With just a few minutes left, he is reminding both players of the need to focus as with the team down to ten men, a late lapse could still cost the team. This demonstrates the responsibility that he clearly felt on Saturday and was further emphasised by the way he slotted into the Evans position at center back without fuss to help see the game through.

How he is not in the England squad for the upcoming internationals is staggering. With the likes of Alonso and Xavi singing his praises I am sure that a squad berth ahead of the likes of Barry and Milner is deserved but at least it means a fortnight's rest for a player who has played a lot of games recently and will be pivotal in the march towards the end of the season.

The Evans tackle - I thought it was refreshing that after the match that both United fans and the boss did not complain about the red card. It was rightly pointed out that it was without malicious intent but all parties understood the ruling that if both feet leave the ground and your studs are showing then you are risking the ultimate punishment. What is clear from the replay is that Holden went into the 50/50 tackle in a similar way but from a different angle and therefore, felt the full force. It is hoped that the Holden is not badly injured and returns soon as he has had an excellent season thus far.

The impact of the full backs - Patrice Eva, Wes Brown and Fabio all contributed to the attacking threat posed by United on Saturday even though both Nani and Valencia were included in the starting line up. Usually you will see full backs to the fore when the team lacks width but on both sides they were able to support their winger admirably. Evra's stats show that 40% of his passes were down the left side in Bolton's half which was exactly the same as his passes in his own half. His pass success rate was 83%. The right hand side was even more productive with both Brown (1st half) and Fabio achieving 50% of their passes down the right hand side in their opponents half. I have already mentioned the attacking threat of Fabio and it seems that he perhaps is slightly less impetuous than his brother in the tackle who does have the tendency to dive in occasionally risking the wrath of the referee! What is sure is that both have a big future in whatever role the manager sees fit for them. With maturity will come the consistency from them that we all crave. It is also hoped that a slightly worrying susceptibility to injury can be overcome.

Giggs in centre midfield - It was somewhat of a surprise to see the veteran playing on Saturday after a busy schedule recently. He looked tired on Tuesday against Marseille and it is noticeable that his pass completion rate often drops when he is not fully on his game. With Scholes, Fletcher and Anderson all out he was selected in the centre alongside Carrick with Gibson on the bench. This would have been a blow to the Irishman as he has been much improved recently but possibly the manager feels he is more productive in a three man midfield. Giggs' pass success rate was just 60% which is low for someone on the ball so much as he was. His chalkboard below shows that a lot of his misplaced passes were of the longer variety which suggests he was trying a little too hard to play the "killer" ball rather than settling for something more simple most of the time. Whilst this is an admirable outlook, it often led to a counter attack from Bolton against our weakened midfield and attack.

Just 33/55 successful passes (many of them short)

In his defence, Giggs was playing out of position and the fortnight international break at this time of the season will do him the world of good and I would expect him to take up his usual position on the left flank when the next match against West Ham arrives in early April.

The Premier League final furlong - Usually at this time in the season you start to see predictions of the title run-in to try to guess who will finish as champions. It is notoriously a difficult task as there are so many unpredictable variables that can take place such as injury, suspension and tiredness that play such a huge role in deciding the destiny of any match or ultimately,  the season. Following Chelsea's victory against City yesterday, it has been suggested that they are back in the race but this is only the case if United and Arsenal drop more points in the upcoming matches.

In my view, the key to the title destination is not what happens at the Emirates Stadium on May 1st, at least not yet, The real decisive period is between the dates of April 17th and 20th where Arsenal play twice before United's next league game on the 23rd vs Everton. On these two dates, Liverpool visit the Emirates and then three days later there is the small matter of the North London Derby at White Hart Lane. At this current time when the Gunners are going through a rough patch, these fixtures present a serious obstacle that if overcome, could put them in pole position. However, if they stumble, the destiny of the league could virtually be decided. These two fixtures are then followed by a tough trip to Bolton who are currently sitting pretty in 7th place and will like nothing better than turning over one of the big boys on their own turf.

After this the heat really turns onto United with the match-up with the Gunners followed closely by the home fixture against Chelsea. What is clear though, is that if Arsenal drop a significant number of points in the three tough fixtures mentioned then these games could be viewed as not quite so pivotal as before.

To be honest, all of the above is full of if's and maybe's but what is certain is that all United must do is take each games as it comes and keep racking up the three points. This then makes any Arsenal or Chelsea results irrelevant.

It is certainly going to be very interesting and difficult to predict. The games will come thick and fast in three competitions for the Reds but with the will to win and never say die attitude displayed once more against Bolton remaining close to the surface, it is hoped that this will carry United towards a glorious climax by the end of May.

Tweet Bits - the best tweets from my twitter followers after the Bolton game.

We always seem to get the result, like watching a film you've seen before, exiting..but you know what happens in the end. KingsofPrem

Carrick and Smalling were excellent but most impressed with the never say die spirit the squad has, never gave in. awesomesj

Always favoured Nani on the right, I was hoping I was wrong, but he still needs a fair bit of work to truly be a success down that flank. Doesn't cross well with his left foot and he becomes more predictable down that flank. RedRae7_MUFC

As for much of the season we were below our best but even with 10 men, found a way to a winner! Thats champion material! Roonaldo107

United showed why they are Champions, after Evans was sent off Bolton went for a draw, but United went for a win. AustinTXRed

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