United vs Marseille Post Match Post Mortem

Manchester United progressed to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League after a nervous 2-1 defeat of Marseille at Old Trafford. The Reds started well with Javier Hernandez adding to his growing reputation with a fifth minute finish after good work from Rooney and Giggs left the Mexican with a simple finish at the far post. United failed to press home their advantage for the rest of the first period which allowed the away side to threaten on several occasions. The centre back partnership of Smalling and Brown stuck to their task well without ever looking thoroughly convincing. 

The vital second goal arrived in the 76th minute with that man Hernandez again applying the finishing touch after Valencia (on as sub after an hour) and Giggs combined down the right hand side. Marseille managed to make it an uncomfortable last ten minutes after a Wes Brown own goal halved the arrears. The away side now knew that one more goal would see them through but they were unable to strike with United keeping possession well in added on time.

Talking Points & Analysis

Javier Hernandez goal analysis - It is becoming a recurring theme in my reviews to focus on the goals of the Little Pea. Watching it live it would be easy to say they are both simple tap in's but the benefit of replays shows wonderfully how much work he puts in to get his yard of space.

Looking at the build up to the opener last night below, you can see how currently the Marseille centre backs have him covered but with the crucial fact being he is behind Heinze and can go either way to dependent on the cross.

Hernandez on edge of box as Rooney darts into the box to collect return from Giggs

This is the start of his move firstly out then in and then out again to completely lose Heinze thus resulting in the picture below showing how Diawara and Heinze have been drawn towards the ball while Hernandez waits to pounce at the far post. Look at that difference now between defender and attacker who is helpless to stop the simple finish.

Central defenders drawn towards the ball thus leaving Hernandez to apply the simple finish.

The crucial second goal build up shows the Mexican again behind both centre backs as play develops. Valencia and Giggs combine well to set up the chance. Once the Welshman is set free on the right, Hernandez makes a dart for the penalty spot anticipating the cross.

Once again, Hernandez is behind both centre backs and can dart to near post or pull away to far post

One of the keys to this goal and why the Mexican is free to apply the finish is the stumble of Diawara (see blue arrow) that gives Hernandez an uncontested finish.

The defender's stumble allows space for the Mexican to slot home.

The decision to start with Hernandez at the expense of top scorer Berbatov can be attributed to the identification of Heinze as a weak link in their back line but it is also becoming a trend with plenty of recent starts for the Mexican. It now seems he is some way to becoming Wayne Rooney's first choice partner in the attack. Perhaps the manager has decided that with the Bulgarian in the team, both he and Rooney prefer to link play thus leaving United sometimes short of numbers in the box. 

Rooney return to form? In the last two games, Rooney has been played in his preferred position "in the hole" with a licence to drift across the pitch to make things happen. This has coincided with arguably two of his best performances of the season. The once renowned confidence seems slowly to be returning with the sight last night of long passes being attempted in order to switch play or even occasional short passes to try to create goal scoring opportunities. He is certainly far more effective in this role than stuck out on the left where his only option is to cut in on his favoured right foot thus becoming rather predictable.

The future for Berbatov? It is proving to be a tough time for the skillful Bulgarian. Through no fault of his own he has seen himself relegated to the subs bench for many recent matches as the manager has plumped for the movement and penalty box prowess of Hernandez. With Rooney seemingly returning to a role behind the main striker, where does this leave top scorer Berbatov? He will have a big role to play in future matches and must bide his time but perhaps at the moment it will be as an alternative to Rooney rather than in partnership. It is possible that all three main strikers could be chosen for certain games but this would see Rooney shifted out to the left which does not make best use of his talent.

Defensive Injury list is growing - just as one injury ravaged area looks like clearing up (wingers) another seems to have been struck by the curse. Following last night's hamstring injuries to O'Shea and Rafael, the United defence on Saturday against Bolton looks like picking itself if they can all remain fit between now and then. The good news is the return of Jonny Evans is getting closer and with a two week international break upcoming at a good time for once, the medical news could look brighter when we return to action at Upton Park in early April. The situation is showing similarities with last year when the entire defence was seemingly absent forcing us into choosing the likes of Carrick and Fletcher in those positions.

Valencia continues to impress - another half an hour in his legs will do the Ecuadorian the world of good in his quest to return to full match fitness. His impact was almost immediate as he replaced the tiring Nani after an hour. He played a major role in the making of the crucial second goal last night with an incisive ball into the path of Ryan Giggs and generally hugged the touchline to help stretch the opposition defence. He is a different player to Nani on the right as he relies on his pace and movement to create space whereas the Portuguese winger combines pace and trickery to beat a man. The prospect of Nani on the left and Valencia on the right combined with the pace of Hernandez and the guile of Rooney or Berbatov is certainly one to look forward to. Once more it will give us a serious threat on the counter attack which will put our opponents on the back foot knowing that our pace can harm them. I am thinking especially of the Arsenal game coming up on the 1st May as it has been the blueprint to defeat them in recent years at the Emirates Stadium.

Disappointed with Marseille - From what I have seen this season, the French are a better team than we have seen over these two legs. To me it looked like they were a little overawed early on last night and perhaps lacked that crucial belief that they could harm United. Arguably they had the better chances during the game and with a bit more care could well have embarrassed the home team on several occasions. I picked out Lucho Gonzalez as their key man before the first leg but he was disappointing over the course of the tie and did not offer a significant threat. They certainly missed having a fully fit Valbuena in their team who is skillful and offers a great deal in dead ball situations. He has been linked with United this season and although his size may be a factor, he showed on at least two occasions last night that his corner delivery is far superior than what we possess at the club already.

If you would like to see highlights of the game vs Marseille, please click here

So the main thing is that once more, United prevailed without being wholly convincing. They will look forward to Friday's draw looking to avoid Barcelona (despite what Mr Rooney says) but knowing that they could well meet the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea as it is a "free" draw. Although lesser known sides such as Schalke and Shakhtar Donetsk will be preferred opponents, they should not be seen as much easier than facing the other English sides or the best from Spain.

For once, an international break will be seen as a god send for Manchester United in light of the defensive injuries that are inflicting the club at the moment. If a vital three points can be picked up against Bolton on Saturday then it will set us up for the frequent battles that lie ahead with many of the current walking wounded restored to the squad in the next game against West Ham in early April.

Tweet Bits - the best views from my Twitter followers

We only really played well for about 5 mins either side of our 2nd goal. Rooney and Hernandez had great movement all night and Rooneys passing was excellent. Smalling was good but still needs someone assured next to him at the moment. All in all good result and brilliant to get through. Hernandez, right place, right time, the man!! - Dr Terence

Can't decide if we played well & were largely comfortable or if we rode our luck a lot in defence & central midfield. Swindelli77

Got the result we needed, nervy end to the game tho. They had plenty of chances, better teams will put us away. JamieFrank87

Lots of positives tonight- Roo & Chich were brilliant, Valencia made a big difference once again! Roll on the quarters! GavinWoodfull

A big thank you once again for the thoughts of my Twitter followers after the match last night.

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