United vs Everton Post Match Post Mortem

Manchester United took a giant stride towards their nineteenth league championship with a hard fought victory over Everton at Old Trafford. Not for the first time in this or many other seasons, United left it late before claiming the three points. Javier Hernández once again proved the difference with a far post header in the 83rd minute after Antonio Valencia's cross had taken a slight deflection. The Little Pea sent the home crowd into raptures with the realisation that victories in their next two games will see the club move ahead of Liverpool in the number of league titles accrued.

Everton battled hard all afternoon but ultimately the waves of United attacks proved decisive as their defence was breached with the final whistle looming. The Old Trafford faithful were starting to get restless with the clock ticking down and in the knowledge that United had not scored for almost three games. However, the never say die attitude and in-built fortitude shone through to see them one step closer to achieving their dreams.

The Red machine now moves to Germany on Tuesday with a Champions League semi final with Schalke before a visit to the Emirates where victory will consign the Gunners to yet another unfulfilled season and make the title a near certainty.

Here are my key talking points from yesterday's game:

Goal Analysis - Hernández
Regular readers of this blog will soon be getting fed up with my constant praise for the little Mexican but yesterday's goal, while simple in execution, had some interesting factors involved in order for it to come to fruition.

As Valencia picks up the ball after a mistake by Distin on the wide right side of the pitch, the picture below shows seven Everton defenders (plus Howard in goal) up against three red shirts with Rooney deep alongside the referee. At this moment, the defence is relatively happy, with only the petite presence of Owen and Hernández to "worry" them.

Note Hernández on the blind side of Jagielka giving a multitude of options depending on the quality of cross.

Jagielka is currently dealing with the Mexican (circled) just inside the box but not for the first time this season (please see many previous goal analysis posts), he has pulled behind the defender on his blind side. A simple dummy movement towards the near post fools Jagielka that is where he is headed but the opposite is in fact how it transpires. What his position in relation to the defender means is that Hernández can dart to the near post, stay central or drift off his man to the back post and there is not a lot that Jagielka can do to stop this from happening as he is only in his peripheral vision. Although it is harsh to criticise Jagielka after a fine game, the next stage of the build up demonstrates the wonderful in-built striker's instinct triumphing over the Englishman's grasp of the defensive art. Hibbert must also take his fair share of any blame as he fails to assess that the key danger to Howard's goal is the man in front rather than anyone arriving from behind.

Note the difference in distance between the striker and defender with just three seconds having elapsed.

The above picture shows the moment the Mexican heads the ball and how far he has advanced away from Jagielka and with the late and ultimately futile reaction of Hibbert, Hernández is able to direct his header beyond an unprotected Howard. If you look at the time graphic on the two pictures, just three seconds have elapsed. This once more goes to prove just how much can happen in such a short space of time and how intelligence, movement and instinct can give the striker his glorious reward.

If Sky's player camera was still in existence, then concentrating it solely on Hernández for 90 minutes would almost give you the perfect video for any aspiring youngster to learn from. Combine his lightening pace with such intelligent movement and you have a powerful combination that will haunt opposition defences for years to come. What can be certain is that the"Little Pea" has inherited so much from the other peas in his family pod given that he is the third concurrent member to play for his country. There is only so much you can teach a young footballer, a great deal of his wondrous ability comes from this magical footballing DNA coupled with sincerity, humility and sheer joy that exudes every time he speaks in public.

Anderson - Consistency required
There cannot be two more contrasting performances than those displayed by United's Brazilian midfielder Anderson this week. On Tuesday against Newcastle, he was ponderous, his passing was wayward, he lacked dynamism and in all honesty he looked some way short of having the ability required to control a midfield for Manchester United. Yesterday at Old Trafford, where few would argue almost all of his better displays occur, he was at times a joy to watch. His short passing was precise and accurate and when he attempted a more inventive, attacking pass more often than not it found its target and set United away. The lethargy, so apparent at St James' Park was a distant memory as he buzzed around the pitch always looking to get on the ball and to make a difference. As the saying goes "one swallow does not make a summer" so the key for Anderson between now and the end of the season is firstly, to stay fit, secondly to add some consistency to his play and thirdly to attempt to control a game of magnitude away from the safety of the Old Trafford comfort zone.

His poor shooting technique means that he is unlikely to ever rank highly in the goalscoring charts but he can make a worthwhile contribution to setting up play and being progressive when the situation arises. He needs to be freed of many of the shackles of defensive play and this is why playing in a three often tends to suit him more. However, he is not a player deemed of fantasy class that dictates a team is built around him, so he must continue to work hard, get trim and then he will be worthy of regular acclaim from the Old Trafford faithful.

A message to Nani: two feet are better than one!
The Portuguese winger has had a sensational season as shown by his creativity and aptitude in front of goal but with the return of Valencia, his role has changed. Being genuinely two-footed is a gift bestowed on precious few players in the modern age. While happier on his right, he is comfortable with his left foot and this is the reason why he has been the one to switch flanks rather than the returning Ecuadorian. To me, Nani is suffering a little from his heavy workload this season as his performance levels have dipped appreciably over recent weeks and although his switch to the left is a contributing factor, I do think that fatigue (mental and physical) may be setting in. A further, much overlooked reason for the drop in effectiveness could also be the mental scars from the assault on his leg by Jamie Caragher back in early March.

It is noticeable how when Nani receives the ball on the left side that defenders think instinctively he will cut inside onto his favoured right boot and far too often the Portuguese player is obliging making him a little too predictable. He would get such benefit from staying on his capable left boot at times as he would have to do precious little to get past his direct opponent as they are often seen with a poor body shape anticipating the cut in on his right.

His unwillingness to cross with his left was perfectly summed up by the passage of play that developed yesterday early on. The picture below shows Nani on the left hand side in a wonderful attacking position. The obvious and most dangerous option here would be a low cross along the six yard box where the predator Hernández is predictably lurking. Even if the cross is cut out, the chances of a defender inadvertently turning it towards goal are high.  

The simple ball across goal that could have led to a settling of nerves early on.

Instead, Nani dithered somewhat and ended up allowing the Everton defence to recover and ultimately led to him cutting in on that favoured right boot and a tame shot at goal. One would hope that the management are well aware of this apparent lack of confidence and it is being worked at in training as having a fit Valencia on one side and a confident two-footed player on the other is a potent combination.

Fabio - who will be the better Da Silva?
I love the Da Silva twins for so many reasons and they are destined to play a huge role in United's future. At the moment both are a touch injury prone which can happen early on in a career in a tough uncompromising league as they play in. What is clear from this season is that both are progressing well in all areas and next season will surely seem them making a record number of appearances. Both seem to be growing in stature with their defensive duties and slowly but surely any youthful impetuousness is being coached out of them.

At the moment in my opinion Fabio just shades it from his brother in terms of all round ability which reinforces the long term view held by those in their home country. Clearly they have similar traits in terms of speed, energy, determination and attacking intent, but it is in this last talent that I feel Fabio just edges ahead of his brother. Whether he plays left or right, he makes a conscious decision to get in the box as much as possible to assist the attacking players in the team and once there appears to have a more forward thinking mentality shown by his recent goals against Wigan and Arsenal. For this reason, it may well transpire that in future we see an all Da Silva right flank at times with Rafael performing the duties at full back and Fabio as winger. With the ability for these roles to switch at any time, the effect on opponents could be mesmerising as constant flashes of their curly locks patrol the flank at lightening speed!

Evra - a decisive impact
I have been highly critical of the Frenchman for his deficiencies in defence over recent weeks and I was pleased that he was given a break yesterday. His true class shone through following his introduction (along with Ryan Giggs) in the second half as the pair took over the left flank to reinvigorate a tiring United. As shown below, courtesy of the Guardian, two-thirds of the Frenchman's passes took place in the Everton half and coupled with 100% of Giggs' passes occurring here too, the away side were placed further on the back foot as the two combined well.

A further demonstration of the effect that game-changing substitutes can have on a team that is struggling to break down a resilient opposition.

Thoughts now turn to Tuesday with the visit to Schalke and I will be posting a full preview to this ahead of the game.

Only time will tell how pivotal yesterday's three points will prove as the season draws towards its conclusion. Any slip yesterday would have ignited the Chelsea desire to capitalise and maybe even spark Arsenal in one final push for unexpected glory. All the team can do now is concentrate on their own games and this comes into sharp focus with the next two matches against these challengers.

Avoiding defeat will be essential but a great record at the Emirates makes victory a distinct possibility while an almost faultless home record bodes well for the visit of Chelsea who may well have the odd psychological scar from Champions league defeats lingering.

In summary, Hernández's number 19 of the season made title number 19 a massive step closer as the mighty Manchester United bandwagon strides relentlessly towards the finish line.

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