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| Dimitar tells Liverpool fans how many European Cups United will have by end of this season! |
Fulham were neat and tidy in places but lacked the goal threat to truly trouble the United back line. Mark Hughes has inherited a talented squad at Craven Cottage but they never looked likely to overturn their poor away form that has seen them win just twice on their travels in the last couple of seasons.
Focus will now switch to Tuesday as the manager and his staff begin their preparation with light training today.
Here are a few talking points from yesterday's game:
Berbatov goal analysis
The Bulgarian's 22nd goal of the season came as a result of Nani's trickery on the inside left. As shown below, Berbatov has laid the ball off for the Portuguese winger. In recent seasons, it has been noted that the languid Bulgarian often fails to follow an astute pass with a surge into the box in an attempt to score. That particular misconception has not been in evidence this season and if you look at his body shape below, you can clearly see that once the pass is made, his only intention is to get into the box on the blind side of his opponent. Nani did especially well to commit several of the Fulham midfield and left them trailing in his wake.
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| Berbatov gets "on his bike" to the penalty area sensing an opportunity. |
There are two things of interest in the picture below. Firstly, you can see the result of Nani's dribbling has left the Fulham midfield in a line making little attempt to assist their defenders. Anderson has not been tracked and was free to lay the ball back to Nani ahead of the vital pass. Berbatov is standing with his arms wide pleading for the ball but a fraction offside. He has been left on his own in space and fired past Schwarzer with ease.
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| Berbatov pleading for the ball in space as the Fulham midfield stand and admire from afar |
The second goal once again owed much to the skill and speed of Nani who beat the Fulham offside trap with ease and worked his way past the onrushing Schwarzer. Valencia, lurking at the back post got his reward with a simple headed finish after Nani's initial clip towards goal had been headed away by Hughes on the line.
Midfield line-up: Safety in numbers
With eight changes from the victory at Stamford Bridge a few days before, the team performance was always likely to be a little disjointed. It was a surprise to see the boss select a three man midfield in a home game against a mid table side such as Fulham. With the excellent recent form of Michael Carrick warranting a break, the line up of Scholes, Gibson and Anderson looked like it was thrown together at late notice. Scholes, as is the norm these days took up his quarterback role with Gibson assisting alongside and Anderson being the link to Berbatov in attack. None of this trio are particularly defensive in their play and therefore could not be trusted in a two man midfield so a "safety in numbers" approach was adopted. This lack of defensive capability was evident throughout with Fulham finding plenty of space between the United back four and midfield yet being unable to take advantage. Personnel of the quality of Zamora, Dembelé, Dempsey and Kakuta, on a more productive day could well have made the Reds pay for this deficiency. It was still noticeable late on with the introduction of Gudjohnsen who was able to find space in which to turn and threaten without having the quality to cause serious problems.
The missing link in the United midfield at the moment is Darren Fletcher who combines energy and drive with a defensive mindset. Although better of late, Gibson seems to be competent in most areas of the midfield art whilst not excelling in any and at the age of 24, is this going to change? Even his much heralded shooting ability seems to have deserted him this season.
Anderson was once again a mixed bag which perfectly sums up his season and possibly his United career. He has undoubted talent but seems unable to fully get his foot through the ball when striking to give it sufficient power to trouble the keeper. His fitness in both senses is also a concern. He has been injury prone since his arrival and is often unable to string a consistent run of matches together. Many observers would also point to his "stocky" physique as evidence as to why he struggles to complete a full ninety minutes. Performing a full repertoire of tricks in the reserves is one thing but having an impact in the first team is another.
"Come in number 29 - your time is up"
Saturday began with news that Tomasz Kuszczak was proclaiming that his time at Old Trafford was coming to an end as he was not getting enough games. Although this does not come as any great surprise as many feel the manager would have let him leave anyway, it is not a sensible move to have such quotes appearing in print on the morning of a vital game.
While the outspoken Pole has shown some ability as a goal keeper in his five years at the club, with shot stopping high on the list of qualities displayed, he appears to instill a distinct level of nervousness to all those in front of him. In my opinion, even if he was the best shot stopper in the world, I would not want Kuszczak as United's number one. The sole reason for this is the poor ability he possesses with the ball at his feet. You could sense yesterday, 76,000 hearts going into mouths every time he attempted to either control or clear the ball from his area. Frankly, to not show any tangible evidence of improvement in this key department is a sad indictment on the player himself and the goalkeeping coach Eric Steele. The only way to improve is to practice and clearly this is not happening. The Pole has had a tendency to speak out about lack of chances he has had over recent years but to then show such a lack of improvement is poor. Lack of ability with ball at the feet has long been a weakness for United keepers over the years and has contributed to early exits for the likes of Bosnich, Carroll and Foster but to be top class, ability in this area has to be sound.
To be fair, we have been lucky to witness a goalkeeper so adept with the ball at his feet in Van Der Sar and it would be harsh to judge his successor in such terms but Kuszczak's nervousness transmits itself throughout the team and could not be tolerated in the long term.
Berbatov's frustration
Although the silky Bulgarian has much to be unhappy about considering his lack of selection during his time at Old Trafford, it does not excuse his noticeable frustrations with members of his team when the ball does not get played to him. Nani seems to bear the brunt of the Berbatov disgust despite a season where the Portuguese winger has excelled in both assists and goal scoring. Thankfully, it does not seem to have affected his confidence in any way but the same reaction from Berbatov towards a younger player could well undermine confidence and a quiet word should be had in my opinion.
Other notable performances
Regular readers of my blog will be well versed with the glowing praise I have bestowed on Chris Smalling over the course of his debut season at Manchester United and I make no apology for it. After watching his mentor return to action onWednesday and being relegated to the bench, the former Fulham player was back alongside Vidic yesterday. Although he was not overly troubled, everything he did was of high quality and without fuss. His positioning and concentration looks like it is improving with each game and he could well replace Ferdinand in both the United and England first team in years to come.
Nani reverted to a left wing role with Valencia on the right and once more was central to all that was good for United. I feel that he can be productive on the left flank as he has that rare ability to be comfortable with either foot. This was shown yesterday when on one occasion Baird was clearly showing Nani inside onto his right foot and was surprised to see the winger fly past him leading to a cross with his left foot. The return of Valencia means that this left side role may well become his regular berth next season so he must continue to work hard as this versatility will be important to further increase the manager's options.
Formation, Formation, Formation
After several indifferent displays, Chelsea reverted to their tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation yesterday and managed to scrape a narrow win against Wigan. The switch to 4-4-2 coincided with the arrival of Fernando Torres in January and an attempt to get him and Drogba in the same team yet has led to a series of poor results that may ultimately see them end the season without silverware. One would expect that this familiar formation will be on display on Wednesday as it suits the likes of Lampard and Essien amongst others.
If this is the case then I would expect United to match the Blues in midfield with a three man line up. With the onus on Chelsea to force the issue, the Reds will no doubt sit back and look to take the sting out of the away side's attack and then break rapidly on the counter attack with the likes of Valencia, Giggs and Rooney. The longer the games goes as goalless the more desperate Chelsea will become in their quest for the holy grail of Champions League success and there will no doubt be gaps to exploit. One thing worth noting ahead of the game is that even if United score, this does not really change the dynamics of the game as the Blues know they need to score and that a 1-2 scoreline will send them through on away goals. It could well be a tense night at Old Trafford and over confidence amongst the home team will not be tolerated. It should be a cracking atmosphere at Old Trafford and the boss will be hoping that the vociferous home support will spur the team onto a semi final spot with a great chance of reaching the Wembley final.
I will be doing a full preview of the Champions League 2nd leg so be sure to check back tomorrow for that.
Do you agree with my thoughts above? Please leave a comment below or contact me via Twitter.
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