United vs West Brom Post Match Post Mortem

Manchester United kicked off their Premier League campaign with a hard fought victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthornes.

Picture courtesy of the Telegraph

A lively opening saw the Reds take the lead in the 13th minute when Rooney, after some wonderful combination play with Ashley Young, fired home with his left foot. The expected goal glut did not materialise as the home side defended stoically and gradually as the half wore on, they managed to gain a foothold in the game. The equaliser, from the boot of debutant Shane Long, came as something of a surprise as there appeared little danger as Long's tame effort made its way towards goal. Unfortunately, De Gea failed to get his body in the way and the ball ended up in the back of the net.

West Brom were arguably the better side in the second half as they looked to capitalise on the young Spaniard's dip in confidence. To his credit, he stood firm and Young worked his way down to the byline before having his cross cruelly deflected twice beyond the helpless Foster in the home goal.

The vital three points did come at a cost for the Reds though as both Vidic and Ferdinand limped off to add to the defensive woes already exacerbated by Rafael's shoulder injury that is likely to see him sidelined for up to 10 weeks.

Post-match debate:

1) Rooney goal analysis - This was beautifully crafted by the scorer whose link up play with new signing Young is proof of an understanding built up whilst on international duty together.

Rooney comes deep to accept the pass with the defender close by. Young is poised to move.

The above screen shot shows how Rooney has dropped deep to accept the pass. Young, on the nearside, is already anticipating Rooney's intention and is attempting to keep himself onside. Note from the picture above how the defender has tracked  the Englishman but has left a big gap behind which could be exploited.

Note the gap between the defender and Rooney just a few seconds later

Once Rooney had flicked the ball into Young's path, the defender rushed back to cover the space left behind, leaving Rooney relatively free on the edge of the box. The pass from Young was a touch behind him, but he managed to adjust his feet before firing past Foster with his left foot.

The most notable part of the goal for me was that it was struck with his left foot. I am convinced that if the same chance had presented itself last season, Rooney would not have had the confidence to use his weaker foot. However, in a training video released while on tour in the summer, both Rooney and Giggs were shown practicing volleys and cross shots with their weaker foots. This is further proof that if you work hard in training that it will pay off eventually in matches and also that you are never too old to learn or improve.

Young's winner was notable for the fact that he picked up the ball and looked to cross with his right foot as he had primarily through the game. What threw the defender in front of him was the sudden switch to going on his left side and left him clear to get to the byline before being rewarded for his ingenuity and endeavour. I have mentioned in previous posts about how he will become much more dangerous offensive weapon when he learns to trust his left foot and so it has proved.

2) De Gea fever - Another mistake by the young Spaniard drew inevitable yet overwhelmingly excessive vitriol from the media following yesterday's game. And all this after United secured three points! Imagine what it would be like if they had lost? United fans with short memories would also do well to remember the great Schmiechel's struggles in his early appearances as pointed out by the manager following the game yesterday. De Gea should draw strength from the fact that following both mistakes made, he has gone on to not concede in the second half which points to strength of mind in some respects. If you look back on the goal he conceded, it is noticeable that he is a touch too close to his near post and when the shot comes in across him towards the far post, it is out of his reach.

My own view is that he is learning very quickly about the physical nature of the Premier League and is understandably nervous as he embarks upon his United career. Confidence will come from regular games and as his grasp of the language improves. His wiry frame is also proving something of a concern as although the great Van der Sar was of a similar build, Edwin had a few inches in height with which to use that the young Spaniard does not.

I have little doubt that he will emerge a stronger keeper for all of these episodes and it was encouraging to see so many of his team mates rally round him at both half and full time. With the backing of the other members of the squad, De Gea will one day look back at this current predicament with a wry smile, safe in the knowledge that it was an essential part of his induction into the finer points of English football

3) Why we still need a defensive midfielder - or to be more precise, why we need Darren Fletcher back to full fitness as soon as possible. Although both Anderson and Tom Cleverley had solid games yesterday, neither is particularly defensive in their play and this did lead to plenty of space with which the home side could have used better during the course of the game. Without a holding midfielder, we could get exposed against better opposition and although Carrick can fill this role to an extent, I prefer him to play with his head up and looking for an incisive pass and not be more concerned with defensive duties. Fletcher has the ability to sit in front of the back four whilst still supporting the attack when necessary. One hopes that his illness woes are behind up as United lack his energy and combative displays in the middle of the park.

4) Little threat to opposing goal - not for the first time in recent seasons, it was noticeable that although we played some exciting football at times, the threat on the opposition goal was limited for long periods. This is further emphasised by the stats from the game that show we only had five shots on target to West Brom's eight. I am not sure as to the full reasons behind this occurrence and it could be forgiven by remembering that it is the first game of the season. However, it will be important as the season progresses that we look to put teams under pressure with more of an end product rather than the move breaking down before a strike at goal is achieved.

5) Other notable displays - Chris Smalling at right back was once again impressive from both an attacking and defensive point of view. While Nani and Welbeck worked hard, they were unable to replicate their form of the previous weekend which placed the emphasis on Rooney and Young to create. After the premature exit of defensive rocks Vidic and Ferdinand, I thought both Evans and Jones integrated incredibly well into a youthful back five and demonstrated once again that they can thrive when the pressure is on. Fabio at left back in the absence of Evra was fairly solid throughout and it was worth noting that he was the furthest player forward when Young's cross was deflected into the goal for the winner.

Player Ratings

De Gea 5, Smalling 7, Ferdinand 6, Vidic 6, Fabio 6, Nani 6, Cleverley 7, Anderson 7, Young 8, Rooney 8, Welbeck 6.
Subs: Jones 7, Evans 7, Berbatov 6

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