IT WAS AN excellent performance from Louis van Gaal’s side against Club Brugge
Once again, the defence was solid and but for an unfortunate own goal from Michael Carrick, they would’ve kept a third clean sheet in as many games.
In midfield, there was another quietly efficient performance from Morgan Scheniderlin while Bastian Schweinsteiger’s 45-minutes were eye-catching.
Thankfully for United fans, Wayne Rooney offered an improvement on his much-maligned performance against Aston Villa last Friday while other players put in some impressive shifts too.
But here are the main things that stood out from the 3-1 result.
1) Chris Smalling is enjoying a rapid resurgence
There was a turning point last term and it may have come in United’s 4-2 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford in April. In the return fixture, Smalling was sent-off after just 39 minutes, diving into a challenge recklessly and leaving his side with a mountain to climb.
He had struggled in Louis van Gaal’s earliest days, doubting his ability on the ball and nervously pushing forward at the behest of his manager, almost coerced into playing football out from the back.
But against City, he was a transformed presence. He was commanding and was a true leader, pointing and organising and doing things that were very unlike him. It seemed like he had finally matured into what everyone had predicted years before: an imposing, strong, intelligent athlete.
The season has only just begun but he’s stood out at centre-back. Tonight, there was plenty of confidence on the ball, striding forward into midfield and even making a run into the penalty area after a steal during the first half.
When needed, he did the dirty work too showing strength and desire in those combative duels.
2) He’s not the finished article but Memphis is just what United need
Cast your minds back to last season and United’s inability to penetrate defences. Faced with a block of defenders, they couldn’t force a way through and didn’t have the requisite guile or explosiveness or cleverness to do so either. Angel di Maria was brought in to provide that cutting edge in attack but for a variety of reasons, it didn’t work.
In Memphis, United have a young product with a desire to get on the ball and beat his man. It feels like quite a while since United have had that. Think of how often a United player will check back instead of offering some trickery or creativity. They either don’t have the pace or skill-set. Memphis has both.
But, for every two-goal performance he’ll conjure at Old Trafford there’ll be the invisible moments against high-profile sides. There will be the audacious attempts he’ll try and the passes he’ll fail to give.
Ultimately, that’s what young and gifted players do. They entertain and illuminate but make you angry too. It’s part of their appeal. And United need players that take risks. They’ve always had them.
For a 21-year-old to arrive at the club with so much self-confidence is a great thing. He’ll need it to succeed because they’ll only get harder from here on.
3) Van Gaal has options and isn’t afraid to use them
United’s best performances last season came when van Gaal changed his system and tried something different. Marouane Fellaini was the something different and it worked a treat.
What the team has this season is options. Take tonight as an example. At half-time, Schweinsteiger replaced Michael Carrick, as he did against Aston Villa in United’s last league outing. The German was a composed presence in there and rarely surrendered the ball. Even better, when United chased a third, he pushed higher and was a threat in the area – something Carrick wouldn’t have been able to offer. It may not seem like much but it’s a minor detail.
Up front, Hernandez was introduced for Januzaj and he stretched the Brugge side, his running and pressing style arguably having a role to play in United’s third goal. He stole in front of Mechele to take possession before the defender brought him down and received a second yellow for the foul. And how the Belgians missed the centre-back when Depay whipped in that cross for Fellaini deep in injury-time and Duarte couldn’t get close to it.
Ultimately, the Fellaini change will get talked about quite a bit and for obvious reasons. Teams have huge difficulty dealing with him with Chelsea memorably having Kurt Zouma man-mark him at Stamford Bridge last season.
United could do with another striker though. Rooney had his moments – especially the flick that teed up Depay for what should’ve been his hat-trick – but as much as his approach play was better, he still seemed to lack a spark close to goal.
