1. Lingard shows United’s stars how to do it
IT WAS INTERESTING that despite the many millions of talent on display at Old Trafford today, it was United’s least well known starter — a product of the club’s youth academy — who made the biggest impact in attack.
Van Gaal recently said that he wants Jesse Lingard to add more pace to United’s attack, and he certainly provided the Red Devils with a noticeable spark that they have been lacking all too often recently.
Making just his second-ever Premier League start (his full debut coming in Van Gaal’s first game in charge at United, and which was primarily the result of injuries to several of the club’s more established stars), the winger showed maturity beyond his 22 years.
Having been United’s liveliest attacker in the first half, Lingard brought a dull contest to life with a spectacular curling effort seven minutes after the break.
Consequently, the youngster taking responsibility, when several of United’s more established stars struggled to live up to their reputations, certainly bodes well for his future.
2. Rob Elliot gives Martin O’Neill something to think about
Ireland’s number one jersey is very much up for grabs right now. Shay Given is injured and not getting any younger, while Darren Randolph hasn’t played for West Ham since September and David Forde’s most recent Millwall appearance was in August.
Accordingly, Rob Elliot’s recent performances will certainly provide Martin O’Neill with a boost ahead of the vital Bosnia play-off games.
Elliot started his fourth successive Premier League match and earned a second successive clean sheet with a man-of-the-match display that inspired Newcastle to a scarcely deserved win at Bournemouth.
However, although O’Neill has not been averse to making the odd bold selection call in the past, it seems unlikely that the Newcastle stopper will feature against Bosnia — he wasn’t even one of the two goalkeepers on the bench during the Ireland-Germany clash, so it seems as if he is relatively far down in the pecking order, even if recent performances will have done the 29-year-old no harm.
3. Everything going right for Leicester and Vardy
If the season stopped now, Jamie Vardy and Claudio Ranieri would surely be a shoe-in for player and manager of the year respectively.
Vardy is the only Premier League player to score in nine consecutive matches during the same season, while the England international is one game away of equalling Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 10 goals in 10 games.
Meanwhile, many predicted Leicester would struggle, as they did for large portions of last season, with many doubting whether Ranieri was the right fit for a club more accustomed to the no-nonsense style of Nigel Pearson, in comparison with the conceivably more complex approach of the Tinkerman.
Yet Ranieri has silenced the doubters in dramatic fashion, guiding Leicester to unprecedented heights, with the Foxes going level on points at the top alongside Man City and Arsenal following today’s 2-1 win over Watford.
4. Defensive lapse consigns hapless Chelsea to seventh league defeat
The fact that today was one of Chelsea’s better performances will come as little consolation to the banned Jose Mourinho, who presumably watched from his hotel room as his side suffered a seventh league defeat — an all-time low in a single campaign for the Portuguese boss.
Yet Chelsea were at least better compared with their shambolic display against Liverpool last week.
Jack Butland had to be on top form to deny efforts from Ramires and Diego Costa, while a less honest player than Loic Remy would surely have won the Londoners a penalty as he tried to stay on his feet despite the Stoke stopper impeding his path as he went through on goal.
So on another day, Chelsea could have come away with the three points, but one familiar recent failing recurred again this evening.
Despite the past individual brilliance of Messrs Costa, Hazard and Fabregas, up until this season, Chelsea’s success had been built largely on the foundation of a solid backline.
Yet Mourinho’s men have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight away Premier League matches, and the goal they conceded today highlighted their vulnerability in that regard, as a flat-footed Baba Rahman enabled Glen Johnson to run through on goal, before further hesitant defending from the Blues allowed Arnautovic to capitalise with an acrobatic finish.
5. O’Shea’s likely absence a big blow for Ireland
Having already been suspended for the first leg, it seems more than likely now that John O’Shea will miss the second leg of Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier with Bosnia through injury, after Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce ruled him out of the match today.
Losing O’Shea — who had been expected to feature for Sunderland against Southampton this afternoon before withdrawing at the last minute — undoubtedly represents a blow to Ireland’s qualification hopes.
Even at 34, the centre-back remains a key player for the Boys in Green — anyone who saw the masterful way the former Man United player led the backline during last month’s historic win over reigning world champions Germany will have been left in no doubt of the skipper’s importance.
Moreover, with Marc Wilson, Ciaran Clark and Alex Pearce all struggling for first-team action this season, it’s not as if Ireland are blessed with many obvious in-form alternatives to O’Shea currently.
