Updated at 10.10
MANCHESTER UNITED WENT into last week’s game against West Brom on the back of an encouraging home win over Everton, yet a sense of caution continued to permeate the Red Devils’ pre-match talk.
Manager Louis van Gaal, in particular, seemed in less than buoyant form, with the 63-year-old admitting his previous suggestion that he should be judged after three months at Old Trafford was “stupid”.
“Against Everton we could not say it was very good. The first 60 minutes, maybe, but a game lasts 90 minutes,” he told reporters.
“I don’t think points are very important in the process. It’s the game, it’s the style, it’s the formation, it’s the philosophy that we have to judge and not the points.”
West Brom, meanwhile, went into the game having been unlucky to lose 2-1 against Liverpool, though coach Alan Irvine was primarily talking up United prior to the match.
“They are still Manchester United and have some great players,” he told Sky Sports News. “It’s going to be a huge game for our club, players and fans.
“They have been a fantastic team over the years, but the squad was looking like it was going to need some changes and I read something from Sir Alex Ferguson saying it has needed an overhaul.
“Manchester United have been dominant for many years, so they are eventually going to have to change and that’s the situation they are in at the moment.”
Formations
Louis van Gaal reverted to one up front for the game, giving Robin van Persie the nod and suggesting Radamel Falcao was tired from his efforts with Colombia during the international break.
Teenager Adnan Januzaj was handed a rare start by LVG, while Angel Di Maria was also selected to play on the opposite flank.
Daley Blind and Ander Herrera anchored the midfield, with Spanish international Juan Mata in the more advanced role, while Phil Jones returned from injury, slotting in in place of the injured Paddy McNair in a back four that was otherwise unchanged.
West Brom adopted a similar system, with in-form striker Saido Berahino up front and Stephane Sessegnon just off him.
United invite West Brom to attack
In the Alex Ferguson era, it’s virtually inconceivable that United would start the game as they did against West Brom on Monday.
However, that’s taking nothing away from the Baggies, who were clearly up for this encounter, as epitomised by this close-up of an intense-looking Berahino just prior to kick-off.
Back when Fergie was around, United generally went to opposition grounds anticipating a win, whereas they now seemingly travel in hope rather than expectation, as evidenced by the fact that they have failed to win any of their four league games on the road so far this season.
A lack of confidence, presumably prompted by their poor away form, was starkly apparent in the opening minutes of the West Brom clash. United were so often in the past associated with a level of attacking aggression and speed that opposition teams simply couldn’t deal with, however on Monday, these traits were absent early on.
Instead of testing their backline, United sat off West Brom and allowed the hosts to come at them, as if they were simply looking to keep it tight and not concede early on — a mentality that would have once been considered beneath the club.
Nevertheless, in the opening stages of the contest, West Brom’s defenders were given ample time on the ball, as the likes of Van Persie and Mata dropped off — something they were surely under instruction to do.
By adopting this quite cautious approach, perhaps Louis van Gaal had his side’s last away match in mind — their embarrassing 5-3 loss against Leicester, which remains by some distance their worst defensive performance of the season.
In that match, United’s back four invariably adopted a high line, and were consequently badly caught out on more than one occasion.
The centre-backs chosen to face the Baggies, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, are not the quickest, and were thus liable to be exposed by the pace and trickery of Sessegnon and Berahino.
Therefore, by asking his attackers to drop off and thereby allowing the defence to sit deeper, Van Gaal was perhaps attempting to prevent a similar embarrassment to the Leicester game from occurring, as West Brom’s forwards seldom had opportunities to run in behind United’s defence, or at least not in the initial stages of the encounter anyway.
Unfortunately though, the Red Devils’ negativity and lack of faith in their defenders was ultimately punished by their opponents.
Encouraged on by an unusually passive United team, the Baggies dominated the early stages much to the delight of the passionate home crowd, and this momentum eventually enabled them to make a breakthrough.
Sublime Sessegnon puts West Brom in control, punishes Shaw’s error
West Brom had already given United a few warning signals early on, creating more than one half-chance, before Sessegnon scored the opening goal after eight minutes in exemplary fashion.
However, as superbly executed as the former Sunderland man’s strike was, some lax United play and bad defensive decision-making ultimately contributed to the goal too, as the shot below illustrates.
(Shaw and Di Maria, both circled, were culpable for West Brom’s first goal)
In the lead up to West Brom’s opening goal, United make two particularly obvious mistakes. Firstly, Shaw over-commits and doesn’t win the aerial challenge, leaving plenty of space for the onrushing attacker to run into. And secondly, Angel Di Maria fails to track the runner, allowing Andre Wisdom the freedom to collect the loose ball and power forward, before delivering the decisive cross for the goal.
So despite starting in a relatively cautious fashion, United found themselves a goal behind, owing to a combination of a lapse of concentration and poor judgement from two of their expensive summer signings.
United struggle to create first-half chances
Reeling after the early setback, United never really came alive for the remainder of the first-half.
West Brom, content with their 1-0 lead, sat back and played on the counter-attack, and invariably looked quite comfortable while doing so.
The visitors, meanwhile, merely showed hints of attacking promise. Di Maria whipped in a few dangerous-looking crosses and others continually tried to hit ambitious through balls to the lively Van Persie, efforts which would have paid off were it not for some resolute Baggies defending. Yet United’s overall play lacked the necessary intensity and urgency all too often.
The Red Devils were still dominating possession and territory — in the opening 40 minutes, the ball was in West Brom’s final third 42% of the time, compared with 25% in United’s defensive area. Yet aside from a swerving Di Maria pot shot that the goalkeeper dealt with relatively easily, Van Gaal’s side’s chances to score were few and far between.
Moreover, despite being rarely tested down the other end, the United defence continued to look nervy, with Jones giving the ball away needlessly at one point, while Rojo was also out-muscled by Berahino as the two fought for a 50:50, enabling West Brom to create a half-chance in the process.
Fellaini makes an impact
It was ironic that a player commonly regarded as virtually personifying the folly of the David Moyes era was the individual who saved United temporarily on Monday night.
Replacing the ineffectual, fairly anonymous Herrera at half-time, the ex-Everton man pushed forward and brought a level of physicality to the United attack that it previously lacked.
Van Gaal, who — as Holland coach — was regularly praised for his inspired substitutions during last summer’s World Cup, appeared to have produced another masterstroke, as Fellaini proceeded to score an expertly-taken goal within three minutes of coming on.
Furthermore, the Belgian international continued to pose a threat thereafter, regularly winning headers in dangerous areas and giving United a more direct route to goal, after their constant intricate passing had initially yielded no reward before the break.
Fellaini has endured a torrid, injury-interrupted time at the club, yet if he continues to play in this manner, he could yet be an asset for United.
Part of the reason why the Belgian star failed to impress during Moyes’ time at Old Trafford was surely because he was asked to play in a somewhat unnatural defensive-midfield role. The 26-year-old largely flourished at Everton in an attacking role behind the striker, and it’s unsurprisingly where he did much of his best work the other night as well.
United fall asleep again
Following Fellaini’s early second-half goal, United were unquestionably in the ascendancy.
Though the Red Devils were still struggling to create clear-cut openings, they were no longer standing off the West Brom defence as they had done initially.
Instead, the visitors, sensing their opponents’ weakness, increasingly forced the Baggies back towards their own goal. For a period, it consequently seemed as if only one team was capable of winning the game, yet West Brom, through good discipline and organisation in defence, managed to gradually alleviate this early second-half storm.
And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the hosts re-took the lead. And to make matters worse, it was an especially poor goal to concede, which once again emphasised the Red Devils’ defensive vulnerability.
Chris Brunt was given far too much time and space on the ball by the United midfield, and he proceeded to play a masterful through ball that sent Berahino clear on goal, with the striker subsequently producing a confident finish to score his sixth goal of the season.
Again however, United made it easy for their opponents. Both Jones and Rojo stepped up in an attempt to play offside, yet Rafael inexplicably dropped back and played Berahino on.
Simply put, the confusion over whether they were playing offside or not was down to a lack of communication — something that can be worked on by a back four who are familiar with one another. Yet Jones was making his first Premier League start since August, while the other three United defenders haven’t played too many games either, and their rustiness was particularly conspicuous in this instance.
Consequently, West Brom had two shots on target compared with United’s five, and yet still found themselves in the driving seat. Despite being on the back-foot for much of the game, Alan Irvine’s men had taken full advantage of the away’s side’s inept backline to restore their advantage.
Blind faith rewarded
Following Berahino’s goal on 66 minutes, the Baggies continued to sit back and soak up United pressure. Van Gaal’s side were forced into one change when Ashley Young replaced the injured Di Maria, while Falcao also came on in place of Mata, prompting Van Persie to drop deeper to allow the Colombian star to lead the attack.
As the game progressed into the dying stages, United inevitably intensified the pressure on West Brom, with an air of desperation becoming increasingly evident in the home side’s play.
The Baggies’ nervousness was palpable as the final whistle drew near, with experienced defender Joleon Lescott conceding possession twice in quick succession under little pressue. They were also let off when an ambitious Van Persie effort from distance came back off the post.
Moreover, it took something similarly spectacular to earn United a point. With virtually all the West Brom players helplessly pinned deep into their own half, United capitalised. Rafael played a hopeful ball into the box, and it fell towards substitute Falcao, before rebounding perfectly into the path of Blind.
Up until this point in the game, the 24-year-old Dutch international had been having a frustrating evening, as he had rarely influenced the play significantly. And indeed, he was probably a little lucky to stay on the field, as two blatant tactical fouls during the course of the game resulted in only one yellow card.
Yet the former Ajax star came good when it was most needed, showing superb technique, as he unleashed an unstoppable side-footed effort that curled exquisitely into the the net.
While United had again underperformed, on the balance of play, the point that this late intervention led to was probably just about deserved.
Conclusion
The game provided a relatively accurate summary of United’s season thus far. For all the Old Trafford outfit’s promise in attack, their good work is consistently undermined by defensive mishaps. And these errors have created a lack of confidence throughout the team, as evidenced by their hesitant start at the Hawthorns last Monday, in which they made the crucial error of sitting back and handing West Brom the initiative.
The fact that United were largely in the ascendancy and under little pressure from the Baggies’ attack only serves to highlight how poor they were on the rare occasions when the hosts managed to get forward.
Between Shaw’s rash decision-making, Rojo’s noticeable lack of physicality, Rafael’s inability to play the offside trap and Jones’ wayward passing, they certainly have plenty to work on starting this afternoon against Chelsea. The men in front of them are hardly helping matters either, as shown by Di Maria’s failure to track the runner for the first goal, and the manner in which Chris Brunt sauntered through the midfield for the second.
Hence, what United now need more than anything is a reliable and settled back four to give the players in front of them the confidence to express themselves and attack with conviction and aggression, all the while knowing their work won’t be in vain owing to an incompetent backline. Yet whether Rafael and co are good enough to eventually meet these standards remains to be seen.
