As nervous as it was, Manchester United’s narrow 1-0 victory over Everton was fully-deserved, but it took a total-team, very resolute performance to get all three points. Javier Hernandez will rightfully receive a lot of the plaudits for his timely finish, but, to be fair to the other United players, there were plenty of polished performances put in all over the Old Trafford pitch.
Sir Alex Ferguson decided to play the match without two governing members of his team’s spine, but that afforded the chance for two lesser players to step up their game and contribute to the team’s overall objectives.
Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick both missed the match against Everton, but their respective replacements Jonny Evans and Anderson put in very good performances to make sure neither of them were truly missed. Sir Alex has always said that the club with the best squad mentality will win this season’s title, and that belief his players was displayed on the pitch against Everton.
In defense, Vidic’s massive presence, which has earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year, was not missed and Evans showed complete calmness that allowed Sir Alex to rest his captain. With an imposing fixture list coming up in the next couple weeks, the United manager saw this as the perfect time to give Evans a vote of confidence. With all of the injuries Everton is currently facing, David Moyes decided to field only one striker at a time, and Evans handled both Jermaine Beckford and Victor Anichebe comfortably.
Evans’ center-back partner, Rio Ferdinand, was very fortunate not to have given up a penalty after Anichebe beat him for pace, but Peter Walton did not think twice about giving the spot kick to the visitors.
When the ball finally made its way passed Evans, Edwin van der Sar was on hand to make a save. At Manchester United, especially at Old Trafford, a goalkeeper needs to remain focused for the full 90 minutes, because there will come a time for him to make a crucial save – and the 40-year old did just that.
Everton found pockets of space to pass into, and it gave Jack Rodwell, who is supposedly a transfer target, a yard to get a shot off. His long-range effort took a telling deflection off of Evans, but van der Sar remained sighted on the ball, and got his fingertips on the shot and tipped it around the post. To be honest, United’s back-four was not troubled by Everton, which was down to the midfielders’ stranglehold of the ball.
Commanding
With Carrick and Ryan Giggs being rested on the bench, Darren Fletcher out with an illness and Paul Scholes missing through suspension, Ferguson called on Anderson and Darron Gibson to take control of the Reds’ engine room.
Both of these midfielders operated through the middle with composure and steel, and the negated any influence that Phil Neville and Rodwell could conjure up. Anderson and Gibson played key roles in the Reds’ keeping over 60% of the possession, which led to countless chances for the Reds in either half.
The only fault with either Anderson or Gibson performances is that neither of them not found the back of the Everton net on any of their opportunities that they were presented with to actually test Tim Howard. Thankfully though, the Reds were not left to rue either of their misses, and it was a familiar face that grabbed the headlines.
Against two very accomplished center-backs, Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, Wayne Rooney and Chicharito were magnificent asking many different questions of them. Defenders never really know how to handle this dynamic duo, because of the many different ways that they can attack.
Rooney, who, lately, has been reveling in a more withdrawn role, was all over the pitch and showed how imaginative he can be with the ball at his feet rather than being pinged at his head. Rooney was given the famous No. 10 shirt for his natural football ability, and now that he is able to come back and be more involved in the build-up play Rooney is becoming more valuable.
His strike partner, Chicharito, continues to impress and exceed all expectations as he rose to the occasion again, and nodded the Reds to another valuable victory.
Hernandez timed many of his runs to perfection, but until he got his goal, he was being left frustrated by Distin and Jagielka. He was teasing each of them with his pace, but the young Mexican used his persistent determination to eventual find the back of the net. Chicharito forced Howard into making three very decent saves, but the former United goalkeeper could not do anything about his winner.
The total team performance from Manchester United was far greater than any individual performance, but each player played their part in the Reds’ warranted win.
Match Highlights Here
Submitted by The United Religion
