Manchester United fantastic home form this season has been tainted by a superb Southampton performance. A 69th minute strike from Tadic was all Southampton needed to defeat United - a game the Saints scored with their first short on target.
It was a shambolic performance from united going forward, a game in which the team lacked the cutting edge, final pass and creativity to breakdown a solid Southampton defence.
Redly United looks at the game and bring out five talking points.
1. Blind’s versatility; United’s advantage: it was great sing the Dutch midfielder back in the tem after his long absence due to injury. On his return however, he didn’t start in his favourite midfield position and had to start in the defence. The left side of the defence in place of Evans. It was a brilliant return for Blind, who did almost everything perfectly in the match. He was neat, tidy, getting into the tackles and duels, putting in the crosses, picking up the right passes. It was a confidence performance from the Dutchman, and he was much better than Evans in that position.
2. Di Maria not a striker: Angel Di Maria’s return to the team was a welcomed development. But playing in an apparently strange position in the first half, took life and vibrancy off the Argentine’s game. He stated the game upfront with Van Persie and was silent for most the first half. His best displays in the game were times when he dropped dip behind the striker, and when on the wings. He wasn’t effective and never looked comfortable in the box.
3. Falcao much needed in the team: the surprise omission from Van Gaal’s team was the absence of Falcao. The striker has been blending into the team nicely and has been scoring important goals for the team of late. It was understandable that he had start the last five games, but a place on the bench would still have been nice for him to make a substitute appearance.
4. Van Gaal tinkering too much: this season, Van Gaal has made some questionable decisions. With United playing their 21th premier League game of the season, it’s expected that Van Gaal understands his squad and players better, as to which position to play each to bring out their best. Starting Di Maria as a striker was one of those questionable decisions today; substituting Luke Shaw who wasn’t injured and was having a fantastic game for Blackket was another. Deciding to leave Falcao completely out of the game was another. It was a game with so many questionable coaching decisions from the United gaffer, and unfortunately he made them on a bad day.
5. Time to take a look at the table: Manchester United’s resurgence this season moved the team from seventh to third within weeks. But since team accession to the third position, the team seems not to have significantly improved. Chelsea and Manchester City have had their downs during this period, unfortunately united have failed to capitalize on that. With the team’s defeat today United slipped down to fourth on the table, being leapfrogged by Southampton, and now have to play the catch up game. Arsenal - an expert in the battle for the top four may become United closest adversary if care is not taken.
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