The Manchester United Thread
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Scholes has been sent off for the kind of thing Torres did against Cleverley for his first yellow. So as Gary said two wrongs don't make it right but it's some kind of justice anyway. And seeing Chicharito's goal from the linesman perspective - Cech's in the way so he can't see Chicharito at all.
Rafael da Silva surged past Eden Hazard to create an overload against Ashley Cole for Manchester United's second goal. Illustration: Graphic
Refereeing controversies overshadowed an exciting game and an interesting tactical battle – but both coaches made intriguing decisions in response to the Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres dismissals.
With Roberto Di Matteo constrained by the absence of Frank Lampard,Chelsea's starting lineup was predictable and the pre-game tactical questions concerned Sir Alex Ferguson's approach. After United went into an early lead his overall strategy was difficult to deduce – David Luiz's unfortunate own goal forced Chelsea to take the initiative while the away side concentrated upon counterattacking, a scenario that played into the hands of United's players. In selecting a formation with width, rather than the diamond he has experimented with recently, Ferguson was seeking to attack purposely down the flanks, particularly the right.
Chelsea have been vulnerable down the left this season primarily because Eden Hazard's advanced, central positioning leaves Ashley Cole exposed. This was a particularly bad match to leave the left-back alone against two opponents – Antonio Valencia has frequently outperformed him in recent years, with the Ecuadorian possessing both the defensive qualities to track Cole's runs, and the natural drive to attack him.
In direct battles between the two, Cole coped reasonably well with Valencia, who completed only one of his six attempted dribbles – but enthusiastic support for Valencia came from the right-back Rafael da Silva. United's second goal was a perfect illustration of Chelsea's problem down the left this season. Rafael motored past Hazard to create an overload and Valencia had time to cross for Robin van Persie's finish. It was classic wide play from United's right-sided duo, now wearing the traditional shirt numbers for that side of the pitch, 2 and 7.
Chelsea's dominance of possession put United under pressure at the back and forced their attacking players into deep positions. Wayne Rooney is always instructed to pick up Mikel John Obi in these fixtures but Chelsea's use of a 4-2-3-1 meant Rooney had to retreat deeper than when the Nigerian is the sole holding player in a 4-3-3. Rooney was alongside Tom Cleverley in a 4-1-4-1 without the ball and both looked uncomfortable with their defensive duties – the former gave away possession cheaply, and Rooney's reckless tackle conceded the free-kick Juan Mata exquisitely curled past David de Gea. Chelsea continued their momentum into the second half and merited their equaliser, yet the sudden drop in tempo after their second goal was unnecessary and disappointing.
Ivanovic's dismissal put United in charge and, although refereeing decisions were unquestionably the game's crucial moments, Ferguson deserves credit for making an attack-minded substitution immediately after finding himself with an extra man. Managers playing against 10 men frequently keep the same shape, before discovering they do not have enough attackers to create overloads against a side defending with everyone behind ball. Instead, Ferguson was proactive in introducing Javier Hernández for Cleverley. The Mexican joined Van Persie up front and looked for service from Ashley Young and Valencia on the flanks while Wayne Rooney became a central playmaker. Even before Chelsea went down to nine men, United were using five dedicated attackers. Dominance of possession was inevitable and Hernández was the perfect player to poach.
Di Matteo's substitutions were logical, and his attempt to play for a draw completely understandable. The right-back César Azpilicueta filled the hole left by Ivanovic's departure, while Ryan Bertrand provided protection for Cole, and Daniel Sturridge was introduced after Hernández's goal.
In stark contrast to Chelsea's lack of defensive shape for much of this campaign, Di Matteo would have been pleased with the positioning of his two banks of four for the final 20 minutes – the problem, of course, was that those eight outfielders were all he was working with.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/oct/28/manchester-united-chelsea-tactical-analysis?CMP=twt_gu
craig curtis
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[video=youtube;jzFZL2DHwIY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzFZL2DHwIY[/video]
This is really top class stuff. Neville was England's best ever right back, and he's quickly becoming as good a pundit as he was a player.
This is really top class stuff. Neville was England's best ever right back, and he's quickly becoming as good a pundit as he was a player.
Rafael Da Silva is the new Gary Neville BTW!
Agreed! Rafael has been class so far, he's playing with so much confidence - best RB in the league for me
I like Neville as well but I completely disagree with him on this.
I fully understand people thinking it was a foul or maybe not worth a yellow but claiming Torres went down in an attempt to anticipate and avoid the challenge is utter rubbish. You can clearly see that he only starts to go down after he's past Evans' challenge so how exactly was he trying to avoid a tackle he was already past?
Wait, where does he say that? He said he reckons the ref got it wrong at the start, but past that he's talking about diving in general, not actions by any player on the pitch.
Rafael Da Silva is the new Gary Neville BTW!
Oh please stop with this ****! I hate when a player gets being the new somebody-else. Just like Cleverley being the new Scholes etc. Everyone is a unique player you know... There's only one Gary Neville and only one Rafael.
I'm very happy Rafael is doing great this season and being consistent with his performances as well.
I get how it can be annoying and agree on Cleverley he isnt the same type to scholesy anyway.
But... Rafa plays with the same pace, aggression and attacking intent that Gary did so screw your ****! (H)
Yes, but Rafael is different with going forward and scoring as well (100 apps 4 goals vs 600 apps and 7 goals). He's a bit more technical too. Every player's unique so screw you for missing the point here.
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chappazz88
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Thank god there was only one gary neville,and thats comming from a man united fan.
DarloGeorge96
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Fergie is set to make lots of changes for 2nights game which is good seeing as United have got ****-**** at the weekend. Defo think United will win at the weekend, could be by 3 or 4 goals!
did you watch the game last night?
at the rate we are both scoring and conceding we would be lucky to get a 5:5 draw mate!
defences and keeping is shocking! especially United's
You're being deliberately stupid. If every right back we had was exactly 100% like Gary Neville he wouldn't be our legend!
I am not saying Rafael is a bad player, I never said anything bad for him - I even outlined things he's better (a better left foot as well). My point was that every player is unique. And I think from what we've seen so far this season Rafael is maturing and has the potential to become a world class right back. And if he has the personality and especially loyalty he can become another United legend too. If by saying "the new Gary Neville" you mean exactly that - OK, we're on the same page. But I don't thing it's the correct way to say it.
DarloGeorge96
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Yeah I did. At 4-0 I texted my arsenal mate laughing at him, then he replied when it was 7-5 laughing at me lol! Think there will be goals but United wont keep a clean sheet. United need to keep Carzorla quiet and that will weaken Arsenal. My prediction would be 3-1 or 4-2 to United. What do you think?