Unsurprisingly, Manchester United’s Nani has been the most influential player early on in their UEFA Champions League match against Marseille, and his teammates have taken notice, getting him the ball on a regular basis. Despite the presence of Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra on the left, one of the most left leaning sides in the world has flipped the pitch a bit early, regularly trying long balls and through balls towards Nani on the right flank. They’ve attempted this about five times in the first 15 minutes, and Gabriel Heinze has only been around to contest him once.
Marseille Vs. Manchester United: Nani Influential Early, L’OM Asking A Lot Of Lucho Gonzalez
Going in the other direction, the combination of Manchester United’s athletic and solid tackling midfield with Marseille’s defensive midfielders has left Lucho Gonzalez to do a little more than he’s capable of. Gonzalez is a great player who can have a lot of impact on a game with his creativity, but he’s getting swarmed when he can get on the ball and getting little help.
From the “Department of Pleasant Surprises,” John O’Shea and Chris Smalling are playing well, and Andre Ayew has not had a major impact on the game thus far.
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