Manchester United might have overpaid for their summer signings, but nobody’s ever doubted their quality, and the new boys came up with the goods during their 2-1 win over Everton at Old Trafford, with Ángel di María opening the scoring and Radamel Falcao nabbing the second-half winner.
3 things we learned from Manchester United’s win against Everton
Michael Regan
The hosts started out very much on the front foot, with half-chances spurned by Falcao, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata, but United would actually wait until Everton got into the game to establish a lead. But what a goal it was -- a ball came in from the right to Mata, to pulled the pass back to the top of the box for di María to curl sweetly past a flailing Tim Howard.
It was the perfect finish and was nearly matched shortly afterwards by another di María strike from distance. This time, however, Howard was able to push the Argentinian’s smartly-taken free kick around the corner to keep Everton in the game, and the Toffees looked as though they’d take advantage of that just before the break, when Steven Pienaar’s flick caught Luke Shaw off guard and forced him into a lunging challenge on Tony Hibbert.
Yes, replays showed that the left back got the ball, but in real time it looked a clear penalty, and Kevin Friend had little choice but to point to the spot. Up stepped Leighton Baines, whose 100 percent spot kick record implied that the visitors would go into the interval level. But his penalty was awful, at a saveable height and close to the centre, and David de Gea was able to parry it wide with a minimum of fuss.
But Baines went from zero to hero ten minutes after halftime. Romelu Lukaku won a free kick by getting stamped on by Antonio Valencia, and Everton made the most of it, playing a quick one-two which allowed Baines to chance the angle of the cross and whip the ball in for Steven Naismith at the far post. He made no mistake with the header, powering past de Gea to make it 1-1.
Less than five minutes later, Phil Jagielka had a header of his own cleared off the line by Falcao, but it was at the other end where the Colombian proved truly decisive. An awful mistake by Howard allowed United possession with the defence out of alignment, and although di María looked as though he’d wasted the opportunity by slashing wildly at a shot, Falcao stole in behind the visitors’ line to deflect in from close range.
Everton did plenty to get the point, but de Gea decided to single-handedly keep out their last-gasp blitz. Having saved the penalty in the first half, he then kept out a goalbound effort from Leon Osman before coming up with an absolute blinder on Bryan Oviedo’s 94th minute half-volley. It was a heroic effort, and was enough to secure victory for the hosts.
Manchester United starting lineup (4-4-2 diamond): David de Gea; Luke Shaw (Tyler Blackett 71'), Marcos Rojo, Patrick McNair, Rafael; Daley Blind, Ángel di María, Antonio Valencia (Marouane Fellaini 79'), Juan Mata; Radamel Falcao (James Wilson 73'), Robin van Persie.
Goals: Di María 26’, Falcao 62’.
Everton starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Tim Howard; Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, John Stones, Tony Hibbert (Tyias Browning 77'); Gareth Barry, Muhamed Besic; Steven Pienaar (Bryan Oviedo 64'), Steven Naismith, Aiden McGeady (Leon Osman 77'); Romelu Lukaku.
Goals: Naismith 55’.
3 things
- Louis van Gaal is nothing if not adaptable. Manchester United are in the midst of an injury crisis and have virtually no fit central midfielders available. So what does the manager do? He plays a shape with more specialist central midfielders than any other and converts the likes of Juan Mata and Antonio Valencia to the cause. The 4-4-2 diamond with Daley Blind at the base and Mata at the tip, with Valencia and Ángel di María shuttling, meant that the hosts’ core stayed extremely strong even without Ander Herrera, and the width problem that the diamond so commonly faces was rendered irrelevant by the two shuttlers being comfortable wandering out to the flanks.Manchester United have used 3-5-2, 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 diamond already this season. It’s October 5th. Van Gaal has problems, sure, but he’s definitely doing his best to try to fix them.Yes, Ángel di María is the Premier League’s best player. Restored to the position that made him a star at Benfica -- left-sided shuttler in a diamond, di María is in a position to be Manchester United’s most influential figure. Which is good, because he’s by far their best player. His defending is incredible for a former Real Madrid winger, his passing exquisite and he can both create and score goals. Right now even his mistakes (if indeed they are errors) are helping United -- he’s now at three ‘accidental’ assists on the season, and he’s barely been here a month. The price tag has, so far, proved entirely reasonable: Manchester United have the best player in the Premier League.*We probably shouldn’t rule out the idea that he’s doing it on purpose.Everton don’t really do anything very well. This is a team that spent a lot of money in the summer, mostly on picking up Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea, and yet it doesn’t perform much like one. A huge part of that is the absence of Ross Barkley, who’s been injured all season, but the Toffees aren’t defending well, don’t shield their back line particularly effectively and lack a real focal point to the attack thanks to shunting Lukaku off to the flanks all the time. This is a team that sacrificed depth for the first-choice XI, so it’s unfair to pick on them when they’re hit so hard by injury. But until they get fit, they’ll struggle.
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