Manchester United were the latest team to inflict defeat upon relegation favourites Sunderland; as they secured a 3-0 victory thanks to goals from Juan Mata, Memphis Depay and Wayne Rooney. Sunderland did force De Gea into making a few saves but ultimately they could not find a way past the United defence which will be tested in the next coming weeks.
But on a positive note, with Wayne Rooney ending his Premier League goal drought and Anthony Martial once again delivering in attack, things are looking pretty good at the moment for Manchester United. They are also top of the table too, as it stands.
And here are three takes from the game.
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1) Rooney returning to form is good for everyone – especially Martial
Rooney ended his Premier League goal drought which not only helps the team but helps Rooney himself too. There is nothing worse for team morale than a striker low on confidence because it spreads through the side. Plus, it gives the opposition an advantage because the striker is no longer seen as a threat.
It also relieves pressure off Martial. The Frenchman had been shouldering the responsibility to score goals during Rooney’s bad run. In addition, it allowed Martial to demonstrate the other aspects of his game such as his lighting speed and his power when tackling defenders and holding the ball up.
If Rooney had not scored, the pressure would have continued to mount and Marital would definitely feel the effects of it. But both are now scoring, and playing well together which is a great sign. They are therefore making the job of the wingers much easier too – Mata and Depay shined against Sunderland as a result.
2) Darmian versatile as defence improves
If there is one thing that Louis van Gaal loves in his players most; it is their ability to fulifll a multitude of roles. Daley Blind is perhaps the most obvious example having switched from central midfield to centre-back pretty successfully.
With Luke Shaw out injured for near enough six months, Matteo Darmian was picked to play on the left against Sunderland and did a good job. The Italian obviously won’t be expected to play every game at left-back but he demonstrated that he is more than capable of filling in if the situation arises. Especially if Rojo is on the sidelines for the next few games, expect Darmian to continue this filler role.
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His attacking forays were still good, whipping in a cross that was almost met by Martial in the same way that would occur if he played on the other flank. However – the game against Arsenal will provide a much sterner test of Darmian’s adaptability than relegation-favourites Sunderland ever could.
The rest of the backline looked in good shape too. Blind showed he can pass the ball well, even from the back, which has long been a criticism of his game. It was Blind after all who picked out Mata with a superb 40-yard pass in order to put the Spaniard in on goal.
3) Philosophy not likely to change soon
Louis van Gaal loves to talk about his ‘philosophy’ – which is never totally clear but appears to be the set up of 4-2-3-1. A solid formation, but sometimes seen as a little too much on the safe side. So opting to go a little more attacking and pushing the central midfield up a little more would have been ideal testing ground against lowly Sunderland.
But Louis stuck to his guns. He got the result, sure. But one can’t help but wonder if the game would have been different had he changed it just a little bit. Having Carrick and Schneiderlin is great cover for the defence but was it really necessary against Sunderland? The Black Cats did not offer much going forward and United could have exploited that.