Sunderland vs Manchester United: Five lessons we learned

Adnan Januzaj announced his arrival

David Moyes would have breathed a sigh of relief. Although United are still 9th in the table after today’s match; it was a much better performance than the two utterly forgettable ones in the previous couple of matches.

Yes, one might argue that it was Sunderland we were facing, but the priority at United right now is to get their faithful breathing peacefully again.

Given that we there is a two week international break now, it will probably be a blessing in disguise for Moyes and co. as the break will give him enough time to calm things down and rethink some new ways to kick start United’s campaign in full swing.

Here are five things we have seen from yesterday’s game.

1. The defence looks extremely fragile.

The 5th minute slip up that led to Sunderland’s goal today was the result of a complete lack of co-ordination between the two centre-backs.

Jones should promptly have cleared away the ball instead of passing it to Vidic, who looked surprised that Jones had thought of playing tiki taka in their own box with three Sunderland players lurking.

Caught off guard, he made a rather feeble attempt to clear it, only to put it straight at Gardner’s feet, who must have thought Christmas had arrived early this year.

Mind you, it was still a much better performance than what was dished out in the past two Premier League matches which featured an ageing and tiring Rio Ferdinand.

With all due respect, this most possibly will be Rio Ferdinand’s last professional season. The hunger is still immense, but the body has slowed down, and the brain is no longer as sharp as it was a few seasons back.

Moyes faces a worrying test here as to whether he should remain patient and wait for the likes of Jones and Smalling to become seasoned campaigners, or to bid for an established player who could go straight in that first team.

Rafael has looked extremely good in both attack and defense, and is without a doubt one of the best full backs in the world right now.

2. The formation needs a serious overhaul.

David Moyes during the match against Sunderland

David Moyes has so far tried the traditional 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and the more attack minded 4-2-3-1 formations already this season. None of them has actually worked on the attack, with the build up falling apart in the final third.

United had as high as 63% of the possession in the first half, but there was hardly a shot of substance in the entire first period. Moyes’s ploy of letting the full backs overlap with the wingers during attack has also left the defence vulnerable to quick counters.

It hasn’t helped that the wingers have hardly delivered this season, and that has forced United’s attack to try and go forward through the heart of the opposition defence, but with no attacking playmaker to drive forward through the centre, United have suffered to even get a decent ball forward to Van Persie.

Though this may seem a far fetched theory, one formation that could be looked at is the 4-1-2-1-2. The back four being the same, Carrick could be positioned as a sweeper in front of the defence, while Cleverley and Fellaini adapt a more double attacking pivot role just in front of Carrick.

This will give Kagawa a chance to play at his preferred no.10 position just behind Rooney and Robin Van Persie. One might argue here that United’s game has been traditionally wing play based, but the fact remains that they don’t have an in form winger at the moment to deliver assists on a regular basis.

3. Where is Zaha?

Missing: Wilfred Zaha

Wilfred Zaha was one of the few shining beacons in United’s pre season tours. He was already expected to take the season by storm in the red shirt.

However, apart from a 10 minute cameo in the community shield against Wigan, Zaha hasn’t got a minute of playing time this season, even though Moyes has rotated his squad around a fair bit.

Whether the rumours of him getting involved with the boss’s daughter have any basis remains to be seen, but that seems an absurd reason to bench this exciting talent week in and week out.

However, there might just be another reason for this altogether. Zaha has already been tied down with a 5-year contract, and with only a few months remaining in Januzaj’s contract, it makes sense to make sure Januzaj gets more playing time in order to ensure he remains faithful to the club by signing an extension.

It will also make sense in why he is getting the nod ahead of Zaha, as Moyes wants to convince Januzaj that his future is certainly safe here and avoid another embarrassment (Read: Paul Pogba).

4. Are we looking at United’s future no.7?

Adnan Januzaj

Adnan Januzaj has certainly taken the world by storm. Rarely has anyone seen such brilliance on the field coming from an 18-year-old.

Januzaj was given the license to roam on the field yesterday, and he provided a spark to United’s game that was missing for the past couple of years.

Even when surrounded by defenders twice as big as him, he was a picture of calmness when it came to passing the ball, and the two goals in the end were truly well deserved.

The step overs, the darting runs and the brilliant positioning showed the maturity and the rare talent that this teenager possesses. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that United have found a prospective owner for that legendary no.7 jersey.

The last 18-year-old I remember being so confident on the ball wears the no.7 at Real Madrid today. Fingers crossed.

5. The class of ’13.

The Class of ’13?

Nearly every football fan that doesn’t support Manchester United is very, very happy right now. United is struggling to score goals, struggling to win matches against weak teams, they have a new manager and their star player might just go away next year.

The United era is definitely over, or so they feel.

These people only have to look at United’s history to realize they are betting on the wrong side.

When Sir Alex took over in ’86, the team was in doldrums. Liverpool was gobbling up every trophy that came their way. United was struggling to match the pace of the top teams in Europe.

Fergie remained true to the United tradition of promoting young talent and delivered the class of ’92 to the world. David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers all formed the core of a team that went on a rampage in the next decade.

Circa 2013. United find themselves scrapping for every victory. There is a huge gulf of class between United and Europe’s elite at the moment.

Wilfred Zaha, Adnan Januzaj, Jesse Lingard, Micheal Keane, Alex Buttner, Nick Powell; names that are hot property in European football right now; names that, one day, might go down in history as United’s Class of ’13.