Van Persie, Rooney, Mata and Januzaj - United's best attacking force?

From The Busby Babes and The Holy Trinity to the striker-less Champions League winners of 2008, Manchester United’s best football has always thrived on fluidity. Their new all-star quartet of attackers look set to continue this tradition but how did they fare in their first start together against Crystal Palace?

Given the hype surrounding the potential combination of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj it’s surprising that they had not started a game together sooner. Perhaps David Moyes was waiting for the return of his first choice midfield powerhouse, Marouane Fellaini, to keep things in order further back while his front four worked their magic in attack?

Regardless of the reasons for the wait, United fans can be somewhat satisfied with the potential shown by their recently enhanced forward line, even if it was against supposedly lightweight opposition.

Transition: How Moyes’ Man Utd lined up with and without the ball

While Januzaj pulled out to the flanks on the left to add width and van Persie stayed high up as the primary striker, Mata and Rooney slid back into midfield, almost playing like a playmaker and box-to-box midfielder respectively. This supplemented by the forward runs of Fellaini, creating a greater degree of uncertainty of positioning between the lines than has been seen in many of United’s more rigid performances under Moyes. Yet it was a development on the two-banks-of-four skeleton the former Everton manager implemented earlier on in the campaign, augmented by the greater individual talent available to him and a growing understanding between his starting eleven.

Of course they are still far from being the finished article, and nowhere near as fluent as the expectations placed upon the foursome demand, but there were positives to be taken from their debut game together, not least in how they were able to accommodate each other in the final third. This was as much down to their interaction with their supporting cast as much as each other however.

And yet there remained a sense that United were still playing with the handbrake on however, with their 2-0 victory coming after a largely turgid contest that was still more open and less thrilling than fans of the reigning champions of England would ideally like against a team very much in the relegation battle. This can be blamed on the need for more time to develop the four-piece’s relationship and understanding of course, but given Patrice Evra’s influence, running in on the over-lap from the left, it may be that Mata & Co.’s best will only come once another protagonist is back fit and available for selection.

Neither Chris Smalling or Phil Jones can hold a candle to Rafael when the Brazilian is in full-flow. Having long since left the claims of being defensively suspect behind him—those who continue to criticise him in this regard have been left behind by his progress, and are now stuck flogging a dead and decaying first impression—his greater vigour and impact going forwards have become genuine assets rather than arguments to mitigate the rough edges of his game.

Had Rafael been on the rampage from right-back against Palace, overlapping Fellaini and Mata to offer even greater fluidity down the right, United would have had yet another dimension to their attack rather than the solid compromise of a central defender being played out wide. Should the Brazilian’s fitness problems continue, Moyes may need to dip into the transfer kitty to secure a worthy understudy so that his all-star attackers are not regularly undermined by his full-back’s downtime.

It must be said that Smalling is good fall-back option at full-back when his team are without a player more naturally suited to the position. He even recorded three successful take ons out of three against Palace to help United continue to apply pressure going forwards, but the defender lacks the quick feet and attacking intuition of Rafael to make the most of his opportunities after beating a man. Regardless of his efforts, Smalling just doesn’t have the end product or sense of improvisational menace to weaponise the flank like his teammate does. The extra width and pace out wide provided by Rafael could also be vital when it comes to stretching opponents and creating more openings given Mata’s propensity to roam inside and through the more narrow channels on the right.

Ultimately, though the belated unveiling of United’s new fab four may not have exactly eviscerated their hosts at Selhurst Park, the combinations and movement shown by the team’s glamorous front men—and their effect upon their deeper-lying colleagues—finally looked like capable of producing good football through a understandable system, even if much of that promise remains on the drawing board for now. It will be interesting to see whether Moyes allows his newfangled set up to remain in place against Olympiacos in mid-week or their next Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion in early March to foster some continuity and confidence in the line-up.

Either way, United fans have at least now glimpsed another potential future under Moyes beyond the mechanical crossing routines that have threatened to become his tactical trademark at Old Trafford. Before now, his earlier, free-flowing experiments against Bayer Leverkusen felt like false dawns or flukes. Supporters will be hoping that the signs of progress evident within United’s display against Palace will lay down foundations for a return to the Champions League next year.