Man Utd 4 – 2 Stoke: The Wayne show

Ferguson’s Red Devils met Stoke City’s “Jolly Green Giants” at Old Trafford with a perfect sense of timing and drama that has always surrounded England’s ace player, Wayne Rooney who marked his 10^th anniversary of his stunning arrival in the Premier League. He was everything in the match, right from the villain to the hero and the provider-of-all for the team.

Stoke began well enough with a clear resilient look in their game and were rewarded with an own goal from Rooney in the opening minutes. United parried and countered, met equally well by the Stoke defence. The match was always going to be United attack- Stoke defence matchup and rightly so, the game went on in that same vein.

Formation Change

Ferguson started without Cleverley and Kagawa who played twice for their countries in the international break. The diamond formation of United was replaced with a dynamic 4-2-3-1 with Van Persie spearheading the attack and Rooney pivoting the offence. Valencia was handed the right flank permanently to himself with Rafael staying behind and defending more than usual. On the other hand Welbeck played in a more floating role where he constantly threatened the Stoke defence. The result was a 3-pronged attack of Welbeck, Rooney and Van Persie.

Crossed-Out Threat

Stoke City is generally a physically imposing side which many a times relies on long balls and head-ins. Yet, United got the better of them in 1-on-1 aerial battles as even the likes of Crouch were kept silent by a determined Johnny Evans. Surprisingly, De Gea was not tested a lot on the crossing front where he tends to make his mistakes. Clearly, Stoke did not set up chances through the flanks.

On the other hand, the Red Devils showed no mercy with their crosses as almost each one of them threatened Begovic’s goal. Van Persie and Rooney, both showed their clear understanding of how a striker’s mind works as the crosses that they put in would be enviably craved by any striker.

The Van Persie Factor

When Sir Alex Ferguson bought Robin Van Persie many critics raised their brows over his age and his injury prone history. Quite a few raised doubts over Van Persie’s position in the team alongside Rooney. Those days seem truly past as Van Persie has asserted himself as a clinical striker with Rooney moving more into the midfield and utilising his seemingly infinite battery to the maximum.

While Welbeck and Rooney were hovering over the general attacking points, Van Persie was always there to provide that additional offensive option that United were lacking last season.

His goal which put United back into the driving seat at 2-1 was a pure striker’s goal. The reaction time that he took to put his foot in the line of Valencia’s square ball was very small. In the end he made the goal look ridiculously easy.

Tactical Thoughts

Offensively, United were simply put, unstoppable with their 3-man attack well supported by Valencia’s aggressive runs. Carrick was as always Mr Reliable, with Scholes pulling the strings from deep pockets in the midfield.

The same cannot be said about the United defence however. They have almost made a habit of going a goal behind initially this season, this match being no exception. The second goal was completely unexpected given the fact that Kightly was surrounded by four red shirts when he made his drive-in run.

Ferdinand in particular has looked out of sorts this season, especially his speed and reaction have been very rusty. Evra had a good game comparatively and he made good attacking runs down the left flank, all the while tracking back properly.

The Match Summed Up

Stoke was very good initially when they 1-0 up but Manchester United was a class apart coming back before the half time 2-1. By that time Stoke had been only showing bouts of resurgence. When United went 4-2 up thanks to a Rooney tap in, Stoke were left chasing shadows and Sir Alex Ferguson’s team gained another 3 points to keep in touching distance of leaders Chelsea.