Sunderland 1-2 Man Utd: Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Adnan Januzaj

SECOND HALF – THE JANUZAJ SHOW

Adnan Januzaj

The second half saw a more determined United showing with a somewhat rectified defence. Adnan Januzaj, having been given a surprise start by David Moyes, had been pretty impressive till now albeit with moments of selfishness.

Till now, United were struggling to do anything meaningful inside the Sunderland box but it was soon to change. Patrice Evra, for once decided to change his tune and give a meaningful pass into the box which was met by a calm side foot finish by Januzaj who demonstrated the use of his weaker right foot.

Shortly afterwards, Januzaj’s moment of brilliance came, as Nani’s floated pass out wide, headed on by John O’Shea, was met by an incredible volley from Januzaj, powering the ball into the bottom corner with a Van Persie-esque technique to put his side into the lead.

This was enough for Moyes as he soon subbed in Welbeck and Valencia and played out the match for a 2-1 win. It was not spectacular, it was not even good, but United did the job and for the moment Moyes has earned himself a moment of respite.

IMPRESSIVE JANUZAJ – PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

The article is just not going to be complete without an analysis of the newest addition to the ‘Impressive Man United debutantes’ list which includes the likes of Van Persie and Wayne Rooney. His first half performance was giving an indication of a selfish and immature youngster who was out to impress for his contract. However, the end result was anything but. He sure as hell must have added a few zeroes to his prospective contract though.

His willingness to go 1-on-1 with the defenders and breaking the shape of the defence with his cut-ins sure was a breath of fresh air to an otherwise tedious United wing.

Januzaj – All passes

Nani – All passes

His passes above in comparison to Nani show the kind of player he is. He may be compared to Ryan Giggs and his volley may have been like Van Persie, but Januzaj is a through and through modern inverted winger who makes the crosses only when he sees the chance. Otherwise, he depends on his nimble footwork and his quick pace to outwit his opponents.

It maybe early days but the result of one youngster could force the United manager to assess his options among the youth, particularly with regard to Zaha who had an impressive pre-season. Kagawa was yet again ignored by the manager and the rumours of his winter transfer seem more than just idle milling of rumours.

All in all, David Moyes must be commended for taking a calculated risk of playing Januzaj, but that does not give him any excuse for the shambolic performance against a side that is currently sitting at the bottom of the table with only 1 point.