Why Manchester United's Wayne Rooney suffered against Olympiakos

Wayne Rooney

Manchester United were left in shock yesterday evening as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Greek outfit Olympiakos. David Moyes saw his side crash to the brink of a humiliating Champions League exit as he witnessed a toothless performance.

Goals from Alejandro Dominguez and Joel Campbell leave him needing a near miracle in the second leg of the last-16 tie at Old Trafford to avoid facing elimination from the competition. Considering this was the club’s last chance for success this term, they already seem to have blown it.

Prior to the match, forward Wayne Rooney spoke of his hunger for European success and about how the players need to take responsibility. Yet, the Englishman ultimately failed to live up to his own words, leaving many questioning his latest £300,000-a-week contract.

Rooney played poorly as he, and his teammates, found themselves stunned by Olympiakos’ fighting spirit. The Red Devils never really looked like scoring and, by the final whistle, a lack of chances resulted in failure to impact the final 2-0 score line.

He provided what he could, dropping to receive the ball and deliver it into the final third, but his efforts were in vain. A brief glance at his heat map shows just how little he spent in Greek side’s penalty area and, with Robin van Persie playing almost as a lone forward, United lacked panache.

Rooney’s heat map vs Olympiakos

The Red Devils always took the safe option in attack and, as a result, they created just seven chances in total. Olympiakos harried them throughout the entire match, meaning Rooney spent as much time in his own half as the opposition’s. His contribution was neither meaningful in attack, nor particularly helpful in defence. He managed just the one shot on goal, but it was blocked, and he failed to create a significant opportunity for any of his team-mates. Assisting in his own half, Rooney found success in just two of seven attempted tackles, whilst he managed just one clearance.

He and van Persie made just five passes between one another yesterday evening, four of which were from the former to the Dutchman, and three of which came straight from kick-off. This means Van Persie made just a single pass to Rooney throughout the entire match. These are truly outstanding statistics, highlighting all that is wrong with the current set-up at United. How can David Moyes expect his side to score goals if his forward duo’s link up play proves non-existent?

RvP completed just 10 passes

Following his failure to score, Van Persie slammed his team-mates, essentially blaming them for his poor form and consequent lack of goals. Speaking to Dutch TV station NOS after the Champions League tie, he said: ”My team-mates are sometimes occupying the spaces I want to play in. And when I see that it makes it difficult for me. So that forces me to adjust my runs, based on the position of my fellow players. And unfortunately, they’re often playing in my zones. I think that’s a shame.

“Then I have to change my tactics to suit my teammates, and play outside my zone. That’s a pity,” he added.

Rooney and the ex-Arsenal man failed to click all evening and the latter’s shocking miss in the dying moments summed up the team’s overall performance.

United’s £300,000-a-week star will have to pull out all the stops in the home leg, especially if he wishes to add to his previous European success. His display against Olympiakos yesterday evening, like the rest of the team, was very disappointing and I hope to see the passion that he claims he has for the club in coming weeks.