Mondays are nobody’s idea of fun, mondays after losing the derby even less so.
The fact that United have developed a losing habit against City – yesterday’s was United’s sixth defeat in the last seven meetings against City – doesn’t make the result easier to accept either and looking for positives could seem a petulant exercise, though United do have a case for some optimism.
1) Red alert
Quite what was going through Chris Smalling’s head, we will never know. Chances are his footballing brain was a depressingly empty place during the nine minutes in which he thought well of picking up two avoidable yellow cards, leaving his team down to 10 men with over an half to play.
United players have been sent off in derbies before, of course, but for sheer idiocy none of the red cards showed to United players in previous meetings against City tops Smalling’s two yellow cards. If the second was a ridiculously mistimed challenge, albeit one a defender could be expected to make from time to time, the first was ludicrous in its stupidity, for blocking a goalkeeper while he’s about to restart the game is always going to result in a yellow card.
Smalling could have had a case for doing so had United been 1-0 up with less than a minute to go, rather than after 30 minutes.
2) No case for defence
With Rafael the latest player to succumb to a training injury, United were forced to field Antonio Valencia at right-back, a decision which normally leads to trouble and yesterday was no exception.
The Ecuadorian can be effective as makeshift right-back against lesser teams but against the likes of City he’s hopelessly out of his depth in the role, constantly getting caught out of position and showing utter disdain for closing down on his man and was in no man’s land for City’s goal.
United finished the game with a defence comprising two 18-year-olds, a makeshift centre-back who hadn’t played in months and a makeshift right-back and things are not going to improve anytime soon, given Marcos Rojo is injured and Chris Smalling is suspended. It’s become a broken record now, but the lack of a world class centre-back is hampering United’s progress under Van Gaal and must surely be addressed in January.
In the meantime, United must show the same level on concentration they displayed against Chelsea and City, for conceding twice over 180 minutes against the best two teams in the league can be tolerated, unlike conceding five at Leicester.
3) What’s United’s best midfield combination?
With Ander Herrera still sidelined and Michael Carrick yet to return to full fitness, Louis Van Gaal opted for a bold starting XI yesterday, with the returning Wayne Rooney deployed in midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind.
It’d be harsh to single out Rooney’s performance, for he like the rest of his teammates suffered from Chris Smalling’s stupidity, though the United captain failed to spark his side into life, with the exception of an excellent run in the second half when he looked set to test Joe Hart before changing his mind.
After the game, Van Gaal lamented United’s tendency to needlesly give the ball away, something United were guilty of doing 73 times, with their 90% pass completion rate in their own half, dropping to 68% once they crossed the halfway line, indicating that United were more stretched than their manager would have liked, as they had to make up for their numerical inferiority while trying to force an equaliser.
Rooney completed 48 of the 64 passes he attempted, the same amount as Blind and just one more than Fellaini, even though the Dutchman and the Belgian attempted only 52 passes and he’s unlikely to be deployed in midfield again, for Carrick and Herrera’s return should allow Van Gaal to push Rooney further up the pitch.
Fellaini, meanwhile, offers an unexpected but welcome selection problem to his manager. The Belgian looked excellent on Sunday, showing the kind of dynamism and confidence he had sorely lacked last season.
4) United continue to improve
Ahead of the derby, much of the focus had been on City’s supposed weaknesses and on United’s chance to lay down a marker after a convincing performance against Chelsea a week ago and despite a fourth derby defeat in a row, United continued to look like a team that is steadily improving.
In both derbies last season United folded like a pack of cards, City’s pace and strength tearing through United’s midfield but, even after going down to 10 men, Van Gaal’s side remained organised yesterday and forced two good saves from Joe Hart, as Robin Van Persie and Angel Di Maria looked for an equaliser.
United showed remarkable composure under pressure and made the last 15-20 minutes a lot more uncomfortable for City than Manuel Pellegrini would have liked. Last season, Sergio Aguero’s goal would have opened the floodgates and United, 10 men or not, would have folded like a pack of cards, while yesterday they stuck to the plan and could have scored themselves.
The transition from the mess left by Moyes to a brighter future was always going to take time, but there are plenty of promising signs in the team.
5) Time to turn improvements into points
Having said that, however, Van Gaal and United will be judged by the only parameter that decides whether a team has improved or not: points on the board.
Yesterday’s defeat clinched United’s worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1986-87 season, when Fergie arrived from Aberdeen tasked with turning the club’s fortunes around.
One point from games against Chelsea and City is hardly cause for celebration, though the performances somewhat soften the blow, but the same points return from games at Burnley and Leicester is far from concerning, particularly considering that the former have the league’s second-worst defence and the latter have lost four of the five games they’ve played after beating United.
Van Gaal needs and will be afforded time, while United are only four points away from fourth spot and continue to show signs of improvement but need to turn those signs into points before getting into the festive period.
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