Manchester United came out as the 3-1 winners on Wednesday night against Burnley at Old Trafford rescuing their third place in the league table after Arsenal and Southampton had earlier leap frogged United. Despite the win there were dissatisfaction among the fans and the players as well. Chris Smalling (United’s hero on the night) stated how his side needs to improve if they are to win their remaining matches.
Similar notion was shared by Louis Van Gaal, who blasted United for being unimpressive on the night. Van Gaal went on to say how bad United have been playing and he has not experienced this with any of his previous sides. With all these being said and United winning a game in between of all that, we take a look at the crucial talking points from the Manchester United – Burnley match.
Di Maria looked like his old self
Perhaps the biggest delight for the Manchester United fans on the night was to see Angel Di Maria play in his natural position (out wide on the left). Van Gaal switched the starting positions of Adnan Januzaj (played as CAM) and Di Maria (played as LCM) and it brought the best out from both the players. Di Maria showed everyone why he was bought for a fee of £59.7 Million.
Di maria was lively throughout the game, running at Burnley defenders and his crossing was much much better on the night. Di Maria provided the ball in for the second goal and won the penalty which Robin Van persie scored to seal United’s 3-1 victory. Perhaps on the basis of this game, Di Maria will have a better second half of the season.
Burnley gave United a Proper Game of Football
When a promoted side visits one of the top teams in the league, they are expected to play with 1 striker and be defensive but Sean Dyche’s team played with 2 strikers and attacked United everytime they could. Burnley were the better team in the first half, as accepted by Van Gaal as well. After Chris Smalling’s opening goal, Burnley could have gone on the defensive but they didn’t, rather they got at United and scored the equalizer.
Van Gaal needs to sort out Rooney, Van persie and Falcao situation
Louis Van Gaal might be a genius tactician, but he is missing the plot at Manchester United by wasting Wayne Rooney in midfield. Rooney has not scored over 200 goals for his club and country by accident or playing from the mid field. Seeing how Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao are not doing enough playing up front, Van Gaal must use Rooney as his main striker.
It is almost shameful to think that Rooney has not had a single shot on target in the entire 2015. Yes Rooney is doing a job playing as the right side of Van Gaal’s diamond formation but Rooney will even play as a Goal Keeper and do a good job for his team if asked of him. Van Gaal must start using Rooney as the striker in big games or in every game for that matter to get goals from his team.
Danny Ings adds some dollar to his already rising value
Danny Ings grew up to be a Manchester City supporter in a family filled with Manchester United fans, so when he scored his goal last night, he would have been more happier than we could ever imagine. Ings has been one of the most sought after striker from the Premier League this season. Liverpool and Real Sociadad are his rumored destinations as of now but his continuos goal scoring form for Burnley will convince other teams to bid for his services and being an Englishman, Clubs will have an extra reason to sign him.
What the future holds for Ander Herrera
One more game goes by and Ander Herrera did not start for Manchester United. After starting his United career filled with goals and assists, Herrera has been surprisingly overlooked by Louis Van Gaal claiming he needs to improve on his “ball retention” skills. Herrera came on and showed neat passing, looked assured and certainly gave plenty to think for Van Gaal and fans with their joy at Herrera’s introduction clearly told Van Gaal what they feel about Herrera not getting enough starts.