Sunderland 1 Manchester United 2: This is a relief!

This win is a welcome relief – for Manchester United, for the fans and especially for David Moyes as he began his reign as United manager in a dreadful manner. Was it a convincing performance – definitely no, as United needed 18 year old debutant Adnan Januzaj to save them from another uninspiring performance.Save for Adnan Januzaj the whole team performance is still not up to the Manchester United of the old. While United showed intent on attacking they are still lacking in that quality decisive pass. The midfield combination of Tom Cleverly and Michael Carrick did well but lacks that creativity – perhaps the intention was for them to hold possession and keep Sunderland’s attacking at bay. Only the wingers were having better day as Nani and Januzaj provided the threats needed. But it wasn’t enough in the middle of the park as Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie were hardly a threat to Sunderland’s goalkeeper. And when forwards like Rooney and Van Persie were found to wander deeper in search of the ball or passes then something is lacking from central midfield. David Moyes continuing ignorance of Shinji Kagawa is perplexing as Kagawa would be perfect in that central role alongside Wayne Rooney. To add to that Moyes is still hesitant to use Anderson there on a regular basis and therefore limits his option. Marouane Fellaini was supposed to be injured but even he is not the creative source United is missing – at best Fellaini operating in an advanced role is of a makeshift purpose only.

 

It is however refreshing seeing David Moyes rotate his defense – central defense. Given that Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are hardly going to be effective playing 2 games per week, the Alex Ferguson’s ‘style’ of rotation is the best Manchester United can have. Neither Jonny Evans, Phil Jones or Chris Smalling are being considered mature enough to hold the centre back positions on a regular basis.

 

In the end this three points gained is one of the most important points for Manchester United this season – after two losses on the trot and lying a lowly 12^th in the Premier League. Next opponent will be Southampton at Old Trafford, a team recently promoted but lying way above United at the moment. Given what happened in the West Brom game, David Moyes must be well aware of the importance of another win and the need to lead his team back to winning ways.