Analysis: Manchester United 3 Fulham 2

Premier League, Saturday 25^th August 2012

United welcomed Fulham to Old Trafford for the first home game of the season, still missing 4 central defenders. Michael Carrick once again stepped in at centre-back, and Robin van Persie was handed his full debut. A mostly controlling performance had its moments as United conceded sloppily, but ultimately 3 goals was enough to seal the 3 points. Here’s the analysis:

Control going forward

The first half from a United perspective was excellent. The Reds hemmed Fulham in their own half,  and scored 3 goals including a top-quality strike from van Persie to overwhelm Fulham after they had taken an early lead.

Tom Cleverley and Anderson were generally brilliant in central midfield. Each player offers a different passing style which complements one another; Anderson spreads the play whilst Cleverley makes space with neat short passes. This possession based control compounded by Shinji Kagawa’s play-making activity just in front of them created serious problems for Fulham.

The forward players for United also became a burden for Fulham, and were hugely more effective than in the previous match against Everton. Ashley Young offered more natural width to the left, as did Antonio Valencia to the right. In particular, the combination of Rafael and Valencia on the right looked incredibly potent. Meanwhile, van Persie showed his goal-scoring instinct by scoring excellently from his only shot. His link-up play with Kagawa was also very encouraging; they appear to be establishing a good understanding. It was a positive day for United in the attacking areas, and we could’ve seen 5 or 6 goals in the first half.

Worries defensively

Defensively there are still major concerns. The first goal was bad to concede; marking was non-existent on a low free-kick and it was a virtual tap-in for Duff. Then if that goal was bad, Fulham’s second in the second half was shocking. A mix-up between Vidic and de Gea (both player’s fault) led to a Vidic own goal, and United were stuck on the back-foot for the last 30 mins. These minor defensive errors must be cut out if we are to ease pressure on ourselves.

There were also times when Fulham’s midfield came forward with far too much ease, much owed to the excellence of Moussa Dembele. Dembele aggressively broke-up play and ran positively from deep, a very good performance. However Anderson’s and Cleverley’s defensive naivety was exposed when Fulham came forward, and needs to be addressed. As much as the Reds have a superior control when in possession, defensively the midfield must press the ball and position itself better in order to prevent counter-attacks and midfield runs from the opposition. Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are the two most gifted players at this in the squad, but when neither of them are playing in midfield, as in this match, then the team must find a way to break up opposition play better.

Going Forward

De Gea again pulled off some great saves, but was partly at fault for the second Fulham goal. United’s attack began to click very excitingly and looks full of potential for the future. Defensive worries remain though, not just injury wise, but in terms of mistakes and concentration issues too. And the midfield needs to be tighter when on the back-foot and preventing the opposition gaining a hold on the match. On the whole though, the game showed many hopeful signs of a thrilling United season ahead.

Ratings

De Gea-7, Rafael-7, Carrick-6, Vidic-6, Evra-8, Anderson-7, Cleverley-8, Kagawa-8*, Young-6, Valencia-8, van Persie-7

(Rooney-6, Welbeck-6, Giggs-6)

*Man of the match