Analysis: Manchester United 2 Newcastle United 1

Capital One Cup, Wednesday 26^th September 2012

The re-branded League Cup, now the Capital One Cup, continued its third round yesterday as Manchester United hosted Newcastle United. A thoroughly enjoyable game saw United play some incisive football to eventually overcome the Magpies. Darren Fletcher’s first start in almost a year saw him captaining the side, whilst Wayne Rooney also returned from injury. Anderson and Cleverley both scored long overdue goals whilst Papiss Cisse pulled one back for Newcastle. Below are the main talking points:

Fresh-faced youngsters

The League Cup always provides an opportunity for the manager to measure the development of his youth players, and he did this again with his selection against Newcastle. Whilst the forward-minded players were picked mainly on who needed game time, Ferguson selected three young players at the back in Marnick Vermijl, Michael Keane and Scott Wooton alongside new Dutchman, Alex Büttner-there was only 110 minutes of first-team experience in the defence. The trio of under 21s acquitted themselves well against the strong forward line of Newcastle. Vermijl attacked with purpose and confidence, although made some obvious errors and was too easily beaten for Newcastle’s goal. Wooton was mostly solid, but at times bullied by Shola Ameobi, and his marking was sloppy for the goal conceded. Keane was the most impressive of the three youngsters, always communicating with his teammates and looking confident on the ball too. Büttner again proved himself exciting when pushing forward, and solid in defence against the pacey Obertan, a promising performance. Ferguson will certainly be happy with the development of these players as they settled into the first-team. They are ones to watch.

Dynamic midfield

The trio of Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Tom Cleverley provided a dynamism to the Man United midfield, something often missing in the calmer playing styles of Carrick and Scholes. United lined-up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, a central-focused setup that allowed these three midfielders to take control of the game. Fletcher was superb in protecting the defence and hustling the opposition of the ball, something United often lack. Anderson and Cleverley showed terrific energy in pressing forward and picking passes, and both did superbly well in bursting forward for early chances before scoring their respective goals. This midfield had a busyness about it and a confidence that has been rarely seen so far this season. If Fletcher, Anderson and Cleverley can maintain this impressive form then the midfield area for the Reds suddenly looks incredibly more secure.

Going Forward

This match was vital in giving minutes to players who needed, and of course it gave a chance to eye up United’s young defenders. The stirring midfield display satisfied the hunger of many fans for the Reds to excel there, and there will be widespread hope that Fletcher and Anderson in particular keep fit and move swiftly along the road to full match sharpness. The game also held plenty of positives for Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck as they worked superbly and tirelessly all evening. United now need to continue this form into the coming matches and build on what was an encouraging performance.

Ratings

De Gea-7, Vermijl-6, Keane-6, Wooton-5, Büttner -7, Fletcher-8*, Anderson-8, Cleverley-7, Rooney-8, Hernandez-7, Welbeck-7

(Powell-7, Tunnicliffe-6, Brady-6)

*Man of the match