Analysis: Chelsea 2 Manchester United 3

Premier League, Sunday 28^th October 2012

High-scoring appears to be the name of the game for Manchester United this season, and this win against Chelsea was another intense, goal-filled encounter. United took an early lead thanks to an own goal and Robin van Persie, before the team in blue stormed back and levelled the game at 2-2. Two red cards later however, Chelsea were down to nine men, and United took full advantage as Hernandez scored the winner. Below is analysis on this fixture:

4-1-4-1

The 4-1-4-1 set-up chosen by Sir Alex Ferguson appeared the ideal counterbalance to Chelsea’s attacking threat. Michael Carrick sat in front of the defence with Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley in front of him acting as the midfield energy. Antonio Valencia played wide right with Robin van Persie up front. Ashley Young assumed a wide-left role, but also cut inside to great effect to support van Persie, a tactic that was instrumental in United’s first goal and Chelsea’s first red card.

The Reds focused their attacks down the right-hand side against a fragile Chelsea left, with Rafael and Valencia doubling up on Ashley Cole. With Ashley Young cutting inside, and Rooney surging forward, this meant an overload of players counter-attacking on the right, and Chelsea simply didn’t deal with it. The left-hand side of United was far more ineffective however, with Cleverley misfiring too many passes, and Young failing to threaten on that flank.

Carrick’s role in front of the defence paid dividends in the first half hour as he protected the back four whilst Rooney and Cleverley were busy putting out fires in front of him. As the match wore on however, United fell back failing to press high enough and invited pressure from Chelsea. Carrick’s effectiveness diminished, demonstrated by two particular occasions, one where he lost out physically in a key battle, and one where he should’ve been shutting down Eden Hazard rather than allowing Rooney to foul him for what led to the first Chelsea goal. Had United continued to be more effective in their midfield defensiveness then Chelsea may have been kept at bay.

Diving

On a weekend that saw many cards for diving, there were two in this match. Late on, Antonio Valencia received a yellow card for a soft tumble as he bypassed John Obi Mikel. Before that Fernando Torres was shown a yellow card for simulation, and was therefore sent off for multiple bookings. On both occasions free-kicks could’ve been undoubtedly been given due to the contact between defender and attacker. Nevertheless, on both occasions the offending diver clearly went down unnecessarily easily, and was certainly not brought down-it was the choice of the players that they fell to the ground.

On both occasions, the referee arguably made the correct decision. If football doesn’t mind simulation and play-acting, then certainly both situations should’ve resulted in free-kicks for the attacker. But if football wants to see an end to simulation and diving, then the referee made the right call. Cutting out pathetic tumbles is the first-step to stopping the endemic of diving. For his bravery, if anything, referee Mark Clattenburg should be praised.

Going Forward

United performed extremely well for the first 30 mins, and the 4-1-4-1 may become a useful formation away from home against strong opposition. For the most part the back four was solid, an encouragement. Rooney and van Persie once again showed their class, and Young got some vital competitive minutes as he continued his return from injury. United are now one point off Chelsea at the top of the league, and are on the charge. And as for the league itself, it will be very interesting to see whether diving really does get clamped down on, or whether this game was a mighty exception.

Ratings

[4-1-4-1]: De Gea-8, Rafael-8*, Ferdinand-8, Evans-6, Evra-8, Carrick-6, Valencia-6, Rooney-7, Cleverley-6, Young-6, , van Persie-8

(Hernandez-6, Giggs-6)

*Man of the match