Analysis: Manchester United 3 Sunderland 1

Premier League, Saturday 15^th December 2012

This was a mostly comfortable performance for Manchester United, albeit with some caveats. The first-half was sublime, and United rode on that excellence for the rest of the game. The goals came from van Persie, Cleverley, and Rooney, but it was a cheap concession and further misses that will have irked Sir Alex Ferguson. Here’s the analysis:

Midfield maestros

Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley started in midfield for the second time in a row after their magnificent performance at Eastlands. The two have started together in United’s most impressive wins so far this season (Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle), and once again proved their worth against Sunderland.

Carrick was dominant. He was as usual positionally excellent, and supreme on the ball. He broke up play and moved the ball on quickly, striding around the pitch in his elegant fashion. His superb first-time assist for Tom Cleverley’s goal was typical of his diplay. Cleverley himself played his usual busy, quick-thinking game. The two barely gave Sunderland an inch as they worked in tandem winning the ball, passing it on speedily, and giving a platform to the attackers. Only after Paul Scholes’ introduction for Michael Carrick at half-time did United’s midfield begin to lack authority and slow down the play.

Competition in defence with young Englishmen

United’s two notable performances in defence were from the English youngsters that have missed most of the season so far: Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. Smalling was again a rock, winning everything in the air. It was Smalling’s brief lapse of concentration that contributed to Sunderland’s goal, but other than that the 23 year old was impenetrable.

Jones meanwhile at right-back was a bombarding presence who combined useful attacking instinct with authoritarian defending. The young Englishman looked back to his best at the start of the 2011/2012 season, and will only contribute to the selection headache Ferguson now faces with such an enormous squad. Jones and Smalling both will surely have big parts to play in the second half of the season.

Going Forward

An encouraging performance to build upon the magnificent win over Manchester City was needed, and that's what Manchester United gave. The Reds will now be top at Christmas, and 10 points from the 12 available up until New Year will give United a wonderfully positioned platform going into 2013.

Ratings

[4-4-2]: De Gea-7, Jones-8, Ferdinand-6, Smalling-7, Evra-6 Valencia-6, Carrick-8*, Cleverley-8, Young-8, Rooney-7, van Persie-8

(Scholes-6, Vidic-6, Giggs-6)

*Man of the match