Analysis: Real Madrid 1 Manchester United 1

Champions League, Wednesday 13^th February 2013

A decent result for Manchester United at the Bernabeu sets up an enticing second leg at Old Trafford in three weeks time. Danny Welbeck opened the scoring with a good header before Cristiano Ronaldo equalised with his own superb header. Despite Madrid’s superior possession and shots statistics they faded towards the end of the game, and United will be disappointed they didn’t take one of a few chances that could’ve given them a 2-1 victory. Here’s some thoughts on the match:

Hard work pays off

United setup in a fashion designed to work hard and close off space for Real Madrid, whilst looking to take full advantage of attacking opportunities. Danny Welbeck embodied this spirit with a tireless running game, although his excellent quick-thinking with the ball shouldn’t be overlooked either. Welbeck and Rooney were both sacrificed out wide as they were tasked with working hard in defensive areas. Phil Jones in midfield had a largely impressive game at limiting Real Madrid’s forays forward, and may be an option for Sir Alex Ferguson in the second leg. This was a disciplined display, much similar to the manner in which United approached the game with Everton last weekend. The Reds sacrificed some of their typical swashbuckling, attacking football in favour of defending tight and limiting Real Madrid.

Lessons for the second leg

After an intense hour from Real Madrid, the Spanish team tailed off in their pressing game, allowing United more time on the ball. Particularly towards the end of the game, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones were able to have more influence on forward attacks, and Madrid were limited to mostly ineffective counters. The second leg at Old Trafford is likely to follow this pattern of more United control on the game, whilst Real Madrid look to excel at their best tactic; counter-attacking. The team from Manchester will need to take full advantage of attacking opportunities, something they didn’t do as well as they could at the Bernabeu, but will also need to be wary of Madrid’s counter-attacking ability.

Going Forward

Manchester United can be mostly satisfied with the 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu, and will be marginal favourites for the return leg. In particular, the performances of de Gea, Ferdinand, Evans, Jones and Welbeck were extremely pleasing. There are three weeks before the second leg, in which time United will look to consolidate their lead of the Premier League and advance further in the FA Cup this Monday against Reading. Sir Alex Ferguson will be again thinking how best to rotate his team for the coming games, with every player (bar Darren Fletcher) fit and available.

Ratings

[4-2-3-1]: de Gea-8, Rafael-6, Ferdinand-8, Evans-8, Evra-7, Carrick-7, Jones-7, Welbeck-8*, Rooney-6, Kagawa-6, van Persie-6

(Giggs-6, Valencia-6, Anderson-5)

*Man of the Match