For Starters, that game was a crazy performance by Manchester United.....At a point, I thought i was watching LA Lakers and Houston Rockets...Bad Defending Yet Again: United's defending was bad, again! Jonny
Evans, who has been pretty OK this season, was directly at fault for
two of the three goals scored by Reading. The usually good Rio Ferdinand
was shaky as well in the first half.
Conceding
three goals inside 23 minutes is a grim reminder of the team’s
frailties. The effort that went into the clean sheet against West Ham
was undone by some woeful defending that allowed Reading to firstly go
1-0 up and then come back from 2-1 down to go 3-2 up!
United came back from a goal down to win yet
again. It’s a habit which must go since title wins are built on the
back of good defences, not by a defence which concedes 21 goals after 15
games at 1.4 goals a game. Nemanja Vidic is clearly being missed and I
hope United will get their act together and soon!
Manchester United came from behind once again this season to record a
4-3 victory over home side Reading at the Madejski Stadium with all 7
goals coming in the first half.
United lined up in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation with Lindegaard again
preferred in goal (more on that continuing error later). A back four of
Evra, Evans, Ferdinand and Rafael sat behind a midfield 3 of Anderson,
Carrick and Fletcher. Rooney played wide right up front, with Young
playing wide left and van Persie through the middle.
United were behing after 8 minutes when a dangerous cross
from McAnuff was headed out by Jonny Evans only as far as Robson-Kanu
who controlled the ball and hit a delightful half-volley past the
on-rushing Evans and the hapless Lindegaard into the top left-hand
corner of the net. While Evans’ clearing header was perhaps not as
effective as it could have been, the fact remains that Robson-Kanu was
Evra’s man, and Evra was, instead, double-marking Evans’ man. A
defensive blunder that would set the tone for the first half.
United were level in the 13th minute as Carrick played the ball into
Anderson, who used Young on the wing for an inch-perfect one-two which
Anderson then smashed into the near side top-corner of the net
beating Federici at his near-post for his first Premier League goal in
over a year.
United took the lead just over 3 minutes later as a ludicrously poor
attempt to barge through Jonny Evans to get to the ball from Jay Tabb
gifted United a penalty which Rooney calmly dispatched to make it 2-1
after just 16 minutes.
Reading deserve great credit for seeming entirely unaffected by
having thrown their early lead away, and began to surge forward down
both wings, attacking Rafael and Evra in particular. Their persistence
paid off as United conceded the equaliser and went behind to two headed
goals from corners in the 19th and 23rd minutes.
The defending for both was somewhere between abysmal and negligent,
Evans sloppy for both and Lindegaard failing to command his area in any
way at all. Given one of the supposed knocks on De Gea is
his inability to cope with big physical strikers muscling him from set
plays (an opinion i do not agree with) with Lindegaard’s performance in
this game i honestly cannot see ONE REDEEMING QUALITY that Lindegaard
brings to the team. He’s the worst kicker of the ball i’ve ever seen on a
professional football pitch, he constantly palms the ball back into the
danger zone from shots and he’s baselessly arrogant in interviews. He’s
fast approaching the title of my least favourite United keeper ever.
United levelled once again in the 30th minute as a driving run from
Patrice Evra down the left allowed him to cross to an unmarked Rooney
who’d pealed back to the penalty spot and side-footed into the net.
Perhaps fearing this back and forward scoring fest would continue,
Sir Alex subbed Rafael off after only 30 mins. He was visibly annoyed at
the decision, however he was already on a yellow and was replaced by
Smalling, whose height was a welcome addition at set pieces.
United took the lead once again in the 34th minute as Rooney’s clever
lay off put Robin van Persie through on goal with only Federici to
beat. The Dutchman stroked the ball past him into the net to record his
10th Premier League goal of the season.
United should have been 5-3 up a few minutes later as van Persie
scored another goal that clearly went over the goal line but neither the
ref nor the linesman gave it.
Just before halftime, United had to make another substitution as Phil
Jones came on for Anderson who looked to have pulled his hamstring. A
cruel blow for the player given he was rediscovering some form once
again. It was hardly a surprise given his fitness history though, and
ManUtd.com are now reporting he’ll be out “for a few weeks” (’till the
end of the season then…)
Both teams clearly tried to tighten their belts at half-time
resulting in a stale second half with only one real chance for United
when van Persie stole the ball from Federici but could only skew his
shot wide.
United will be happy with the victory given their rivals City and
Chelsea (and to a lesser extent Arsenal) all dropped points, but the
defensive performance was shambolic once again, and will be punished by
the attacking talents of City next weekend if it continues.
What did you think of the game? Comment below
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