The Aftermath: Valencia vs. United

He bags the winner, the Little Pea!

The Breakdown
Valencia 0-1 United
A win on the road! Finally! But really, there's only one word that can sum up tonight's performance: uninspiring.

45 minutes of play in the first half and the only chance of note I can even come up with was Berbatov's unchallenged shot from about 25 yards away from goal which the keeper left, despite how close it actually was from hitting the back of his net.

The second half started more brightly for us, with more pace injected after the ref blows his whistle and the half gets under way.

It was much of the same from then on, however. Minute after agonising minute goes by with the ball stuck firmly in the middle or at our defensive end.

Rio and Vida partnered each other very well tonight and seriously, we looked solid - and the only thing that we could look at with a bit of disappointment towards would be our offense.

But in the end, frustration turns to relief as Chicharito slots home with 5 minutes left on the clock.

Reaction
A win. Out of nothing. Away from home. In Spain. Good going, I reckon!

It's games like these, however, which leave me feeling very very disgruntled indeed. I wouldn't want to go on a rant, but lemme tell you: waking up at 2:45 in the morning to see this slow and sloppy display which Valencia and United are calling a "football match" is disappointing and infuriating.

Okay, for long periods of the match when Valencia were on the ball, they played it around and looked like playing some really nice football. Didn't come off all the time, but hey, they gave it a shot (pardon the pun?).

In stark contrast, United get the ball - especially in midfield with Carrick or Fletcher, and the flow stops dead. To be fair, it's not like they've got any blazing runs on the wings to look for to keep the game going.

Even when Nani gets on the ball, there seemed to be just a missing spark which we really need on a night away from home in Europe—Berbatov tonight made some runs, but it didn't really get him far (strike two, pun-wise).

Valencia were the first to make changes and I thought it was positive. An hour gone, the game literally going nowhere—the commentators were calling it "pedestrian"—and Senor Emery brings on Aduriz to partner Saldado up front for Valencia and suddenly the 4-5-1 vs 4-5-1 changed into a 4-4-2 vs 4-5-1.

In the long run, that worked out better for US, rather than them, but to begin with, with Aduriz on the pitch and their winger Pablo Hernandez able to switch flanks freely, the types of crosses they were getting into the box were very dangerous indeed.

But for a good 10-15 minutes, Sir Alex did absolutely nothing! Allowing the game to either be fully in Valencia's control, or, when we had possession, to be just lackadaisically 'stroked' around at a pedestrian speed. No joke, when we got into the attack third on countless times tonight, everyone basically just stopped and walked.

When the changes DID come, and Chicharito was brought on for Anderson—who played pretty well, coming back from injury also—the complexion began to change. For the better, for the better. Especially without the creative geniuses which are Giggs, Scholes and (for the most part) Rooney, having two up front was something we desperately needed.

And then the goal. Berbatov is swapped out for Macheda and almost immediately, Nani's on the flank, squares it to Macheda who finds Chicharito, GLORIOUS first touch and a clinical finish into the bottom right corner with his left foot and I was up and had my fists pumping. (And a kiss of the badge too. Knows how to make himself popular with the fans, this one.)



At the back, outstanding work from both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand tonight. They contributed effectively to our first clean sheet on the road this season.

So the Best Player tonight goes to Rio Ferdinand. Some will argue, "BUT VIDIC PLAYED LIKE A BEAST"; yes, indeed he did. But he, together with Rio who commanded that box (and is coming back from an injury), combined to good effect. And I dunno, Vidic has played in all our games this season, this is the first with Rio and it's also the first clean sheet.

(Edit: "... the first clean sheet away from home.")

David "the Swede" Britton, speaking from Europe says, after the game:

"We went there with a point in our heads and snatched three which is encouraging. And like, we finally turned a draw into a win and not vice versa. All in all a lot to be encouraged about I think."

Wise words, my friend. Wise words.

Where We Stood, Where We Stand
That win takes us level on points with Rangers, who also scraped a 1-0 win, at home against Bursaspor.

1|UNITED|2P|4PTS|+1
2|Rangers|2P|4PTS|+1
3|Valencia|2P|3PTS|+3
4|Bursaspor|2P|0PTS|-5