The Breakdown
United 2-0 Wigan
Evra nabs only his second Premiership goal for United, crucial one too! And Hernandez wraps it up with 12 minutes left on the clock after Wigan had been reduced to 9 men 10 minutes into the second half.
This performance reminds me so much of our performance against Wolves at Old Trafford some 2 weeks ago. A slow, deliberate first half where the threats were few and far between on the Wigan goal—indeed, Wigan were in threatening positions more often, it seemed—ended with a goal on half time from what turned out to be an unlikely source.
Park had the ball about 30 metres from goal and whipped it round to the back post where Evra was steaming in, as he normally does, but this time his header finds the back of the net. Literally on the stroke of half-time. 1-0.
And as if going behind right on half time was bad enough for Martinez's men, they also went behind in terms of players on the pitch as their captain for the day Antolin Alcaraz got his marching orders after a mistimed tackle on Darren Fletcher led to his second yellow card. And that wasn't even the end of their misery.
The armband was passed to Hugo Rodallega, who got himself sent off for a stupid two-footed lunge on Rafael. Wigan were down to nine.
This prompted Fergie to ring the changes, swapping from the 4-4-1-1 formation we started with to a more attacking 4-4-2, with Rooney and Hernandez taking charge. Scholes was also brought on in place of Macheda, Park, and Carrick.
It led to more attacking, but it didn't lead to the floogates being opened as we'd all expected. Instead, the pressure was repelled by what ended up being an 8 man wall. Effective, I guess.
But not effective enough, as in one of the many attacks which came from the wing, Rafael got the ball and swung it in for Chicharito to put away his diving header, his 3rd headed goal (right?) of the season.
And that's really where it finished. There were more attacks, but they didn't have the penetration which was required, and we wrapped up a solid, comfortable win in a weekend where our title rivals suffered defeats.
Reaction
Considering we had a 2 man advantage, 2-0 is hardly the kind of scoreline you'd expect. That's 2 players who would've been free to collect passes, to tire Wigan out, and open them up in the way, let's say, Chelsea did. Twice, within 4 months. Against full-strength opposition.
No big deal, though, I'd say. A win is a win.
Very noticeable was the impact that Scholes had when he came on for Carrick. Although he didn't go off, Darren Fletcher just hasn't look the man we know him to be this season. His possession of the ball was sloppy, his passes not quite connecting. One thing he can be commended for, I suppose, is having the energy to track back when he's lost possession.
And a lot of people would've been watching the bench eagerly for any sign of Rooney's imminent arrival on the scene.
No, not these guys.
It came on the hour, on for Federico Macheda, and it didn't really make a huge impact on the way the game panned out. He had two chances to score, both hit right at, or close to, the keeper. So it looks like he hasn't found his form while he's been on the treatment table...
With a midweek match in Scotland set for him to start in, Rooney's not got much else to complain about if he's not going to perform. We can be as patient as we want with him, knowing his quality, but we've got other options who've not fared too badly—we are sitting joint top.
This next decision is a tough one, because no one really stood out for me. My Best Player award might have to go to Rafael. He whipped in plenty of good crosses today, and supported the whoever was ahead of him well. Not to mention he contributed to the clean sheet that was kept. Scholes when he came on was definitely a breath of fresh air with his creativity and range of passing, but it didn't lead anywhere.
Where We Stood, Where We Stand
Well, this is the interesting bit. The score from the Emirates was already known at kick-off, a stunning comeback from a resurgent Spurs side meant Arsenal slipped to their fourth loss this season. But the best bit of news that came from the other grounds came from the blue half of Birmingham. A Lee Bowyer strike in the 17th minute meant Chelsea suffer back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, and suffer their 3rd defeat in their last 4 games.
Loooooser
So this means we leapfrog Arsenal into second and move level on points with Chelsea. Sweet!
In other news, Bolton absolutely smash Newcastle, 5-1, to move into 4th place and a Champions League spot. Surely they can't keep this up, right?
1|Chelsea|14PLD|19GD|28PTS
2|United|14PLD|13GD|28PTS
3|Arsenal|14PLD|14GD|26PTS
4|Bolton|14PLD|6GD|22PTS
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5|City|13PLD|5GD|22PTS
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