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| Still Hungry: Tearing you apart since 1991 |
Satisfactory- The word that best describes this result for the Manchester United team and fans. Some may see this as an important point earned, while others may consider as 2 points dropped. According to me, it's the former as Benfica are in great form at the moment and this was, without a doubt, the toughest group fixture for United. Sir Alex Ferguson had fielded a much-changed side from the one that ripped Bolton to pieces on Saturday, EIGHT changes to be precise. Anders Lindegaard in goal, a five-man midfield, no Ashley Young in the squad and the new away blue kit- it was a match of the firsts for United this season. Let's summarize the 'Positives' and the 'Concerns' for the English champions after the match:
Concerns:
Central Midfield
For the first time this season, Fergie played a 5-man midfield with Valencia, Park, Giggs, Fletcher and Carrick- going for experience rather than youth. The first half saw Benfica bossing the midfield around, with Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs and even Park uncharacteristically giving the ball away way too easily. Carrick made stupid tackles that could've cost United.
Johnny in Sixes-and-S(Evans)
Nicolas Gaitan provided the assist with a ball from the outside of his foot finding Cardoza who was given the time to turn away from Johnny Evans after chesting the ball down brilliantly, as he fired the shot past Lindegaard. Evans should've done better. Rio Ferdinand did not travel with the team and it was Evans and Smalling in central defence as Fabio played right-back.
Perfection no more
After an impeccable start to the domestic campaign, the expectations from United were sky-high and the Red Devils would've wanted to start their European quest with an excellent away win. Sigh. It wasn't a bad result but had they won this match, their confidence ahead of the crucial Chelsea match would've been at an all-time high.
Positives:
New man Gaarding the goal
Arguably the biggest outcome of the match for United was the emergence of Anders Lindegaard. The Big Dane had an impressive game and has certainly given Sir Alex something to think about in terms of goalkeeping options. Although SAF claimed that it will be David de Gea in goal against Chelsea in the post-match interview, he will surely reward Lindegaard in the future by giving him more game-time in important matches.
Ryan-Oh-Ryan
All those who thought Ryan Giggs is done were made to think again. The only thing that suggests he is 37 years old is the grey hair around the temples. His left-foot screamer saw him breaking yet another record- Scoring a goal in the most number of seasons (16), eclipsing Raul (15). He has proved that he is still a crucial member of the squad and it's not just emotional attachment to the club that is forcing him out of retirement.
Resilience
Even though they had an awful first-half, they literally turned things around by cancelling out a 24' strike with a 42' one. They probably got the hair-dryer from Fergie at half-time, based on their improved second-half performance. While most of the people think they sucked, the away side had 62% of the possession.
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