Midfield Rooney leads Manchester United old guard through testing Christmas period

Dec 26, 2014 18:48:00

COMMENT: The England forward scored twice and assisted another as United got back on track against Newcastle despite injuries again biting around Old Trafford

By Peter Staunton at Old Trafford

 

The presence of Radamel Falcao was the only indicator things had moved forward for Manchester United this season. All the rest of their starting XI and substitutes against Newcastle predated Louis van Gaal's time at the club.

That makes it all the more remarkable that United are sitting prettily in third place in the Premier League and well on course to re-qualify for the Champions League after a one-year hiatus.

At the start of the season, and following that Swansea defeat, much was made of United's need to bring in new players and fast. Plenty were signed but most of them currently sit infirm while the old guard pick up the points through this vital Christmas and New Year period.

Angel Di Maria was the latest to be ruled out of this game; he suffered a setback in training on Christmas Eve to delay his return to the starting line-up. Happily for Van Gaal, the team will not train again before taking on Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.

Instead, it was left to Wayne Rooney to act as United's chief attacking threat, and those already at the club to prove that they are totally on board with Van Gaal's demands. They are reflecting the character of their manager; resilient, adaptable and confident. 

Playing Rooney in central midfield has been pondered by many managers, and goes back to Sir Alex Ferguson's final seasons at Old Trafford. Neither Ferguson nor David Moyes ever quite seemed convinced, but Van Gaal has no doubts.

"Yeah of course," he replied after being asked whether Rooney had shown his class. "The last game against Aston Villa he was too much of a defensive midfielder and I wanted more an attacking midfielder because he can score goals, and he has proven that today."

It is Rooney making United tick right now. He has come in for glowing praise from his manager in recent weeks and he played supremely to give United their 24th win in 26 competitive games against Newcastle.

Match Stats — Team Stats

Manchester Unitedv.Newcastle United

• Goals

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  3	75%25%	1

  Total Shots (including blocked shots)

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  9	52.9%47.1%	8

  Shots On Target

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  4	50%50%	4

  Blocked Shots

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  1	33.3%66.7%	2

  Shots from outside the box

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  1	25%75%	3

  Shots from inside the box

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  8	61.5%38.5%	5

  Shot Accuracy (excluding blocked shots)

  Manchester United	Comparison	Newcastle United
  50%	42.8%57.2%	66.7%

With Robin van Persie and Falcao occupying the striking berths, Rooney was tasked with operating further back. Van Gaal described the England man as "multi-dimensional" before this fixture and was repaid with the kind of performance that has marked Rooney out as one of the most accomplished players of his generation.

"It's a role I played many times and I know I can play," he told BT Sport after the match. "The manager has given me even more licence to get forward, to get into the box from that role. As Paul [Scholes] done many times in his career he could see the ball when it was out wide, see the space and run into it. I've done that today with my two goals. I'm delighted with the performance."

He instigated the attack which brought the first goal, a spell of dizzyingly brilliant football to set United off and running. He played the accurate pass to Juan Mata, who picked out Falcao, and by the time the Colombian slid the ball into the middle, Rooney had surpassed his markers to tap United into the lead.

Shortly after, he received a majestic Mata through ball before beating Jak Alnwick all ends up with a curled finish. Any pretence of a fair fight was given up shortly after the break. Rooney found himself in too much space and duly despatched a measured pass on to the head of Van Persie to make it three. 

Match Stats — Player Stats — Manchester United

• Goalkeeping

  #	Photo & Name	TS	SS	SC	PS
  1	David de Gea	3	75%	8	-

  TS

  Total Saves

  , , ,

  SS

  Shots Saved (%)

  SC

  Shots Faced

  PS

  Penalty Saves

Match Stats — Player Stats — Newcastle United

• #	Photo & Name	TS	SS	SC	PS
  31	Jak Alnwick	1	25%	9	-

  TS

  Total Saves

  , , ,

  SS

  Shots Saved (%)

  SC

  Shots Faced

  PS

  Penalty Saves

Last week, United came unstuck against Aston Villa with the critics stating that their performance was about the best they could muster. They had been lucky during that six-match winning streak, it was claimed. United and Rooney made a mockery of that suggestion here by getting back on track against a deperately underwhelming Newcastle.

That's seven wins from nine at home in the league for Manchester United. Their only defeat at Old Trafford this season came on the opening day against Swansea while the team was very much in transition. Personnel-wise, with so many injured bodies, that still might be the case.

But Louis van Gaal is a manager with a proven track record of extracting the best from players. He is doing so again and Rooney remains at the forefront.