Manchester United got off to a tumultuous start to the season to say the least. What was supposed to be a rebirth in attack of the '99 treble winning team began with a quivering queef. While United dominated possession, Everton was busy creating chances through Belgian Marouane Fellaini. He was everywhere on the pitch and pulled his best Yaya Toure impression ala the last Manchester Derby. My review each week will be of the Manchester United players as I focus on them and don't always notice the little things players do on opposing teams in our fixtures.
David DeGea: United's man of the match. If not for some great reaction saves and some help from the ironwork this game could have been much worse. He still needs to work on his strength and punching because he has problems with crosses.
Antonio Valencia: While he has the ability to play right back it's not his ideal usage. As was evidenced early he doesn't have the grit to tangle in the box. Fellaini muscled past him and Carrick (another playing out of position) before chipping DeGea and having the ball carom off the post. Valencia would have been much more useful further up the field where Nani was floundering.
Nemanja Vidic: Impressive his first game back. Other than a couple instances that can easily be attributed to rust after not having played most of last season, Vidic was sturdy in the center of defense.
Michael Carrick: A natural central midfielder, Carrick was part of the center of defense against Everton due to injuries to Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Johnny Evans at that position. He put up the required effort but was just to small and too slow to handle Fellaini and was towered over on Fellaini's game-winner.
Patrice Evra: Evra continued his poor form from last season. While he made appearances up the pitch, his crosses were never threatening (a team-wide problem). He is too easily skirted by defenders and Sir Alex seems to realize this as United just brought in left back Alexander Buttner from Vitesse.
Paul Scholes: Predictable and slow. Scholes' clever turns with the ball were being easily jumped by Everton players in bad spots on the pitch. None of his long balls were threatening in any sense of the word. As the distributor in the offense he needed to stop the side to side play and begin trying to unlock the Everton defense.
Tom Cleverley: There was a point in the game when Cleverley just disappeared. I think it was during the first 94 minutes.
Shinji Kagawa: I have been excited to see him in a United jersey during an EPL match since the rumors first began. I loved watching this guy play at Borussia Dortmund the past two years and knew he had the creative spark we were missing for stretches last year. He had a decent enough opener but had little help around him as everyone looked sub par. He seemed to be thinking faster than his teammates which left plenty of lost chances. It will take time for Kagawa and the team to get acclimated. Hopefully not too much though.
Danny Welbeck: Played well enough before being subbed out by Robin van Persie. Had some impressive runs up the left but overall looked out of position. Tracked back smartly when Evra was being lazy. He is certainly much better suited as a striker.
Wayne Rooney: Poor showing from Rooney. He never found his first touch and always seemed a bit off with his passes. He was far too hesitant and seemed to let the atmosphere affect him.
Luis Nani: Horrendous game. Every single cross of his hit off the first defender, without fail. He received an early yellow for a poor tackle and it could have been his second of the game as he berated a linesman but failed to receive a yellow.
Robin van Persie: 25 minutes and not even a peep. Lets hope him, Rooney, and Kagawa can meld. It will be deadly if that happens.
Ashley Young: Came on in the 78th minute for Nani. If not for his poor performance I would have said this sub was done far too late. However from the moment he came on he began throwing cross after cross off the first defender.
Anderson: Provided some much needed energy in the midfield behind Kagawa but after coming on in the 85th minute is was far too little, far too late.
I want to take a second here and praise Marouane Fellaini. The dude absolutely killed United and quite honestly does it every time they play. Today was the Coup de Grace though and I would be shocked if he is in an Everton jersey this time next year. He's been consistent since he's been there and if he can have a few good showings against big squads like this I don't see how someone won't scoop him. It wasn't just the physicality of his play. His first touch is amazing. He receives balls from the back at neck level and not only brings them down, but does so in threatening positions. In basketball terms this man receives the ball in the air from about 30 yards away in triple threat position. Yeah, he can't use his hands.
The video is nine minutes long but it's damn impressive. It contains every touch of the ball Fellaini had during the game. Link here
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