Louis Van Gaal’s decision to give his players Christmas Day off has paid dividends as his team vanquished Newcastle United with obvious ease. Van Gaal appeared pleased with the performance in his post match interview, stating that his team had dominated for 90 minutes. United appeared able to create chances at will while remaining defensively solid for the vast majority of the match – the penalty concession by Jones at the end of the match a mere blot on an otherwise superb performance.
Now Van Gaal and United will look to prepare for Sundays fixture away at Spurs. The fixture list has allowed United only 43 hours between beating Newcastle and kicking off versus Spurs, so after a brief warm down session the United squad will head down to London. It’ll be intriguing to see how Van Gaal rotates his squad for the next match – Michael Carrick, Radamel Falcao and Antonio Valencia were all substituted in the second half in order to preserve them for the next match. But whether Van Gaal will change the starting XI remains to be seen.
I criticised the use of the 3-5-2 versus more defensive teams in this article before the Newcastle game, yet it appears that United are growing more accustomed to it – indeed against Newcastle they appeared fully comfortable. I expect United to continue with this formation until the return of the only true fullbacks at Van Gaal’s disposal: Rafael Da Silva and Luke Shaw.
Starting XI Prediction (3-5-2):
David De Gea: Apart from one or two early forays from Newcastle, De Gea was untroubled for the majority of the match. That is until Jones foolishly conceded a penalty. The Spaniard didn’t have a chance with the resulting spot kick from Cisse who put it away with both power and precision.
Phil Jones: Jones seemed comfortable in the back three, repeatedly venturing forward to cause Newcastle problems. However, he reverted to his usual reckless type by conceding a needless penalty.
Paddy McNair: This was McNair’s first start since his nightmare at Southampton was ended by being substituted before half time. Playing as the central defender in the back three McNair sat deep and distributed the ball exquisitely. I would normally say Smalling might come in for him against Spurs, yet McNair deserves to keep his place after this comfortable performance.
Jonny Evans: Gave the ball away once or twice against Newcastle but showed plenty of adventure by getting forward – occupying defenders and freeing up space for the likes of Van Persie, Falcao, Rooney and Mata.
Antonio Valencia: Valencia was defensively diligent and did a lot of unseen work against Newcastle’s admittedly attack. Valencia repeatedly tracked Yoan Gouffran as he made dangerous runs from the left. The Ecuadorian also showed a little more ambition going forwards than versus Villa, even having a shot on goal in the process.
Michael Carrick: Dominated the centre of the pitch as Newcastle failed to hassle him when on the ball. With the amount of space he was given he dictated the whole tempo of the match, after he went off United looked less comfortable and created less. Carrick is quickly demonstrating his worth to the team.
Wayne Rooney (C): United fans were treated to another excellent performance from their in form captain. Two goals and an assist from a much deeper lying position showed how adept he is becoming at playing in midfield – Rooney provides a wide range of passing, a strong work rate and clearly benefits from the larger amount of space he is allowed which helps counter his sometimes poor first touch.
Ashley Young: Showed great stamina and skill to occupy Janmaat for the full 90 minutes. It appears that Young has found his spiritual home as a left-wing-back. Long may his form continue.
Juan Mata: Afford Juan Mata the amount of space that Newcastle did and he will hurt any team on the planet. Mata made Rooney’s first with a sensational ball to Falcao and his weighted through ball to Rooney for his second was sublime. Mata is quietly making himself indispensable to United’s attack.
Robin Van Persie: Van Persie looks sharp again and appears to be developing a good relationship with Falcao up top with both making good runs for each other in an effort to create space. Took his goal well and on another day might have had two
or three more.
Radamel Falcao: Another promising performance from the Colombian who finally looks fully fit. His quick wits showed with his assist for Rooney’s first and it was Falcao’s good pressing that set things in motion for the second goal. There is much more to come from United’s number nine.
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