English Premier League: Detailed Player by Player review for Manchester United versus Liverpool – Part 2
Johnny Evans played in the centre of Manchester United’s defence. Before the game started there was some speculation regarding Rio Ferdinand’s possible inclusion into the starting line up for Manchester United. The former Leeds
man came back from his injury recently after he made an appearance against the Rangers in Manchester United’s mid-week match in the UEFA Champions League but it wasn’t to be as Evans was given the nod ahead of the experienced Englishman.
Against Everton and Fulham, Manchester United threw away a one and a two goal lead respectively to get draws, they were quite close to drawing this one too. In both of those matches, Evans was under the spotlight as he failed to
keep his cool when the opposition came forward in numbers. The same thing happened again as his performance was quite jittery and an in-form Fernando Torres would have given him nightmares but Evans was lucky that the Spanish striker was off-form. Nonetheless,
Evans was at fault when he challenged Liverpool’s number nine inside his own box, as a result he gave away a penalty and allowed Liverpool to come back into the match.
Evans’s partner in the centre of United’s defence was their newly crowned club captain, Nemanja Vidic. Despite having a notoriously naughty history in the Manchester United versus Liverpool encounters, Vidic was at his best. He
was dominant in the air and impressive on the ground as well; his distribution from the back was impeccable. He also provided Liverpool with a threat when it came to set pieces. It can be gladly said that he had Fernando Torres in his pocket throughout the
match.
His performance kept United’s defence together especially after Liverpool were looking to push for a winner following their equalizer. Vidic’s performance for United will be crucial as Ferguson aims for another Premier League title,
Ferdinand’s fitness has been an issue in the back but Nemanja has always been a consistent performer for United. Sir Alex’s decision to give him the arm band has thus far turned out to be a masterstroke for Vidic’s confidence.
Paul Scholes along with Fletcher started in Manchester United’s central midfield area as Ferguson went with a 4-4-1-1. It was a strange game for Scholes as Liverpool to some extent successfully nullified his passing range by closing
the Englishman down further up the field. Scholes was good in the first half as he was on fire with his trademark diagonal balls to Ryan Giggs and Nani who were providing United were width on either side of the field. He also had a chance to score one of his
usual blasters from outside the box but his strike was off target in the first half.
In the second half, fatigue took over the 35 year old midfielder as Paul faded out of the game but when Liverpool withdrew one of their midfielders and adopted a 4-4-2, Scholes started to shine again. He was quite bad as far as
providing cover to the back four was concerned.
Ryan Giggs was entrusted by Ferguson to give one of his trademark performances down the left hand side of United’s attack. Despite the fact that the Welshman is aging, he is another one of United’s old guard who impressed against
Liverpool. Giggs did well firstly to adopt his game in order to track the runs of Glen Johnson who was played at right back for Liverpool.
He was impressive while going forwards in his own right as well, as his game has evolved so has his crossing ability. Giggs might not be able to go past defenders in a flash anymore but his quality on the ball is typifies his illustrious
career. Ryan was one of United’s best players on the field against Liverpool; he kept it simple and did what was effectively asked of him by Sir Alex Ferguson, not too shabby for a 37 year old playing on the wing.
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