Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez help Manchester United progress – UEFA Champions League
Wayne Rooney gave one of his best performances for Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League as the Red Devils sealed their place in the final eight teams of Europe’s premier club cup competition. Manchester United won against Marseille in the second
leg of their round of sixteen matchup at Old Trafford.
Ferguson’s men started the match with a conventional 4-4-2 setup which meant that Marseille always had the advantage when it came to central midfield. Didier Deschamps fielded his team in a 4-3-3- format which meant that they had a numerical advantage over
Manchester United in the center of the park with their three central midfielders against Manchester United’s two playmakers.
Up front, Manchester United went with the Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez combo, a selection choice that worked well for Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United’s key player throughout the second leg at Old Trafford was their star striker Wayne Rooney. Rooney
was under instructions by his manager to play behind Javier Hernandez rather than in an out and out striker’s role.
This tactical development prompted Rooney to drop deep whenever Manchester United were without the possession of the ball. The Englishman’s tendency to drop backwards in the midfield area allowed United to cope with the three man midfield of Marseille. Most
of Les Phocéens’ attacks came down the wings. This was successful to a certain extent, particularly in the second half but United’s early goal in the match which came through some brilliant linkup play between Ryan Giggs, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wayne-Rooney-c36736 and Javier Hernandez
allowed them to sit deep and pick Lyon on the counter attack.
Manchester United’s second goal of the match came through Antonio Valencia’s finely timed ball towards http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ryan-Giggs-c31985. The Welsh wizard then played it towards Hernandez who netted his second goal of the match. United’s main problem on the night originated from
their right back area. At first, John O’Shea was substituted by the home side due to a hamstring injury. However shortly after his replacement, Rafael da Silva also pulled out of the match with a similar injury, which prompted Manchester United to bring in
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-c13152 da Silva.
Marseille found it hard to deal with the tempo of Manchester United’s attack. Most of United’s link up play between their midfield area and the wingers came through Wayne Rooney. The English forward dropped back to gather the ball from the midfield area
and then played it to the likes of Ryan Giggs and Luis http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nani-c27299 on either wing.
Later on when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 was introduced into the fray in the second half, Rooney switched the play out-wide to the Ecuadorian winger. Marseille’s only goal of the match came in the second half due to Wes Brown’s misplaced header from the visiting team’s corner
kick. Brown headed the ball into his own net to give Marseille their first goal of the match.
Nonetheless despite some nervy moments at the end of the second half, Manchester United held on to secure two goals to one win over Marseille. The Red Devils now wait to see who they will face in the quarterfinal round, something that will be revealed on
Friday, 18th of March, after the remaining knockout ties have been played on Wednesday night.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect the official editorial policy of
www.bettor.com
Tags: