Wayne Rooney boxes clever to help Manchester United to Tottenham win
|
Version 0 of 1. This was an afternoon when the Louis van Gaal “philosophy” finally appeared crystal clear. As in old times under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United were an unstoppable force that went for the jugular to allow Tottenham Hotspur no chance of affecting the contest. The vital factor here was the component missing in action for most of the season: tempo. Where this collection of United players who have seemed in a permanent torpor found the zest from is intriguing, and the manager will surely demand this be the benchmark in the final nine games that are crucial to Champions League qualification hopes. The victory gives United a firmer grip on fourth place, putting five points between them and Liverpool – who travel to Swansea on Monday night – and a further one to Spurs, whose hopes of a top-four finish appear moribund. Related: Wayne Rooney and Louis van Gaal play down boxing story after United win Asked if this was United’s best performance since he arrived, Van Gaal said: “I have to watch the video again. I have to say we played like a team and very determined. Maybe now is the game that gives us a fantastic boost.” The manager believes it could galvanise the players. “I hope so. We have waited a long time for such a victory,” he said. The opening question in Sunday’s game, as is the case in these Van Gaal days, was how they would line up. On this occasion the answer was a 4-1-4-1 formation which, in the latest bit of tinkering, featured Daley Blind at left-back and Juan Mata on the right side of midfield; each of these hardly their regular positions. The first opening came within two minutes and arrived along Blind’s flank though the Dutchman was blameless. Phil Jones was the culprit, the defender’s heavy backpass requiring David de Gea to scramble and stick out a boot to prevent an own goal. The alarm bells rung were turned up higher when the ensuing corner had to be scrambled away by Marouane Fellaini and the thought arose that this could be another painful outing for United. By the time – after 34 minutes – that Rooney had scored a barnstorming third for United this was all forgotten. What passed in the intervening moments was a passage of play that was certainly the best seen under Van Gaal’s leadership. Rooney’s fifth goal in six games came from a shocking ball from Nabil Bentaleb that went straight to the United captain. Now came the sight of the Rooney of yore, the England captain charging at the backpedalling Spurs rearguard before he made a mug of Eric Dier, removing him from the equation by swerving left and beating Hugo Lloris with a cool finish to the goalkeeper’s right. The celebration? A few shadow punches and a fall backwards in jest at being knocked out by Stoke City’s Phil Bardsley in the kitchen last month. Fellaini revealed that Rooney had given a rousing speech to the players at the team hotel on Saturday that was “very important” and had inspired the squad. Pace was the key to the iron grip United had on the visitors’ throats. And in Fellaini United had a player who turned in a near-perfect first-half performance whether heading on a high pass or zooming into space to cross, or scoring, as he did after nine minutes to register United’s opening goal. This derived from a smooth Blind ball to Michael Carrick – impressive in a first league start for two months – whose own pass found Fellaini and the Belgian made no mistake with a finish that had Old Trafford in raptures and him beating the United crest on his chest. It was the Fellaini head that had a starring role in the second. As with Rooney’s goal, the Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will be bitterly disappointed at his side’s defending. Mata swung over a corner and Fellaini rose to bully Dier and head towards Lloris’s goal. Nacer Chadli hooked the ball away and out to Carrick, whose placement of his header to Lloris’s left was supreme. Related: Louis van Gaal gets passing combination right for Manchester United win | Michael Cox Rooney’s third was followed by the home crowd chanting “attack, attack, attack” as Old Trafford had been taken back to the days when the relentless red blur was the norm. In Tottenham, United had an opponent in name only. If the watching Roy Hodgson was present to assess Harry Kane’s readiness for inclusion in his England squad on Thursday he will have learned little as English football’s coming man was offered barely a sniff of an opening from his insipid team-mates. How Pochettino will wish he had even one player on the excellent Fellaini’s level. Instead, so desperate did the visiting manager become that the forgotten man of Spurs, Emmanuel Adebayor, was given a first run-out since 22 January as a second-half replacement. Van Gaal could afford to give young Andreas Pereira a league debut, and he ended the 90 minutes particularly content. As Manchester City are now only two points ahead the Dutchman could even discuss how United’s great rivals are back in what he calls the “rat race” to secure European Cup football next season. “Of course [City are in range] because Arsenal is one point behind [City] and we are two points behind. It is good for us and the fans and the media because you can write a lot of things down,” said the 63-year-old manager. Man of the match Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) |