What We Learned – Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0

What We Learned – Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 [VIDEO]

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The Premier League returned on Saturday and the big match of the day was the early kick-off between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs dominated until a Kyle Walker own-goal gave United the lead. The Red Devils held on a won despite having only one shot on target all match.

Odd goalkeeping position

There has been a plethora of reports that David de Gea would return to his homeland this summer to replace the legendary Iker Casillas at Real Madrid. Louis van Gaal dropped a bombshell when he revealed he would not select de Gea for today’s match. A striking image during the first half of the match was Dde Gea, Victor Valdes and Anders Lindegard sitting side by side in the stands. One of the best goalkeepers in the world, a serial winner and a very good keeper and a Premier League proven goalkeeper sat in the stands while unproven Premier League gloveman Sergio Romero started and Sam Johnstone warmed the bench. Welcome to the mad world of Louis van Gaal! 

Right-backs impress

Kyle Walker can now be defined as a seasoned Premier League player while his counterpart on the other side, Matteo Darmian, was making his first appearance in this league. The only difference in performance today though was one scored an unfortunate own goal while the other was on the winning side as his side seeks a title challenge. Walker had a strong game barring the own goal and ensured Ashley Young kept quiet on United’s left-flank. Darmian was outstanding. Good positioning, solid defensively and adventurous going forward, United have been looking for a quality right-back since Gary Neville retired and if Darmian can keep up this level of performance then he might be just that.

https://youtu.be/Z4cKSdFEYog

Spurs look defensively stronger

Spurs’ defence has always been their Achilles heel. Today, there were signs of improvement as the combination of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen looked solid at the back, supported by the aforementioned Walker and the sturdy Ben Davies. Should these two continue their understanding and with two key Spurs in Hugo Lloris and Danny Rose coming back, there is hope that Tottenham’s defensive woes may be a thing of the past.

Rooney sits too deep

Van Gaal said he wanted a 25-goal per season striker. Following the sale of Robin van Persie and the decision not to make Ramadel Falcao’s loan move permanent, United’s strike force consist of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and James Wilson. Unless Wilson has a season that Harry Kane did last year, Rooney is the only player close to matching the type of striker his manager desires. However, during today’s match, Rooney sat very deep. It could be that after years of playing as a second striker that he has to readjust to being the main man, but if Rooney is to double his tally from last season, then he would have to start playing more off the shoulder of the defender.

Spurs still lack speed

Gone are the days of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon terrorizing opposition full-backs as they did during the most successful period of Spurs’ recent history. During those glorious four years under Harry Redknapp, the crux of that team was the pace and width that Bale and Lennon provided. Those days are done, and we are now in an era of ‘inverted wingers’. Pochettino essentially plays with three attacking midfielders behind Kane and versus Man Utd it was Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli and Mousa Dembele. While those are all good players technically, they lack the pace to get behind and stretch defences. If the rumors of an imminent transfer of Saido Behrahino to Spurs are true then he would go some way to rectifying the problem but as it stands, Spurs are a side that lacks pace.

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