Memphis puts United in total control
Depay hits a class double to put United in command
HE doesn’t walk it in, Memphis. Manchester United’s signing of the summer demonstrated his gift for the spectacular against Bruges last night, with two of the most perfectlyexecuted goals Old Trafford will see all season.
They were enough to put United in the box seat travelling to Belgium for the return leg a week today, probably enough to steer the club through to the Champions League group stage as well.
Bruges have nobody like Memphis Depay at their disposal, not even Lionel Messi’s old friend from his Barcelona youth team days, Victor Vazquez. After an early scare, United were much the better team here and Bruges had no answer to the speed, wit and accuracy of Depay — his first-half goals the highlight of the season for United so far.
It is three straight wins now, but this was the most impressive — a victory that came with some of the panache of old. If the accusation has been that United have lacked style under Louis van Gaal, Depay is the antidote. He would not look out of place on any team’s catwalk. The No 7 shirt means something at Old Trafford. It would appear van Gaal has awarded it to the right man.
United were an unlikely goal down when Depay started to take the game away from Bruges. An eighth-minute Michael Carrick own goal had stunned Old Trafford, but the Dutchman got them up again just five minutes later.
Carrick laid the ball into Depay and he brought it under control before lobbing defender Dion Cools, skipping round the other side and beginning to work his way inside. The crowd were screaming for him to shoot but Depay took his time. He knew what he was doing and when he pulled the trigger, his effort curled inside the far post, leaving goalkeeper Sebastien Bruzzese with no chance.
His second, after 43 minutes, was if anything even better. Daley Blind hit a perfectly-weighted pass into Depay’s path on the left and he cut inside again before unleashing a quite spectacular shot that flew past Bruzzese and into the net. His every involvement caused chaos. When he ran straight at the Bruges defence after 52 minutes, one could almost hear sirens going off.
Centre-half Brandon Mechele will miss the second leg having been sent off for a second bookable offence, a foul on Javier Hernandez.
Depay’s final contribution is the one that should see United home. It was his cross that gave Marouane Fellaini the vital third, three minutes into added time. Referee Deniz Aytekin had his whistle in his mouth, literally, when the ball hit the net.
United should have it taped from here. Only a calamity got Bruges in front and only a calamity could have got them back into the game after United took the lead.
Sergio Romero has the potential to be that calamity, however, and after 60 minutes he almost was. He collected a simple back pass and held on to it — and held on to it — until a 50-50 with substitute striker Obbi Oulare unfolded. Romero came off worse, which he deserved, and was awarded a free-kick. It was a valuable reminder. United should progress from here but will not be getting the cigars out just yet.
One of the unimagined effects of globalisation is that it has afforded the opportunity for English football fans to get baited in their own language at European ties. There was an incongruous noise coming from the blue corner — the sound of thousands of Belgians sledging the locals in impeccable English.
THE swearing was spot-on, they knew all the standards — shall we sing a song for you — and they pushed precisely the right buttons with a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, stretched scarves and all.
Getting a chorus of boos by way of response, they followed it up with chants of ‘Liverpool’. Events on the pitch were just as irritating.
As so often happens, rumours of Bruges’ extreme uselessness were very much exaggerated. There may have been tougher teams in the hat but the Belgians were no fools and, while their early goal was a fluke, what followed marked them out as dangerous on the break and not to be taken lightly.
United have not played too many Champions League qualifiers and have never conceded a goal in one, so events in the eighth minute represented history, of sorts — just not the type Michael Carrick was hoping to make. Vazquez took a free-kick 30 yards out, which he clipped in low and without much thought or threat.
But having taken a deflection off Adnan Januzaj, it troubled Carrick, who stuck out a leg but succeeded only in diverting the ball in at the near post past Romero.
It was unthinkable that United would not make it into the tournament proper this year and while there was an enormous amount of time left in the game — and a second leg — this was wholly unexpected.
Weren’t Bruges supposed to be the soft option? It can be argued that in the Champions League no team is truly that and while normal service had been resumed before half-time, it wasn’t all United’s way.
There are still too many gaps at the back, and the fact Cools could meet a Vazquez corner on the volley in the penalty area after 26 minutes proved it.
Yet i f this season has been about containment and slender single-goal victories for United so far, here was at last a glimpse of the cavalier spirit of the Ferguson era. Depay, obviously, and Januzaj were always a threat, combining well on the left, with Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney buzzing around t he periphery.
The game was little more than a minute old when Mata put Januzaj in for a cross which Rooney just couldn’t reach to turn in.
In the 26th minute, a Depay corner ended with Rooney attempting an ambitious overhead kick at the near post. He made a good connection but was unsighted and Vazquez was able to clear off the line.
Depay, who was quite magnificent on the flank, should have gone it alone soon after when he broke free of the defence again, only to square the ball unselfishly for Januzaj, but without the necessary accuracy. Januzaj, always a threat, hared through on goal from a Mata pass but tumbled trying to win the physical battle with Oscar Duarte.
If van Gaal i s serious about playing him as a central striker any time soon, he may need to enrol him in a boxing gym.