Mata strike eases Old Trafford nerves
SUBSTITUTE Juan Mata eased the tension at Old Trafford with the only goal of the game as an injury-hit Manchester United edged Crystal Palace 1-0 in the Premier League yesterday.
The Spaniard scored with a deflected shot four minutes after coming on in the second half to give Louis van Gaal’s team a victory in four attempts.
Van Gaal had again been forced to make changes to his team and it showed in a display that was often disjointed.
With Chris Smalling suspended after his red card at Manchester City and with Marcos Rojo having joined Rafael, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans on the sidelines, the hosts were again forced to field a makeshift back four.
Antonio Valencia, usually a winger, started at right back, while the inexperienced Paddy McNair partnered Daley Blind, who normally plays in midfield, in central defence.
Michael Carrick had filled in at centre back in last weekend’s derby, but he played in midfield against Palace in his first start of the season.
Carrick saw plenty of the ball in the early stages against a Palace team who had clearly come with a plan to frustrate their hosts.
Left back Luke Shaw was allowed to carry the ball to the edge of the box before unleashing a shot that Julian Speroni did well to save before Wayne Rooney curled high over the bar after probing work from Angel di Maria.
United’s start to the season, taking 10 points from their opening 13 matches, has been their worst since 1986, when Ron Atkinson was sacked and replaced by Alex Ferguson.
Van Gaal admitted to feeling “lousy” about that record on Friday and warned it could take three years — the duration of his contract — for him to restore United as a genuine force in England and Europe.
Confidence at Old Trafford is far from its peak and Neil Warnock’s visitors almost took advantage of their hosts’ vulnerability five minutes before the break.
Lack of communication between McNair and Blind meant that Joel Ward’s long ball from the back was allowed to find its way to Fraizer Campbell inside the United area.
The former United striker lifted the ball over goalkeeper David de Gea, but the lob also cleared the crossbar.
Van Gaal introduced Mata in place of Adnan Januzaj and the Spaniard took just four minutes to contribute with the opening goal. Di Maria’s short return pass found Mata and the 26year-old shifted the ball onto his left foot before beating Speroni.
The relief was evident on the faces of Van Gaal and Ryan Giggs, the manager’s assistant, in the home dug-out and palpable among the 75 325 fans inside the stadium.
In other games, Southampton striker Shane Long came off the bench to bag a brace as the Premier League high-fliers clinched a 2-0 win over Leicester. Burnley won their first match of the season as they defeated Hull 1-0, while West Ham and Aston Villa played to a 0-0 draw. — AFP