MARVELLOUS MATA PUTS SMILE ON FERGIE’S FACE
THEY stood alongside each other, peering anxiously towards the Kop. As a sea of red and white jerseys jostled and pointed fingers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton never blinked.
Then, as referee Martin Atkinson restored order, Fergie cracked. Turning to see who was on the row behind him in Anfield’s directors’ box, he could not help himself. Suddenly he was beaming, his smile born of elation and contentment: victory had been confirmed.
Winning at Anfield mattered more to Ferguson than anything else when he shaped Manchester United’s destiny and retirement hasn’t dulled the desire. That smile and subsequent tap on Charlton’s shoulder told you everything about how he was feeling.
He wasn’t alone. Crammed into the Anfield Road End, 3,000 United fans noisily acclaimed the finest performance of the Louis van Gaal era. Their team had not played with such panache and arrogance here since the mid-1990s. They were going to enjoy this.
‘We played them off the pitch in the first half, I think,’ Van Gaal mused afterwards. ‘It was the best 45 minutes (of the season). We scored a fantastic goal, we gave nothing away. It really was a superb first half. In the dressing room, I gave the players all my compliments.’
Van Gaal might have been less than impressed by what he saw in the second half but do not doubt how much satisfaction this win gave him. As he walked out of Anfield later to the team bus, he stopped and took a look back at the famous old stadium. His contentment was beyond question, as well it might have been.
This was the afternoon when the Van Gaal masterplan started to come together. For all Liverpool’s shortcomings, the simple truth was that they couldn’t get near United and were lucky that only one goal separated the sides at half-time.
All over the pitch, United players stood out. Phil Jones, for starters, was terrific in the centre of defence, keeping Daniel Sturridge under wraps for much of the game. Antonio Valencia personified diligence at right back.
It was in midfield, however, where United stamped their class.
Marouane Fellaini dominated, setting an aggressive tone. Daley Blind was impressively solid while Ander Herrara passed the ball with purpose and precision, most devastatingly when he set fellow Spaniard Juan Mata free for the opening goal.
Ah, Mata. For much of the 15 months he has been at Old Trafford, you have wondered why United spent £37million on him. Then you see how he played here, scoring that glorious second goal,
and understand why Michael Carrick calls him the ‘Little Magician’. Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, was certainly impressed after Mata exchanged passes with Angel di Maria and capped the move with a bicycle kick that arrowed past Simon Mignolet.
‘What a goal!’ exclaimed Woodward as he gave Charlton a hug. Mata,
by contrast, was slightly more circumspect.
‘In the last few months I’ve not had the best moments but I am the same player who I was when I came to England,’ he said.
‘I have the same passion, the same vision, but it is the manager who decides. But obviously I’m happy because we played well in a very difficult game.’
Much has been said about United this year, largely concerning how they are a shadow of what has gone before. How many of this starting line-up would have got into the treble-winning side of 1999? Probably only Wayne Rooney. But they are moving in the right direction and what has been most impressive is their reaction to being bounced out of the FA Cup at home by Arsenal two weeks ago.
A 3- 0 demolition of Tottenham followed by a win against their bitter rivals has made fourth place United’s to lose, and that would ensure Van Gaal achieves the target Woodward set him last summer.
‘We are coming back and we beat Liverpool again,’ said Van Gaal. ‘We beat them with their own weapons and pressure on the ball. Now the gap is five points ahead of Liverpool and six ahead of Tottenham and Southampton, so the win is one of the most important in my career.’
But maybe Van Gaal should really be looking up. After all, United are only eight points behind league leaders Chelsea and there are still eight matches to play.
Manchester United to be champions? Perhaps not this year. But why can’t they finish runners-up?
Should Van Gaal’s team play as they did at Anfield during the run-in, nobody will enjoy facing them.
And that, more than anything, will give Ferguson reason to smile again.