For 63 days of the season so far, they were in a desert. Dry, barren, and just
seven goals from eight league games. On Friday, their manager, Sir Alex
Ferguson, decreed that there would soon be a deluge and 24 hours later, it
rained goals at Old Trafford. The four they got yesterday might have been
six or seven.
In the resumption of normal service, there is one statistic that may have
grown men shivering in Liverpool and both sides of London: United began
yesterday’s game with nine players on their injury list. They then lost
Nemanja Vidic and John O’Shea inside 30 minutes and played for the last hour
with Danny Simpson at right-back and Gerard Pique at centre-back. Tomasz
Kuszczak, United’s reserve goalkeeper, had one worthwhile save to make in
the match.
Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo – with two – scored the goals
and that will please Ferguson because with Louis Saha still injured, the
team needs others to take on the goalscoring duties. But as well as those
three played, perhaps the performance that will have most pleased the
manager was that of the Brazilian, Anderson.
He came into the game after 20 minutes, thrown into the midfield after Vidic’s
injury meant O’Shea had to move to centre-back. It took Anderson a few
minutes to find his rhythm but as soon as that happened, he was the game’s
commanding midfield player. Given that he was alongside Paul Scholes, that’s
some compliment.
Yesterday Anderson wanted the ball at every opportunity, and he used it with
the flair you would expect from a technically accomplished Brazilian. When
the breakthrough came after 54 minutes, his was the key pass as it split the
Wigan defence and gave Tevez half a yard on Kevin Kilbane. What happened
next was remarkable.
Kilbane and Tevez reached the ball almost at the same moment but with the
surest right-foot touch, the Argentine took the ball inside the defender and
then another brilliant touch took him past Chris Kirkland. The ball was then
on his left foot and still there were a couple of defenders between him and
the goal. No matter, he rifled the shot into the far corner. Outstanding.
Of course, this was a game of two teams. Against the top four teams, Wigan had
lost all 17 of their Premier League matches before yesterday and that
formidable lack of achievement weighed heavily on them. No one could
criticise their decision to concentrate on defence but their total refusal
to see the counterattack as an option was grim.
Poor Marcus Bent was left on his own up front and through the first 50 minutes
he would have needed binoculars to pick out his nearest teammate. Whatever
else he is, Bent is no slave for punishment and United’s defence had a
serene afternoon.
Except for Vidic, that is, who went up for a corner after 18 minutes and
returned to his own half unsure about where he had come from.
He had caught an entirely accidental elbow from Paul Sharner and suffered
concussion. It must have been bad because as Ferguson, Carlos Queiroz and
United’s doctor Steve McNally discussed the situation on halfway, the Serb
seemed to be the only one thinking he was fit to carry on.
Eventually he was convinced his afternoon would be better spent having tests
at the nearest hospital, but as Vidic’s afternoon was over, Anderson’s
career at Old Trafford was about to begin.
Given the limited nature of Wigan’s ambition, they did well enough in the
first half and contained United without undue stress. Kirkland had to make
just two saves, the first from a startling header by his own player, Salomon
Olembe, and the second from a 30-yard Ronaldo drive. The Olembe header was
something else as it looped in a high arc and dropped towards the roof of
the net. Kirkland arched his body backward and clawed it away from under the
crossbar.
As they have been all season, United were neat and clever and lacking in
penetration. “We picked up the tempo in the second half,” said Ferguson
afterwards, “and the flow was much better. We have a long way to go [in the
league] but I am very confident that I have the right squad.” United were
sharper in the second half but were helped by Wigan’s strategy. Mulling over
their half-time tea, the visitors decided they could continue to contain
United and with a little luck get a 0-0.
But that is exceedingly difficult at Old Trafford if at some point in the
match you don’t confront the home team. Early in the second half, as United
went forward in numbers, Wigan had a number of opportunities to counter.
They never tried. Instead they kept 10 men behind the ball and sent out a
message that United couldn’t miss. And a message that must have hurt even
Wigan’s own players – how can you not feel inferior if you don’t try to
play? In the end, even Wigan found their own lack of ambition dispiriting.
After Tevez’s opening goal, the others came quickly. Ryan Giggs struck a nice
shot from the left, it grazed Kilbane’s head, Kirkland reacted late and just
parried the ball on to Ronaldo’s head. Obrigado, as they say
in Portugal. The third goal was notable for Pique’s excellent pass to Rooney
who, brilliantly, played the cross early and Ronaldo swept it home.
Ten minutes from the end, Simpson went flying down the right wing and clipped
a fine cross that Rooney powered into the roof of the net with a smashing
header. Along the way, Nani came on for Tevez and it was remarkable to see
pretty much everyone in the stadium standing and applauding the
Argentinian’s performance.
He was entitled to that ovation because when the game was tight and United
weren’t making much headway, Tevez performed as if his life depended on it.
Around here, that’s all they ask.
Star man: Carlos Tevez
Player ratings: Man Utd: Kuszczak 6, Pique 7, Ferdinand 7, Vidic 6
(Anderson 21min, 8), Evra 7, Ronaldo 7, O’Shea 7 (Simpson 30min, 7), Scholes
6, Giggs 6, Tevez 9 (Nani 81min), Rooney 7
Wigan: Kirkland 6, Melchiot 7 (Hall 50min, 6), Boyce 6, Bramble 6,
Kilbane 5, Scharner 6, Brown 6, Skoko 5, Koumas 5, Olembe 5 (Valencia
66min), Bent 5
