Funny old game, football. Twice we've faced United this season. Twice it's been decided by a defensively avoidable goal from a set piece, and twice the losing side had a valid argument to say that they were hard done by overall. This time it was our turn.
The most pleasing aspect for me was the evident adjustments made to negate the pressure applied to our defensive unit. There was very clear evidence that we had learnt the lessons of Southampton and to a lesser extent, Swansea, who had both caused us major problems in that regard. Time and again when in possession, Mignolet could be seen gesturing to the centre backs to push up, as we looked to drop the ball over the top of the United press and play on the second ball. It immediately made us a little less predictable and somewhat ironically, as a result it allowed us to play out from the back on occasion, only this time under less pressure thanks to United not being quite so certain about what we were doing. In addition to that, it was very evident that whenever the ball did find its way to one of the central defenders, the two holding midfielders, gerrard in particular, were making a concerted effort to create an angle and become available for a pass. That didn't happen often enough against Southampton, but here it made a big difference, this time allowing us to play through the United press and retain possession much more effectively.
The other (admittedly obvious) major plus point was the return of Suarez, who, despite a minimal amount of playing time was arguably our standout performer. We all know what he brings to the side, but with it being missing for a sustained period of time, suddenly seeing it laid out in front of you once again made that impact seem all the more stark. Without Coutinho in the side we can often appear fractured as a team, without the obvious link between the lines of defence and attack that he provides. Suarez offered us that on Wednesday night, dropping deep to collect the ball and - in typical Suarez fashion - going one further and rolling his marker on several occasions. That alone brought an invention and an unpredictability to our attacking play that has largely been missing during his absence. As others have pointed out, his presence on the field alone affords space to others as well. The prospect of a fully fit Coutinho, Sturridge and Moses alongside Suarez is a mouthwatering one. Between them, physically there's nothing that they lack. There's pace, power, invention and technical ability in abundance. The one thing that could arguably be worked on (Suarez aside) is the mentality aspect.
Now, perhaps i'm being harsh on Sturridge, who lets not forget has been consistently played through necessity despite carrying an injury and that's evidently affected his performances, and no doubt created a frustration on his part. But still, he demonstrated on a few occasions on Wednesday night, the kind of mentality that I don't like to see from our players. There were a few shrugs of the shoulders, rolls of the eyes, and when he lost out in a fifty-fifty, you'd see him sat on the floor with his arms spread as if to question the unfairness of it all. Regardless of the frustration he may be feeling, that kind of body language sends out all of the wrong signals, to his teammates, his opponents and the thousands watching. Rene Meulensteen outlined this point in a recent interview, discussing how he had laboured a similar point to Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at United:
“I put a video together for him about top professionals like Muhammad Ali, Pele with little quotes from them. ‘Just have a look at this video,’ I told him, ‘I know you have a big TV. Read the clips. It will put you in good stead.’ There were little quotes about hard work and focus: focus on performance rather than outcome, focus on putting your qualities for the team and also body language. There were loads of times with Cristiano when he shrugged his shoulders, so I put a video clip together.”
The clips were of Ronaldo’s body language. “Do you realise how important an impact body language and facial expressions have on the millions watching?’’ Meulensteen asked Ronaldo at Carrington one day. “What do you mean?’’ Ronaldo replied.
Meulensteen continued: “Do you remember the goal you scored against Sporting [Lisbon on Nov 27, 2007] at home, the free-kick? You turned around to the camera, and did this [spreads hands out]? What were you trying to say? Sorry? Or were you trying to say ‘look at me, nobody else can do that’?’’
One of United’s kit-men was present.
“I asked him what he thought the gesture meant,” Meulensteen recalled.
“I’m the best,” was the kit-man’s take on Ronaldo’s stance. So Meulensteen turned to Ronaldo and said: “That’s what the millions think. They look at you as arrogant. You do the same thing when you get hacked down, ‘ahhh’, toys out the pram: ‘You can’t kick me, I’m Cristiano Ronaldo.’ You need to learn to play football the way Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer play tennis. Ice-cold. The moment people stop kicking you is because they’ve found another way to stop you. You want people to kick you. You need to make sure you see it coming. Make sure you’re clever’.”
It was back to the video-room. “I showed him clips of Johan Cruyff, an expert at avoiding tackles. He saw them coming, would change direction, and people would slide in front of him. I told Cristiano: ‘The most important thing is your facial expression, don’t react at all. Stand up, brush yourself off, and that defender thinks, ‘what can I do next?’ Overpower him with your qualities as a footballer, belittle him with your skill. You’re in control, not someone else.’
That said, I was surprised to see Sturridge start this game. I could understand him starting previously because we had very little alternative, but with Suarez available again this was surely the time to take him out and allow him the rest he clearly needs to fully recover. There is a very real concern that we could play him into further injury if we persist in fielding him for the duration each and every game despite the clear warning signs, not least from Sturridge's own mouth.
Overall though, it was a pleasing performance unfortunately undone by another avoidable error from a set piece. There are further lessons that need to be learnt, but there is evidence that we are doing just that and that, in particular, as I began by outlining, gives me hope. One thing's for certain, we'll play far worse than that and win this season. Likewise, we'll play far better and lose. Funny old game, football.
