Why Man Utd won at Goodison Park?

In the first 45 minutes, both sides had very few chances. Excluding the deflected goal by Alan Stubbs, Everton had no other shots on target while Man Utd only had Rooney’s two attempts on target to show for throughout the whole of the first half. The home team came into the game set up to stifle Man Utd, trying to suffocate them in midfield. They started with their usual formation of 4-5-1. The problem this time was that they were missing Andy Johnston due to injury. So, youth product and the youngest scorer in the Premier League, James Vaughan starts as a lone striker; a mighty ask for the young man.Here was how Everton was set up.

Turner

Hibbert Yobo Stubbs Lescott

Carsley Neville

Osman Fernandes Arteta

Vaughan

Here, the fullbacks didn’t venture forward. Carsley and Neville act as front sweepers, covering their back four. Any creative attacking force came out from Arteta and Fernandes while Osman pushes up as a 2nd striker when in attack. They were shaped to sit back and let Man Utd come at them, hoping for a counter attack. They look too maintain little space in the middle of the park. It was effective against a toothless Man Utd side in the first half.

On paper it seems that Man Utd has set out as a 4-4-2. When 18YB watched the opening stages of the match, Man Utd was in fact playing with a 4-5-1 formation which of course could be adapted to be a 4-3-3 formation during attack. 18YB noticed that it was not working against Everton who was set up the same way. As such, they were cancelling each other out, which resulted in the lack of chances. Here was how Man Utd started the game.

Van Der Sar

O'Shea Brown Heinze Evra

Carrick

Solksjaer Scholes Giggs Rooney

Smith

The particular set up wasnt as effective because of where Rooney and Solksjaer were positioned. Rooney loves playing in the middle, in the hole behind the striker. Playing him out left is a waste of his strength and movement.For Solksjaer, he is a striker through and through. The Babyface Assassin loves to be the furthest man forward leading the line. Yes he has played before down the right wing when Beckham left; but that was some time back when he had the legs. He is losing pace now and injuries has had an effect on him. We know Giggs can play through the centre; a position he has picked up since he began declining in speed.

In the 2nd half, when Richardson and Ronaldo was introduced, Man Utd came to life. More urgency and pace can be seen in their attacking approach. This is down to the fact the Sir Alex reverted back to his good old 4-4-2 system. When the two Rs came on, Man Utd changed their shape.

Van Der Sar

O'Shea Brown Heinze Richardson

Ronaldo Carrick Scholes Giggs

Rooney

Solksjaer

This is proven and tested system of Man Utd this season. A lot of movement happened. Foremost, Rooney was employed in the hole behind Solksjaer who led the line. Two natural wingers provided width with Ronaldo and Giggs. Richardson was also seen as the left winger bombing forward, with Giggsy tucking in alongside Scholes and Carrick. Richardson provided the extra man in attack.When Man Utd equalised, David Moyed tried to match Man Utd by putting on Mcfadden and Beattie and change to a 4-4-2; but by this time the Red Devils had the winds behind them and went on to score 2 more goals. What was evident this season with Man Utd was the seamless interchanging and switching of positions between Rooney,Ronaldo and Giggs. They are free to move around the attacking third to create openings and chances.As mentioned by Sir Alex in his post match interview, at 2-1 he put on Ronaldo so that he could draw the defenders away from the other players(Milan should take note). Ultimately, Ronaldo was the difference maker in this game. The 2nd goal came from the confusion that resulted from his header. The third goal was started by Ronaldo who intercepted Hibbert's astray pass. If observed carefully, the last goal, the defenders were drawn to the possible run from Ronaldo rather then from young Eagles who made a run through the heart of Everton's defence.

All that tactical jargon aside, the performance was like a flashback to the old Man Utd team made up of the class of 92 led by Eric Cantona. This is because of the ability to turn a match around in the 2nd half. 18YB could still remember the days when Man Utd were labelled as the '2nd Half' team due to their ability to turn around matches in the 2nd half. If Goodison Park is an indication of that kind of ability, this current class of 07 could well be on the right path.