Save Dave! (credit: United Indonesia)
Some may remember it as the game where Di Maria showed his worth again, or where Falcao scored his first for United, but it was a game preserved, won by the right hand of Dave. And the left.
Two big saves, at the end of both halves, helped to maintain United leads. The first lead was wiped out soon after half time with a very nice goal from Everton, the second refused to be outdone. I say “two big saves” as I was already writing this when De Gea made his second big stop of the match late on, from Leon Osman. Of course, it’s not over until the fat lady sings, or until Dave slaps it away one more time. His third was the save of the match. The match-winner.
Watching the match, you’d not have thought United would need De Gea to be saving anything. It wasn’t dominant, and Everton were certainly not outplayed, but United looked to attack often, and quite well. Di Maria was once again the star on the ball, with Rafael and Shaw up for best supporting player, both doing very good work on either flank.
The first goal came in the 27th minute, and it was from a Rafael cross. Baines I think it was, only managed to flick it to the back post, where Mata laid it off perfectly to find Di Maria in stride, and he curled it sweetly from inside the box, splitting Bešić, Barry and Stones to find the net. 1-0. Break out the little heart hands. I love that celebration!
I was already getting up to run my halftime errands (that’s right, errands in 15 minutes!) when Hibbert took a backheel as he burst into the box. Shaw came up with what could probably be described as a bad, fair tackle. It was needless, it was clumsy, but he got the ball. The referee has the final say. Except when Dave does. It was a poor Baines penalty, but De Gea’s right hand of justice kept the score at 1-0 going into half time. Apparently that was Baines’ first saved penalty in the Premier League. Bravo Dave!
Half time stat for you, and what a one it was from @PCarrESPN.
94% of home Premier League matches, where United have a lead, they have won. Incredible. There have been a lot of United runs and records vs other teams that ended under Moyes last year, but this remains.
The second half started well enough, with a great cross from Di Maria and then good work from Shaw on the other flank. Falcao missed the first (flagged offside in what may be one of the worst offside decisions you will see), and totally scuffed the second opportunity.
In the few matches he has played now, every ball that comes to him has fired off this rising excitement inside me, waiting to erupt at his first goal. However, on every occasion, he’s failed to score. That excited feeling could quickly turn to frustration if United fail to win, and that threatened to be the case when Naismith, who had been sighted all over the pitch so far, got on the end of a great cross from Baines (Clever free kick which saw him pass to the edge of the box, laid back to him about 15 yards closer to the goal, for his first time cross), perfect really for the on-rushing Naismith. 1-1.
Our defense has been fine, good even in this match, but it still seems far from impregnable.
Enter, Tim Howard. Inexplicably chasing a ball to the right sideline, cleared it only as far as Rafael, when the stands would have done just fine. Two passes later, Di Maria has a shot that’s going wide, and there it was. His boot! Falcao’s boot! It may not have been the sweetest strike, the sexiest goal, but finally, he’s got his first for United. After the match he said that it was a bit of a relief. Oh boy, do we agree. United has plenty of attacking potential, I’m confident we can score (primarily because we have Di Maria), but the prospect of an in form Falcao is just mouth watering!
There was still half an hour to go, and Everton did step up the pressure, but there are only 3 words for the final 30 minutes. For the match, really. David De Gea. Or Dave, if you like.
He had already saved that Baines penalty. Then it was Osman’s turn, bearing down on the goal from the right, he strikes for the far corner, Dave saves!
Late on, the ball finds Oviedo on the edge of the box, he hits, the keeper is unsighted, Dave saves! And what a save it was.
A huge amount of focus this year has been on who United has needed to bring in, to plug the holes left in our side. What has been overlooked, especially in our injury-plagued defense, is Dave. Win or lose, and aside from some early jitters, he has been very good for United in his time at the club. Some would argue, he’s the best keeper in the Premier League, and we should count ourselves very lucky to be able to have someone of his skill behind an inexperienced defense. There are keepers who are bigger, there are keepers who leap and claim the ball better, there are keepers whose teams require them to play as sweeper and often rush out of their box. But there is also Dave, possibly the sharpest shot stopper in the premier league, and one who I’m thankful for.
The good…
Di Maria – Yet again, just doing what Di Maria does. Plenty of balls into the box, a couple of great runs, a well finished goal and the (inadvertent) assist.
Rafael and Shaw (on the ball) – Both did great work on the wings especially and are big assets going forward.
McNair – Nice contrast to Blackett v Leicester. That may be harsh but he’s a young back who came through 90 solid minutes. Consistently very good, and he didn’t have it easy given that he was stuck with marking Lukaku for plenty of the match. Two moments stood out for me. Once, he was one-on-one tussling with Lukaku on the byline. Completely outmatched in size, but he held his own to see the ball off for a corner. My favourite, possibly understated moment was early on, in the 19th minute a long ball was lifted towards Lukaku. McNair was running towards his own goal, but comfortably leapt and headed the ball backwards, and straight to a United player. It reminded me of a Tim Duncan block. You could be flashier, more authoritative, head the ball off the field with vigor and receive the plaudits for clearing the danger. Or you could do what McNair did (what Tim Duncan may be renowned for in basketball), and look to get the ball to a teammate, keep possession. It was a beautiful nothing-moment.
Overall – @tacheydelbosque summarises well
The bad…
Van Persie – Anonymous, yet again. Although maybe I’m being harsh, as @tgirishkumar saw it otherwise (Good thing he censored the a-word, this is a kids-friendly ramble!)
Shaw (off the ball) – He wasn’t horrible, but he has work to do as a defender. That tackle for the penalty was silly and could have cost us.
The other guys…
Naismith – A real pain in the ass if you’re a United fan. He and Rafael looked like Jack and Rose on every corner. He was all over the pitch, making blocks and tackles. I thought he might pop up for the goal and he did.
Baines – Good at both ends, although the Everton defense looked shaky. As with Rafael and Shaw, he provides so much going forward.
Tim Howard – Not as confidence-inspiring as he once was. Late on, he decided to get into it with Van Persie, shoving him for what he probably defends as standing up for his teammate. In his current form, it just looks like he’s trying to compensate for a decline in his goalkeeping skills.
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