Manchester United moved above rivals Manchester City to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable win over struggling Sunderland.
After a slow start, Memphis Depay scored his fourth of the season by tucking in from Juan Mata's cut-back.
United doubled the lead 40 seconds after the break as Wayne Rooney bundled over to end an 11-game scoring drought in the Premier League.
Mata then converted Ashley Young's cross as Sunderland stayed bottom.
Until Depay slid in the opener in first-half stoppage time, the hosts looked ponderous in attack but once they went 2-0 up after good work from Anthony Martial, Sunderland had little to offer in response.
Rooney's goal took him level with Denis Law as United's joint-third leading league scorer with 171 goals, and ended his longest barren spell in the Premier League.
David De Gea was rarely troubled but made two good saves from Jeremain Lens, meaning United have conceded just once in the league at home this season.
More to follow
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (3) & SUBSTITUTIONS (5)
Manchester United
- 01 de Gea
- 25 A Valencia
- 12 Smalling
- 17 Blind (Jones - 74' )
- 36 Darmian
- 16 Carrick (Schweinsteiger - 68' )
- 28 Schneiderlin
- 08 Mata
- 10 Rooney
- 07 Depay (Young - 77' )
- 09 Martial
Substitutes
- 04 Jones
- 18 Young
- 20 Romero
- 21 Herrera
- 27 Fellaini
- 31 Schweinsteiger
- 44 Pereira
Sunderland
- 01 Pantilimon
- 02 Jones Booked
- 16 O'Shea
- 15 Kaboul
- 03 van Aanholt
- 06 Cattermole Booked
- 11 Johnson Booked (Fletcher - 45' )
- 21 M'Vila
- 20 Toivonen (Larsson - 70' )
- 17 Lens
- 09 Borini
Substitutes
- 07 Larsson
- 14 Jordi Gómez
- 18 Defoe
- 22 Coates
- 24 Yedlin
- 25 Mannone
- 26 Fletcher
Ref: Mike Jones
Att: 75,328
Wayne Rooney ends drought against Sunderland as Manchester United go top
Manchester United will end the current Premier League round top for the first time since Six Alex Ferguson made the club champions in May 2013 following this stroll of a victory over Sunderland.
United have led the competition three times since Ferguson retired, but only due to playing before other sides and were subsequently overtaken. Now, Louis van Gaal’s team will spend at least a week as the leaders and as Wayne Rooney ended his league drought on 999 minutes with United’s second this was a satisfying day all-round.
Given Manchester City’s September capitulation – they are to close the month with only one league victory – and Chelsea’s struggles, United deserve to be at the summit, and deserve to be taken seriously as real contenders to claim a 21st title.
This was a game Van Gaal’s men might have claimed by a larger scoreline given their near-total domination. In Daley Blind and the ever-convincing Anthony Martial the men in red had the contest’s outstanding footballers.
Martial’s first contribution was some dazzling footwork that drew a free-kick to the right of the Black Cats area. Juan Mata swung this in but failed to clear the first man and the ball was cleared.
When Memphis Depay took possession near Costel Pantilimon’s goal moments later he had a chance to display the balletic touch of Martial but failed and the opportunity was spurned.
Sunderland began like a team who were bottom and winless and who would the afternoon with these facts unchanged. As the quarter hour passed Advocaat’s side had barely kept United out of their half. In this mode unforced errors were not required. Yet when a high ball was launched hopefully towards Martial, Pantilimon dawdled enough for the 19-year-old to hassle him into handling outside his territory. Cue another free-kick and cue Mata this time smacking this into the wall.
At this point, carelessness seemed to be contagious. Matteo Darmian, operating at left-back for the day, hit what should have been a simple cross straight out. At the other end, United’s defence slumbered and Jeremain Lens was allowed to bang a shot at goal that David de Gea saved well.Younès Kaboul perhaps offered a snapshot of why Sunderland are in peril on 21 minutes. From the left, with no pressure on him, the French centre-back whacked the ball straight out.
As the clock ticked to 31 minutes gone Rooney was less than a quarter of an hour from reaching the 1,000 minute mark with no Premier League goal. In addition to this unwanted run the captain had thus far been becalmed. An illustration came when he could have turned the visiting defence but the pass was over-hit.
There was only precision in the sublime way Daley Blind created United’s opener. The Dutchman sliced Sunderland open with a dipping 35-yard pass that was akin to a quarterback finding a wide receiver as it anticipated Mata’s path. The Spaniard squared the ball first-time and Depay finished for a maiden league strike.
Here, Van Gaal’s United had again displayed the happy knack of producing a game-changing moment when not functioning particularly well.
Inside the first minute of the second half came a moment Rooney should recall when his career his long over. A 235th strike in United colours came thanks to Martial who bounced a couple of Sunderland defenders off him and crashed the ball across the six-yard box. Rooney’s knee did the rest, and the drought-clock was stopped 999 minutes after it began.
Now came an instant reminder to United to remain focused. Yann M’Vila dropped a free-kick into a melee near De Gea and the latter was forced to save sharply. Further evidence the Spaniard appears unaffected by the Real Madrid transfer farrago came when Patrick van Anholt raced clear. De Gea stayed calm, and when the attempt came, he saved comfortably.
Perhaps what impresses most about Martial are his choices. Just as the teenaged Rooney knew when to shoot and when to pass, so too the Frenchman. On 66 minutes he raced clear with the ball and Depay alongside. The No9 might have continued the run but instead found the Dutchman and he should have done better than shoot straight into Pantilimon’s midriff.
Juan Mata sealed the victory, and United’s status as frontrunners, with a late third to take Van Gaal’s men to 16 points, one ahead of City.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário