Richard Jolly
West Bromwich Albion 0
Manchester United 3 Phil Jones 34, Wayne Rooney 65, Danny Welbeck 82
WEST BROMWICH // The future began Saturday. That must be the hope for David Moyes.
The Manchester United manager signalled a break with the past by axing the defensive old firm of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic and saw Phil Jones, a man a decade their junior, set up victory.
He crowbarred his four major attacking talents into a team and watched them score three goals in a game for the first time this year. In one respect, it was United unleashed.
Put that way, it looks like a brave new world for United after the debacle at Olympiakos 11 days earlier.
“The team played very well,” said Moyes. “Their attitude had changed completely, they showed their effort and their commitment.”
Their best performance of 2014 – which admittedly isn’t saying much – represented a marked improvement.
Football, however, is rarely quite that straightforward.
For one thing, Jones’s emphatic header was much his most assured contribution of the afternoon. Defensively, his was a jittery display.
For another, while Moyes’ positivity in shrugging off the tactical straitjacket and shoehorning in Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj rendered United more fluent and fluid, the talking point was whether United’s attacking contingent should have been depleted and Van Persie dismissed.
The Dutchman fashioned United’s breakthrough, whipping in a free kick that Jones headed past Ben Foster.
It proved the least contentious moment of his week. The sole certainty is that Van Persie still has a wand of a left foot.
His future is not set in stone, even if Moyes denies the striker wants to leave Old Trafford, and while relations between top scorer and manager have been scrutinised, the Dutchman’s dealings with West Bromwich Albion became increasingly fractious.
First he fouled Morgan Amalfitano, earning a booking. Then he chopped down Steven Reid.
“It was a clear second yellow card,” said West Brom head coach Pepe Mel. Moyes countered: “I didn’t think the second tackle was a booking. I thought it was a foul.”
Referee Jonathan Moss agreed, giving Van Persie a stiff ticking off.
“With the red card to Van Persie, the game would have been completely different,” said Mel.
Moyes heeded the warning, hauled the forward off and saw Rooney clinch victory. He headed in Rafael da Silva’s cross and then, after exchanging passes with Marouane Fellaini, picked out Danny Welbeck – Van Persie’s replacement – who completed a trio of clinical finishes.
Each offered an indication of improvement. Fellaini’s excellence was encouraging – this was perhaps his best display in a United shirt.
So, too, was the profitable use of the flanks. United were criticised for being one-dimensional when delivering 82 crosses in the draw with Fulham. Aerial balls from the right wing led to the first two goals.
The other common denominator was Rafael. He has regressed during Moyes’ reign, with Chris Smalling often preferred at right-back, but, brought back, the Brazilian added another dimension.
Forays forward produced a header that Foster deflected onto the bar, the free kick for the opening goal and the cross for the second.
In turn, he afforded Mata a licence to roam. Somewhat surprisingly, the Spaniard materialised two yards from his own goal to deny Chris Brunt a tap in. David de Gea protected the clean sheet, too, with twin saves from Zoltan Gera.
The other goalkeeper, Foster, was beaten three times and the beneficiary of a refereeing reprieve when he handled outside his box. There was no red card.
Instead, the question is if Mel will be handed his marching orders before he can secure a maiden victory.
The speculation about his future, he said, “is all part of the profession”. Moyes, too, can testify to that. There are times when it seemed he cannot win. Mel really cannot.
sports@thenational.ae
