Manchester United began it’s preseason tour of the United States on Wednesday night with a 7-0 destruction of the MLS’ LA Galaxy. Wayne Rooney, Reece James, and Ashley Young had two goals apiece, while Danny Welbeck opened the scoring with a well placed low strike from a Juan Mata layoff on 13 minutes. However, the real star of the night was new United signing Ander Herrera.
Herrera, placed in a midfield alongside captain Darren Fletcher and compatriot Juan Mata, served as a consistent link from box to box, and was at the center of almost every United attacking move. Herrera, the 24 year old Spaniard purchased from Athletico Bilbao early in the transfer window, proved he was worth the hefty price tag United paid for him, and gave every United fan a chance to be optimistic about next season. Herrera also had to raise eyebrows in Spain’s direction, seeing as how they could have used a player like Herrera in Brazil.
Sure, this game was against an MLS side, but Herrera’s prowess on the ball and movement off the ball cannot be ignored. Time after time, Herrera would receive the ball in the midfield and cooly assess his options. Off the ball, Herrera constantly looked for space to create chances for his teammates to run at the Galaxy defense. I was particularly impressed by Herrera’s composure on the ball, never panicking and always taking care of possession. Herrera didn’t score any of the goals, but that’s not his nature. He showed his true skill set on this perfect night in Los Angeles, creating chances and staying cool with the ball at his feet.
His man of the match award was well-deserved, especially since he was one of just two United players to go the distance, the other being Fletcher. Louis Van Gaal had to be pleased with what he saw, but what manager wouldn’t be ecstatic with this kind of start to preseason? United’s other signing, Luke Shaw, featured on the left flank, and seemed to fit in well with his new squad. Shaw and Antonio Valencia, who was positioned on the opposite flank, were given a license to push forward, with Van Gaal’s 5-3-2 changing into a 3-4-1-2 when they pushed forward.
The 7-0 thrashing of the Galaxy is a breath of fresh air from the 1-0 defeat in Thailand David Moyes guided United through. Another positive note compared to last year is that United have actually signed people at this point; Moyes made a last-ditch effort to strengthen his squad by dishing out a hefty fee for Marouane Fellaini, who was hardly worth a fraction of what they paid for him. United fans have to be on cloud nine following that performance, while premier league fans such as myself are just as happy to see english football starting up again.
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