It comes as no surprise that Manchester United’s re-vamped squad have netted seven goals in their last two league games. Ander Herrera has two in as many matches, Angel Di Maria is orchestrating almost all the offense, and Falcao came within inches of opening his Manchester United account when he rattled a majestic volley off the cross bar on Sunday.
Yes, Van Gaal has accomplished one thing; he’s brought back flashes of the fluid football going forward that Sir Alex Ferguson’s sides were so adept at. However, his team’s issues are still massive at the back, and his late-game management must improve as I’m sure it will.
It’s still unclear what system Van Gaal will prefer in the long haul. Rafael and Marcos Rojo played as if United started with three in the back, their surging runs forward causing problems but their lazy defending punished as a consequence. The penalty Rafael gave away to Jamie Vardy was harsh, but the Brazilian should know better than to react to a no-call by lunging in like that.
Vardy caused problems for Rojo as well, beating him down the line to cross on Ulloa’s first goal. Rojo was again exposed after he overlapped Juan Mata and left him as the last line of defense down the entire left flank. When Argentina clamped down defensively in the World Cup, Rojo was more understanding of his role. After two games, Rojo is already living up to his billing as undisciplined.
He is no doubt a wonderful player, and Rafael is a proven player in the league. However, Daley Blind cannot cover that much space, and leaving Tyler Blackett exposed is the last thing United can let happen on the field. With the injury to Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling’s struggles, Van Gaal may want to instruct his fullbacks to tuck in and defend more.
With that being said, the work put in by Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria is impressive. Right now, one could almost argue that the two wide midfield players in Van Gaal’s scheme are defending the flanks better than the two fullbacks are.
The biggest error though, was taking Angel Di Maria off the pitch at 3-3 and replacing him with another attacking player, Juan Mata. Taking Di Maria off was understandable; the game was headed toward an intense finish, and perhaps he still lacks match fitness. The decision to replace him with Mata was what really did Van Gaal in for the day.
At this point, United were getting pummeled at the back and Leicester had just tied the contest. Instead of buckling down in the midfield where Leicester were winning most of the battles, Van Gaal opted to go for it and put his most expensive bench player on the field.
Darren Fletcher was much more appropriate in this situation, and this is an instance where the Dutchman’s arrogance failed him. It was a blatant error, and everyone could see it. Di Maria’s presence was immense, by far United’s best player. Whenever he received the ball in midfield, the Argentine would storm the barn looking for an opportunity to create or surge forward.
His exclusion in favor of Juan Mata did United in. With the irresponsible Rojo making runs up field, Mata was left to patrol more than he is used to, and as a result Leicester scored a fourth with ease.
With all things considered, labeling Louis Van Gaal as a failure already is unjust. Like every manager new to England, he has to face baptism by fire when it comes to accumulating experience. The recently promoted Foxes were underestimated and they made United pay, a testament to the difficulty and depth of the league as a whole.
Manchester United also fielded five of their new signings on Sunday, which usually doesn’t produce consistent harmony in a team. Van Gaal will apply his lessons learned from round five, while the players on the field will improve their own form or face the bench.
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