Manchester United 1-0 CSKA Moscow: Five talking points

Manchester United surged to the top of the table in Group B with a 1-0 victory over CSKA Moscow. A 79th minute winner from United skipper Wayne Rooney was enough to give the Red Devils all three points and their first ever home win against Russian opposition.The game which was bereft of much end-to-end action was brought into life in the latter stages as Jesse Lingard began to stamp his mark on the proceedings. It was in fact, his perfectly weighted ball across penalty box that eventually helped the Devils break the deadlock.Here are the five biggest talking points from the game on another European night at Old Trafford.

#1 Not a game for the neutrals

If you were not a fan, of either of the teams, you might have made a wise decision to stay away from the game. The match quickly settled into a training ground drill from the get go as CSKA seemed content to hit Manchester United only on the break and play for the draw most of the night.

This one lacked the offering of any of the footballing superlatives that we normally associate with the Champions League and Manchester United. It was an eerie night, where even the Old Trafford faithful were forced to jeer some of the minutes of play from their home team. The home team stuck to their footballing philosophies of slowly building up play from the back and that made for quite a dull viewing for most of the night.

The game was filled with misplaced passes, laboured switch of play and over hit crosses from the home side. That was complemented with abrupt, impromptu and totally disorganized counter-attacks from the visitors. All this combined to give us a match that certainly was not worthy of being remembered alongside the many memorable European nights we have come to witness in the past at the “theatre of dreams”.

#2 Another laboured performance

Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United side has come under some heavy scrutiny in the recent past for their sometimes, too patient approach in the game. If yesterday night was anything to go by, the jury will be out on the Dutchman and his team’s approach towards the game for some time to come.

Manchester United grabbed all three points by the end of the ninety minutes, but their performance on the pitch left a lot to be desired. Although enjoying the lion’s share of possession, the Red Devils looked laboured; their middle midfield can hardly be praised for “setting the tempo” of the game because there was none.

Their game was a slow slumbering struggle to put the ball at the back of the net as the Red Devils lacked that oomph in attack that we have so come to associate with them in recent years.

The home team’s lack of zeal in bringing the ball out from the back quickly for major portions of the game was as poor as their interplay in the final third, which had a dearth of any sort of creative force or vigour.

With the front six containing Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Bastian Schweinsteiger alongside Juan Mata, who was again forced to play from the right, the Red Devils never really had any pace going forward. With Manchester United meandering through possession and their biggest threats coming from their full-backs in the form Ashley Yound and Marcos Rojo, the Stretford end was invoked to chants of “attack, attack, attack” to spice up things.

#3 Rooney to the rescue

It was Wayne Rooney again and it was a relief. The headline makers, along with a million Manchester United fans went into a frenzy as the 30-year old Wayne Rooney put an exclamation mark in the proceedings with his 79th minute strike that by the end of the ninety had become the winner.

The goal not only pushed Manchester United over the line, but also ended Rooney’s drought of 6 hours and 44 minutes without a goal. The England international had more than one reason to smile by the end of proceedings.

Not only had Manchester United secured all three points and moved to the top of the table in their group, but it was also a landmark night for the Manchester United talisman on a personal front. The goal which was his 237th in a Manchester United shirt brought him on par with another United legend, Dennis Law on the all-time goal scoring charts for the club.

Only Sir Bobby Charlton now has more goals than the Red skipper.

#4 The return of the \"attitude\"

David Moyes got the axe at Old Trafford after only one season in charge at Old Trafford. Whilst many point to the tumble in the fortunes of the team on field as the primary reason for such a drastic decision, there were many significant side stories that resulted in the eventual dismissal of the Scot. One of the primaries amongst them was the downfall in the attitude of the team when faced against adversity.

While Manchester United under Louis van Gaal haven’t provided the Old Trafford crowd with the thrill of the teams from yesteryears, the Dutchman has been able to instill a culture that has the words “never say die” written clear and bold.

Whether it be Chris Smalling’s last ditch effort that snuffed out Seydou Doumbia’s tap in or Jesse Lingard bursting into life in the dying minutes of the game. Or be it, Manchester United’s storming back into contention after losing their opening game, the spirit of resolve that was so prominent and visible under Sir Alex Ferguson seems to have been conjured back under Van Gaal.

#5 Group B wide open

Manchester United fans might be led to think that they were well worth the point after controlling the game for majority of the play, the late goal was a heart-breaker for the visitors. The Russians had come into the match with a certain game plan of stifling the Reds in the final third and had executed it to near perfection up until the eventual winner.

The defending was not always last ditch and the Russians themselves carried a more than handful threat on the counter with the fleet-footed Ahmed Musa and later Seydou Doumbia carrying a more than potent threat. In fact, if not for the fine last moment saves by David De Gea and Chris Smalling, this would have been a different report altogether.

The result, whilst catapulting Manchester United to the top, has also thrown the group wide open with two more matchdays to go. All four teams still remain with a chance of qualifying to the next round with PSV’s win over Wolfsburg yesterday. This might not be the group of death, but it certainly is one that warrants more than a look.