Sunderland 1-1 Manchester United: Five Talking Points

Manchester United and Louis van Gaal were denied their first win of theseason by Jack Rodwells first-half equaliserwhich cancelled out Juan Matas opening goal for the Red Devils.United looked unconvincing yet again against the Black Cats. Although they opened their account for the season, United were lucky to come away with a point as Sunderland struggled to make the most of their early advantage and let a famous home win slip from their grasp.Here are the major talking points from the game.

#1 Dawn of a new era, but not quite as planned

This was supposed to be the season in which the Red Devils came out all guns blazing, showing that last season was only a minor blip.

With no games against the title contenders to start with, this was supposed to be time in which United racked up the points and showed that they are well and truly back. But instead, they have been made to work hard so far for everything they have got and the fear factor surrounding Manchester United seems to have all but gone.

With teams no longer on the defensive and instead going at them right from the start, United are struggling to not only contain the opposition but also come up with chances of their own and the game against Sunderland was proof of that.

But, hey at least a point is better than none, isn’t it?

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#2 Manchester United desperately need some new midfielders

Even before the season started, the loss of Michael Carrick was a body blow to Manchester United’s chances. Now with Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini also out injured, the central midfield looks like it is down to the bare bones.

Against Sunderland, Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverley started in central midfield and neither had a particularly great game. Although Fletcher did support the attack whenever possible, he wasn’t his usual assured self and Cleverley went back to being a player who lacked both invention and commitment.

Even if players return from injury, the central midfield doesn’t look good enough to challenge for the top four, let alone have any shot at the title.

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#3 Poyet will be disappointed with a point

Before the game, when asked whether this was the best time to be facing Manchester United, Gus Poyet answered in perhaps the most dignified way possible. But inside he would have known that now is as good a time as any for the club to claim their first Premier League home victory over the Red Devils.

And given the positive start they made to the game, that certainly looked possible. But instead of going for it and grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck, the Black Cats huffed and puffed, and in the end were unable to break through an inexperienced back line which consisted of either young players or players playing out of position.

While it was certainly a good point for Sunderland, Poyet will be disappointed in the fact that his side couldn’t take all three.

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#4 Van Gaal might be forced to count on youth by default

The season has only just started but Manchester United already have a whole raft of injuries piling up.

The latest addition to that was Chris Smalling who had to be taken off with a hamstring problem minutes before the end of the first-half. A decision which meant that United finished the game with young Micheal Keane and Tyler Blackett either side of Phil Jones.

Van Gaal’s preference for younger players is an ineluctable fact of his managing career so far. But at United, he might be forced to go to the youngsters out of necessity. Unless the Red Devils sign a few players before the end of the transfer window, the likes of Blackett, Keane are likely to get extended runs in the first-team out of default than by design.

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#5 Is it time for Van Gaal to stop experimenting?

If there is one thing that Van Gaal has always been above all else, is a master tactician. In Brazil, he masterminded an ordinary Holland side to third place playing a three-man defence to perfection.

At Manchester United, the early signs were that the players were getting used to the three-man defence. The club’s pre-season tour was proof of that but in the Premier League, their formation has been far from convincing.

The problem with Van Gaal’s current formation is that due to injuries, he is having to resort to playing players out of position to make the formation work. If the Angel Di Maria deal does come through, that might finally convince Van Gaal to let go of his three-man defence and go for a traditional back four and a system that his players are actually comfortable with.

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