Chelsea FC vs Manchester United: 5 Lessons Learnt
2. Rooney can thrive in a deep midfield position
Manchester United although came into this fixture with a stupendous amount of confidence, but unfortunately had to play with a depleted squad. Vital first team players like Daley Blind and Carrick were absent from the roster due to injuries which forced Van Gaal to make some changes from the 4-3-3 formation which he was using in the previous fixtures.
He placed Rooney in a deep lying midfield role, whereas played Fellani ahead of him as a part of a 4 man attacking midfield. Many including myself expected Rooney to exchange positions with Fellani as Rooney thrives in a more attacking position, but he surprised everyone by a brilliant and balanced display which consisted of a ingenious forward ball distribution along with being defensively stable.
All of Man United’s attack was going through Rooney. As they had more possession of the ball in the whole of the game, United went for a passing game where they opted to build the game from the back. Rooney took the ball from the midfield and delivered beautiful and Fabregas-esq long passes to United’s wide men which lead to many attacks.
On the other hand, he was astute defensively where he broke many Chelsea counter attacks down the center of the field and made important interceptions for his team. Altogether he had a fantastic individual performance.