United's squad lacks depth
United have shown when defeating Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal this season that their strongest team can be a match for the best, but injuries have highlighted the lack of depth in Louis van Gaal’s squad.
There is no obvious replacement for Michael Carrick, no experienced cover at centre-back and a worrying absence of quality at right-back, where former winger Antonio Valencia has been forced to do a job all season.
The defeats at Chelsea and Everton exposed the holes in the United squad and, even if they qualify for the Champions League, it is clear that at least four quality signings must arrive this summer to plug the gaps.
Van Persie benefitting from reserve team action
With United having no European commitments this season, Louis van Gaal has regularly fielded first-team stars in the reserves in order to accelerate their return to fitness following injury and Robin van Persie appears to have benefited from his two recent games in the second string.
Robin van Persie scores for the United reserves against Fulham last week
Started his first game since suffering an ankle injury against Swansea in February, Van Persie looked sharp and hungry as he led the line for Van Gaal’s team.
The Dutchman has struggled for form when fit this season, but the injury and gradual return to action in the reserves may have sparked him back to life.
Carrick proving to be United's most important player
In the match programme for this game, Michael Carrick’s importance to the team was borne out by a statistical analysis which showed that United win 71 per cent of games with the England midfielder and a mere 43 per cent of fixtures without him.
Michael Carrick missed Saturday's match and was missed by United
Carrick missed this game though, just as he missed the recent defeats at Chelsea and Everton, and his absence was felt with the lack of drive and forward thinking in the centre of the pitch.
The 33-year-old’s value to Louis van Gaal becomes more evident with every game he misses because neither Ander Herrera or Daley Blind possess Carrick’s qualities.
United need to work on their penalties
With Robin van Persie having his second-half penalty saved by Boaz Myhill, United’s penalty misery this season continued.
Van Persie, like Wayne Rooney at Anfield, missed from the penalty spot on Saturday
Van Persie only stepped up for the spot-kick because Wayne Rooney had missed United’s last penalty during the 2-1 win at Liverpool in March.
Both players have endured a mixed record from the penalty spot in recent times at United, with neither showing the consistency that the likes of Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona, Denis Irwin and Ruud van Nistelrooy displayed at Old Trafford.
Who knows how costly Van Persie’s miss may prove to be?
Di Maria proves that reputation cannot guarantee confidence
Angel di Maria’s contribution as a second-half substitute was another huge letdown from the British record £59.7m signing.
The Argentine’s distribution was wayward and costly, with too many opportunities wasted by his poor decision making.
It is clear that the former Real Madrid winger’s confidence is on the floor, but it would have been given a timely boost if his injury-time long range had not been tipped iver by Boaz Myhill.
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