United Man of the Match:
Paul Scholes once again showed the class we've come to expect from him. He was spraying his trademark thirty and forty yard passes across the pitch and was opening up a very tight Stoke backline on every possible occasion. He was a constant threat at the top of the box for United with Stoke having to over anticipate the threat of a Scholes volley. Scholes is a player who was rumoured to be heading to Oldham this season and who many believe is too old to make a meaningful contribution anymore, but against Stoke he showed why he is still Manchester United class.
Match Notes:
- Ryan Giggs changed the game when he entered the match. He has been absolutely brilliant this season playing on the left wing and putting quality balls into the box. In the last two games United have scored six goals, five of them have been assisted by Giggs.
- Dimitar Berbatov had a solid game and it was nice to see him get off the mark with his first goal in over a month. Berbatov had two very good defensive headers from set pieces in the first half and did what was asked of him going forward.
- On the narrow Stoke pitch against the tall Stoke backline United did a very good job of staying patient, keeping possession and not trying to force the play. It was a very mature performance that showed this team is made of a lot more than the pundits had predicted at the start of the season.
- Nani showed again today that his decision making just isn't up to par. He is a player with a lot of talent and it is frustrating to see him constantly make poor decisions and lose the ball when it is obvious to see he could be doing so much more.
- After a tough game for the United back four against City, and Rio Ferdinand in particular, they were solid against Stoke. They had very little to do, but they dealt with everything that was thrown at them well.
- Against a Stoke team that is very good in the air, John O'Shea can take a lot of pride in scoring from a set piece on a header.
- This year the team is very different from last season, they seem to be a lot less one dimensional going forward and have a lot more goal threats. In seven Premier League games eight different players have scored and many more have looked threatening in front of goal.
- Top of the League and that's a fact.
Final Thoughts:
A very impressive win, the Britannia is a tough place to go and United put in a good performance and picked up three difficult points. It was a composed team that waited for the perfect opportunity to strike and they deserve lots of credit. This takes United up to seven straight wins in all competitions since the loss to Burnley.
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