A brace from Chris Smalling and a penalty from Robin Van Persie was enough for the Red Devils to move into third place in the Premier League. Smalling, who was a first-half substitute for the injured Phil Jones scored with his first touch. Although Burnley leveled the game soon afterwards thanks to Danny Ings, they found it difficult to capitalise on their advantage in the first half.
They were made to pay for their inability to take advantage when Angel Di Maria was brought down in the box for United’s first penalty of the season. Van Persie stepped up and made no mistake as he calmly slotted home his second goal of the year to give his side all three points on a day in which they scarcely deserve it. Here are the major talking points from the game.
Rooney is wasted in central midfield
Versatility is a key asset in football and it is one that Louis Van Gaal seems to covet. When he is not trying to prove that his side aren’t a long ball side, the Dutchman is busy trying to show the world that you don’t need a defense to finish in the top four and reinvent Total football, United style. One of the things that has required is for the club’s premier goal scorer, Wayne Rooney to play in midfield, sometimes as a central midfielder, sometimes as a defensive midfielder and at other times as an auxiliary right winger.
Of all the statistics that highlight how poor United were and how lucky they were to get a win, there is one stat that is particularly striking. Following his brace, Smalling is now United’s joint-highest scorer in the calendar year, while Rooney, hasn’t had a single shot on target in 2015. While there is no doubt that the Englishman can spread the play, spray passes around the park and make tackles, his goal scoring threat is completely removed when he plays in midfield, especially as a defensive midfielder as he did against Burnley. Considering that United aren’t scoring freely at the moment, the Dutchman might be better advised to play his captain, in his preferred role as a striker, so as to get the best out of him.
Click on the next button to continue