Manchester United managed a rare thing. They came from behind to win a
match, and showed a resilience that they rarely now display to hold on
when there was a single-goal deficit late in the match. Not only that,
they had the chance to give a young player some experience from a
winning position. They still play like they’re just any other team
though, without the trademarks of the Alex Ferguson era, but the game
against Southampton was finally a display which left fans with a sense
of optimism which has been absent since the start of the season.
The
transfer window performance of United briefly impressed, when five
players were added quickly and without unnecessary hassle. Then United
stalled and panicked, and in the confusion ended up with David de Gea
still at the club, and Anthony Martial as one of most expensive young
players in the world when few had heard of him. So far, it appears that
every single move in the transfer market for United has been successful,
a rarity at any club, let alone one previously hamstrung by the Glazers
during the Alex Ferguson era.
Most supporters, and probably
United players and coaching staff, had expected and rationalised the
exit of De Gea. Nobody held an enormous grudge, given his behaviour
during the summer was at best respectful, and at worst slightly
cowardly, refusing to put in a transfer request and agitate for a move
we were told was important to him for more than just footballing
reasons. Keylor Navas almost joined on transfer deadline day, and
YouTube compilations, and Louis van Gaal’s previous interest in him, not
forgetting that he was first choice for Real Madrid, was enough to
think, OK, if you have to sell one of the best ‘keepers in the world, a
decent wedge of cash and one of the best of the rest, is tolerable.
Seeing
his performance against Southampton, though, showed just why that
thinking was more comforting than sensible. De Gea’s full-stretch,
last-minute save to keep United ahead was a suitable reminder that he
had won many matches for United with his own brilliance in a way that
few other keepers can. The others, like Thibaut Courtois and Manuel
Neuer, are clearly as talented as De Gea is, but given they play for
Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively, are not asked to be as brilliant
as De Gea is, anywhere as often as De Gea is. With United’s defence
improved, but not excellent, he will need to continue this form. With
Euro 2016 to aim for, there is little reason to doubt he can do so.
The
other deadline day success, Martial, has started in a way that barely
anyone anticipated. The rush to write him off as a waste of money from
some demonstrated their ignorance. Just because he cost a fortune meant
that there was no reason for him not to have potential excellence and
excellent potential. It appeared that he was an exciting
not-quite-striker, but given he had played so little, and in a league
that was shorn of its stars at Monaco, there’s room and time for him to
decide what he actually is.
So far, it seems that he has decided
to be ruddy superb. Though putting Martin Skrtel on his behind is no
great achievement, to do so on your home debut against Liverpool, to
score an impressive third goal and seal victory, is. It hinted that he
didn’t lack for confidence, or that ephemeral quality of doing the right
thing at vital times. He did it twice more on Sunday, equalising from a
chance that required technical ability, quick thinking and
improvisation, and also with an assured finish, seizing on Maya
Yoshida’s error to finish smartly. They weren’t the only promising parts
of his game, using strength and close control to hold the ball up and
win free kicks in a way not seen since Robin van Persie’s first Old
Trafford season.
It is far too early to say that he will justify
his price-tag, largely because once a player arrives, a price-tag is
immaterial to everything that happens for the rest of his career. The
only important metric to worry about is if he is good enough to play. At
19, three goals, three more-than-necessary contributions at difficult
times, the answer so far is as encouraging as possible within reason.
Short of being Lionel Messi, he could have done little better. As an
enjoyable break from ineffectiveness, even Memphis decided to ape
Martial, and it was his trickery and shot which hit the post, and
resulted in what would prove to be Juan Mata’s winner.
At the
other end, Paddy McNair replaced Marcos Rojo, presumably not yet fit
enough to complete 90 minutes, but finally having got back onto the
right side of Van Gaal after passport hoo-ha. Though McNair gave away a
free header to Graziano Pelle for Southampton’s second, so did Chris
Smalling and Bastian Schweinsteiger. The wider, more encouraging point,
is that this was a rare chance for United to give some playing time to a
young player when there was a sufficient margin of error. When McNair
came on it was 3-1, meaning that even one calamitous error would
probably not have been a disaster, and so it proved.
Of course,
this could just be a brief respite. Luke Shaw has broken his leg, and
Memphis is largely underperforming for the moment. Michael Carrick
appears to be having one of his fallow years again, and Wayne Rooney is
quite the worst footballer on the planet at the moment, with no
suggestion he will either be dropped or turn around his performances.
Despite all that, United find themselves in second place, just two
points off top place in the Premier League, and still in a Champions
League group that they should qualify for. That is no guarantee of
success, but for now, however briefly, Van Gaal has seen United improve
just when it was becoming essential they gave fans something to believe
in.
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