Abhranil Roy
Manchester United have had a stop-start season so far. Good wins versus Liverpool have been nullified by bad losses to Arsenal and Southampton. Currently, the team sits at 5th position in the league, with 40 points from 24 games. West Ham United are just below us with 39 points while Arsenal are just above us with 45 points. A win at Stamford Bridge today wouldn’t change our league position maybe, but it could completely change the dynamics of our season.
So far, van Gaal and his men have mostly been criticised for the manner in which they have set about to play. It was termed boring, meaningless possessive football and a lot of the games ended in 0-0 even at Old Trafford, which meant we kept dropping crucial points. And whenever the Dutchman set his team up to attack, the defence was left badly wanting, as one saw in our defeat to Wolfsburg in December that saw us crashing out from the Champions League group stage. Also, our inability to concentrate and hold our nerves when it really mattered and not bow down to public opinion saw us exiting from the Capital One Cup too, after a penalty shootout loss to Championship team Middlesbrough.
It seems, however, that van Gaal has lately identified his errors and finally to implemented ways to correct them. 2016 has so far seen only one loss for the Red Devils, albeit a shocking one. Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial have both been in fine form of late while academy lads Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Jesse Lingard keep impressing the viewers week in week out. Comprehensive wins over Derby County in the FA Cup fourth round and over Stoke City in the Premier League have fuelled the team, and if we manage to beat Chelsea, who are so far unbeaten under their interim manager Guus Hiddink, we will make a massive statement in terms of ambitions. The faltering defending champions have arrested their side and we have also not won at the Bridge in the last few years, however, this team looks set to do the impossible and maybe, finally start the season.
For that to happen however, all the players will have to be at their very best. The likes of Diego Costa, Willian, Hazard and Fabregas post a huge threat to United’s defensive players, and the holding midfield will have to be very careful if they want to neutralise Chelsea’s attack. Up front, Martial, Mata, Rooney and Lingard will have to find a way past Terry and co, who have all stepped up their game recently. Both teams have two of the best goalkeepers in the world in the form of Thibault Courtois for Chelsea and David de Gea for United, and both of them will have to be alert under the bar. History may be on Chelsea’s side heavily, but if we manage to pass the ball as quickly and use the flanks aa deftly as we did against the Potters, United might be in for the 3 points here.
