A poor, event-less and boring match. Sounds familiar? Manchester United aren’t thrilling or anything close to that, but they keep on winning, beating Aston Villa 1-0 through a slick Adnan Januzaj goal.
The young Belgian got his chance in the lineup from Louis van Gaal and was probably Manchester United’s best player in the first half, paying off for him and the team with a goal. In the 30th minute a clever pass from Juan Mata into the box gave Januzaj the opportunity to show his technique in close quarters, freeing himself up and scoring from close range, what turned out to be the only goal of the match.
Manchester United had two shots at goal the entire match, one of them went in. It’s not as if Aston Villa, looking a bit more solid yet still toothless like last season, were keeping Sergio Romero busy. The improved United midfield makes for a better defensive game, and we less embarrassing moments in the back line for the Red Devils, who lost a lot of points that way last season.
Up front, Wayne Rooney seems a bit isolated and lonely. He performs very well whatever tactical assignment Van Gaal leaves for him to do, but it does seem he’s too busy doing everything except for creating chances for himself and others. When that player is your single, main striker, it means something in the tactical approach is a little bit off. However, with six points in two matches and two clean sheets, maybe there shouldn’t be that much complaining.