Mata enjoying life as an inverted winger
Last year it was hard not to feel sorry for Juan Mata, the likeable little Spaniard with an abundance of talent. After initially taking the Premier League by storm with Chelsea, he was forced to find a new club despite twice being crowned the Blues' player of the year.
His start to life in Manchester wasn't exactly smooth either, as he struggled to find his rhythm. Fortunately, however, the winger has now established himself as a key fixture in Louis van Gaal's team. Mata was Manchester United's best attacking player by a distance in this game and quickly showed his intent with an early attempt to curl the ball inside the far post, only for Dante to head clear.
It was his attempted cross that was blocked by the flailing arm of Daniel Caligiuri, with the former Valencia man coolly slotting home the resulting penalty. United's second came from an extravagant flick from the Spaniard, his backheel dropping into the path of Chris Smalling, who slid the ball past Diego Benaglio. Mata has now scored or assisted 45% of United's goals this season, which underlines his transformation.
3 - Juan Mata has scored and assisted in the same CL game for the third time (one each for Valencia, Chelsea & United). Majestic.September 30, 2015
Draxler will fill De Bruyne-sized hole
It was never going to be easy for Wolfsburg to replace Kevin De Bruyne, after the Bundesliga's best player last season departed for the Etihad Stadium this summer. The Belgian's early influence at Manchester City has been clear, with two goals in as many Premier League starts for his new club.
However, the German side aren't exactly short of options in the attacking third, even though they also lost Ivan Perisic to Inter too. The excellent Caligiuri opened the scoring after a clever interchange with Max Kruse. The two forwards showed glimpses of their ability, although Bas Dost had to make do with limited service, as the supporters sung his name to the tune of KC and The Sunshine Band's Give It Up.
It was former (reported) Arsenal transfer target Julian Draxler who caused the most problems, though. Only Mata completed more passes in the attacking third than the young German, while he regularly looked to beat his opposing defenders.
Schweinsteiger wants to play more vertically
Van Gaal's team has received plenty of scrutiny from pundits and supporters, often being accused of lacking flair. The notion that they prefer to simply keep the ball has been hard to disperse, but Bastian Schweinsteiger clearly sees things differently. The World Cup-winning midfielder looked to play the ball forward at every opportunity, in attempts to release Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial in behind Wolfsburg's back four. His passing from midfield gave Manchester United a drive from centre of the pitch that has been severely lacking in recent seasons.
Of course, this meant there were a lot more stray passes, but the directness created chances on goal. Schweinsteiger's demonstration with referee Viktor Kassai over a booking was particularly entertaining, as the German dropped to his knees and made numerous hand gestures for a couple of minutes. He's clearly a popular character around Carrington already, and it's this winning mentality that could be crucial in the next stage of the Red Devils' progression.
Van Gaal's unafraid to hook a right-back
Antonio Valencia had completed more tackles and interceptions than anyone else on the pitch by half-time, but it wasn't enough to stop him from being substituted for Ashley Young. The converted winger was obviously culpable for Wolfsburg's goal, as he positioned himself far too deep and played Caligiuri onside.
It wasn't the first time a right-sided full-back has been removed at United after 45 minutes this season, after Matteo Darmian was inflicted with the same punishment at Southampton. On that occasion it was Valencia who benefited, although the Ecuadorian may have done his future prospects severe harm with this display.
Van Gaal appeared to have sorted out his full-back quandary at the beginning of the campaign, but the unfortunate injury to Luke Shaw has reignited the debate. Both Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have recovered from their own ailments to stake a claim for a consistent starting berth.
Martial's movement into the channels opens up space
Martial has enjoyed an excellent start to his career in England, with his composure in front of goal surprising many doubters. The Old Trafford fans were on their feet every time the exciting youngster latched onto a through-ball.
However, it's not just the young Frenchman's goals that give United a different option; his movement and pace benefits the side as a whole. The 19-year-old likes to slip into the space between centre-back and full-back, which creates room for Wayne Rooney and Mata in between the lines. Just before the half-hour mark, Martial demonstrated this feature as he beat Ricardo Rodriguez and pulled the ball back from the byline to Rooney. The England captain side-footed an absolute sitter over the bar, but it showed the positive impact it can have in forthcoming matches.
It also meant that the normally attacking Rodriguez had to be a little more conservative in his approach, while Dante didn’t appear to be completely comfortable when dragged into wide areas.
Guilavogui capable of replacing Luiz Gustavo
Wolfsburg normally play 4-1-4-1, with the magnificent Brazilian Luiz Gustavo shielding their defensive unit. Against Bayern Munich and in this game they used more of a 4-4-2 with two players in central midfield, Josuha Guilavogui and Maximilian Arnold. As widemen Draxler and Kruse both prefer to operate centrally this makes for a compact middle zone.
Guilavogui is owned by Atletico Madrid, but is now in his second year on loan with the Wolves. He recovered the ball 11 times, put in two tackles and made a vital block for the away side.
In October Dieter Hecking’s men face Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen domestically, plus a crucial home game with PSV in the Champions League. Guilavogui will have to continue this form if they're to restore the solidity shown before Robert Lewandowski destroyed their backline.
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