Valencia 0 Manchester Utd 1:ALEX FERGUSON had recently declared that he could see definite similarities between Javier Hernandez and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – high praise, indeed, at Manchester United – and now we know why.
Hernandez will have aspirations to be thought of as more than a devastating substitute but there was something nostalgically Solskjaer-like about the way he came off the bench here to win the match.
Hernandez had been on the pitch only eight minutes when Nani broke menacingly on the right flank and laid the ball inside to another substitute, Federico Macheda. The Mexican accepted Macheda’s pass just inside the penalty area, took a touch to steady himself and then drove a left-foot shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the Valencia goal.
It was a handsome finish from a player whose impact has not been as quick as might have been anticipated and, in that moment, United suddenly re-established a sense of authority in Group C. A draw or defeat would have equalled their worst-ever start to a Champions League group; instead they can take huge encouragement from a classic counter-attacking performance in what could conceivably be their most difficult assignment of the group.
Ferguson was so concerned about les blanquinegros he missed his own team’s Carling Cup tie at Scunthorpe last week to watch them take on Atletico Madrid. It was the first time in nearly 24 years as United manager he has foregone a match for non-personal reasons and an accurate gauge of how seriously he was taking the threat of La Liga’s early pace-setters.
His team plan was largely based around ploys of conservatism, with Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher seldom venturing too far forward from holding positions in midfield and Dimitar Berbatov given the responsibility in the absence of Wayne Rooney of playing as a solitary striker.
It was a role the Bulgarian generally filled with distinction, holding up the ball well and demonstrating a neat awareness of space, even if there were inevitably times when he was isolated from his colleagues.
Above all, Ferguson had implored his players to take care of the ball and not be culpable of the lapses that have contributed to them conceding at least two goals in four of their six Premier League games to date. Rio Ferdinand was restored to the defence ahead of Jonny Evans, according to the manager, because of his superior distribution with the ball. Likewise, Carrick was preferred to Darron Gibson for his first start since the Community Shield.
By half-time United’s policy of containment was working well. The Mestalla is regarded as having some of the best acoustics in Europe but here, strangely, there were vast expanses of empty seats in the vertiginous stands and Ferguson’s men did a good job of quelling the crowd throughout the early exchanges.
There was only one occasion in the opening 45 minutes when Edwin van der Sar’s goal came under serious threat, Roberto Soldado misdirecting an unchallenged header over the crossbar from Alejandro Dominguez’s left-wing cross.
The chance, Ferguson will have noted, originated from Ferdinand giving the ball away and the manager could later be seen gesticulating angrily at Park Ji-sung for doing likewise to leave his team-mates exposed to a counter-attack.
That apart, Ferguson was entitled to think his team had acquitted themselves ably, with a couple of half-chances of their own, Berbatov flashing a long-range effort just wide and Anderson also narrowly missing the target.
Anderson has impressed Ferguson with his attitude in training since returning from a long-term knee injury and the Brazilian was prominently involved in an attacking midfield position. Patrice Evra coped with the threat of Juan Mata and Ferdinand, justified his selection.
Nani was a useful outlet on the right wing and, even with a list of absentees including Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, United played with a sense of know-how, looking to catch Valencia on the break and very nearly doing so when Berbatov took down Fletcher’s 55th-minute pass, beat his marker and charged into the penalty area only for Cesar Sanchez to save. The impetus then swung the other way for the final 15 minutes but, even so, Hernandez turned another of Nani’s crosses against the far post before his late and decisive contribution.
VALENCIA: Cesar, Miguel, Navarro, Maduro, Mathieu, Pablo, Albelda (Topal 86), Costa (Fernandes 74), Mata, Dominguez (Aduriz 59), Soldado. Subs Not Used: Moya, Bruno, Feghouli, Ricardo Costa. Booked: Aduriz.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (O'Shea 90), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson (Hernandez 77), Nani, Berbatov (Macheda 85), Park. Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Owen, Smalling, Gibson.
Referee: Viktor Kassai(Hungary).
Guardian Service
