Manchester United 4 QPR 0
It has taken longer than they would have liked but, finally, there is the sense that Manchester United have turned up. They have taken their time and the margin of victory has to be put into context when the opponents are so desperately anaemic but it is a start and even a man of Louis van Gaal’s cavernous self-belief will be relieved to have his first Premier League win.
His team had played at times as though they had suddenly remembered what is expected of a United side once they pull on those red shirts. They were quick, incisive and demonstrated a speed of thought that was simply too much for a team of QPR’s limitations. More than anything, it was a performance to encourage the belief that maybe the club, with all their glitzy new signings, are back on an upward curve.
Ángel di María, with the opening goal and a performance of high skill, certainly wasted little time ingratiating himself with his new audience. Yet the extra surge of optimism was not just conjured up by the most expensive player in British football. Ander Herrera's most accomplished performance so far in United's colours also brought him his first goal for his new club. Wayne Rooney scored a cracker and all four goals arrived before Radamel Falcao had joined the game midway through the second half.
Falcao, restricted to a substitute's role because of his midweek trip with Colombia, started warming up to great acclaim after 58 minutes and the Stretford End was still on its feet when Di María picked out Juan Mata to lash in the fourth goal. Old Trafford, for the first time in a while, felt like a happy place again and the only minor disappointment, perhaps, was that Falcao could not beat Rob Green with his late chance. When Falcao did replace Mata, he was wearing one pink boot and one blue. QPR were already confused but Green was quickly off his line to deny him a debut goal.
Too much can be read into one match, of course, and maybe the time to make fuller judgments should be held back until later in the autumn when Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal provide the opposition. Yet the last year or so has been such an ordeal for Old Trafford crowd they will cherish being reminded of what felt a lot more like the old United. Van Gaal had withdrawn the 3-4-1-2 system that had plodded its way through the opening weeks of the new season and there was a much more natural look now the team had reverted to an orthodox back four rather than experimenting with wingbacks.
Instead, Van Gaal had created a midfield diamond with Daley Blind showing his positional sense and understanding of the game as the most withdrawn member of that quartet while Di María and Herrera provided the energy and penetration either side. Mata is widely suspected to be the most vulnerable player in the wake of Falcao’s arrival but the team was largely set up to ensure he could operate in his best position and maybe it is time to re-assess.
Di María started the rout in the 17th minute with a free-kick from the right that was intended as a cross but played with the speed and bend to curl inside the far post once it had eluded all the players in a crowded penalty area. Yet it was the Argentinian’s part in the second goal that really confirmed that United have signed a player with the attributes they desperately needed
His run started inside his own half, picking up speed, driving forward and panicking his opponents all the way to the opposition’s penalty area. The reverse pass to Rooney was a thing of beauty. Rooney’s effort was blocked but gave him the opportunity to lay the ball into Herrera’s path to thump in his shot.
There were still a few imperfections for Van Gaal to mull over and David de Gea was fortunate that Jonny Evans got back to spare him after a mistake, at 1-0, almost let in Matt Phillips for an equaliser. Marcos Rojo made a couple of mistakes that better opponents would have capitalised on and there is still a vulnerable look to United’s defence even if Tyler Blackett did reasonably well alongside Evans. QPR, however, played with a strange lack of ambition, as if nobody had told them how poor United have been at their own ground over the last year. Rio Ferdinand had a difficult return to his former club and Clint Hill came off after a first half that brutally exposed his limitations at this level.
Rooney’s goal followed a neat exchange of passes involving Di María, Mata and Herrera, culminating in the striker turning on the ball and lashing a 20-yard drive into the bottom corner. The game was now an exercise in damage limitation for Harry Redknapp’s team and it was almost a surprise that United restricted themselves to only one more.
Guardian Service
