Sometimes there are certain footballing clichés you just have to embrace. In the case of this weekend’s events at the JJB Stadium, Man Utd’s five goal romp following a goalless first forty-five minutes means the old standard “game of two halves” is simply too obvious for me to ignore. In all actuality, it does lend an analytical hand in dissecting the victory…

First Half Problems- Nothing In The Final Third

In this first chalkboard just by observing the overall passing pattern, it is easy to see what Utd’s main problem was in the first forty five minutes; the majority of their passes were in the first two thirds of the pitch, and although they had much of the ball, Fergie’s men made it easier for Wigan to contain them.

Despite stringing together far fewer passes after the interval, The Red Devils were a different beast; the passing was far more penetrative, with key players stationed much further in the final third of the pitch, causing problem upon problem for Wigan.

Second Half Solutions

Right Flank

A major factor in Fergie’s men improvement in the second half was the pushing up of Gary Neville from right back. This chalkboard, showcasing the passing of Nani and Antonio Valencia in the second half, also (by default) illustrates the differing roles of each full back positioned behind them.

With Patrice Evra being given licence to forage far down the left flank, Nani tends to cut inside far more and link up with play in the middle, whereas Neville’s role on the opposite flank as a more conventional full back means Antonio Valencia can hug the touchline and really give the team more width on the right. Neville playing further forward in the second half allowed the Ecuadorian to push on, drawing the Wigan defence back and, in turn, freed up more space for the centre forwards to operate in.

Berbatov

This final chalkboard centres around Dimitar Berbatov’s distribution, half by half. Before the break, Berbatov had tended to either come far too deep to receive the ball or drift out wide and play mainly short backwards passes on the periphery of the action, having little effect on the proceedings.

Come the second half, however, the enigmatic Bulgarian’s much-improved positional play and passing was integral to United grabbing a stranglehold of the game. Playing much more up top and in the centre of the pitch rather than drifting, he received the ball more often than not in his opponent’s final third and was able to pass and probe with far more success. With the aforementioned Valencia pushing up high on the right, Berbatov was one of the key elements in United dismantling Roberto Martinez’s side.

This classic hot and cold performance is one of the reasons us FPL managers despair of Berbatov; on the back of an insipid start to the season, his value had dropped by 0.2 before Saturday’s display. Clearly capable when he puts his mind to it – even coming back to win tackles in the centre circle!- God only knows what Fergie must make of it. One thing’s for certain, though; if United are to maintain the title this season, more consistency from the Bulgarian is nothing less than essential.