If there was ever any doubt that he has finally stepped up a level as a Man United player this season, Dimitar Berbatov emphatically proved so last weekend. With the season now moving into Gameweek 6 and Wayne Rooney continuing to labour, Sir Alex Ferguson has the Bulgarian to thank for his game-winning performance in the 3-2 defeat of Liverpool in Sunday’s Old Trafford thriller.
There seems to be a change in Berbatov’s position since the start of the season; whereas last term Rooney led the line for United (and profit considerably with 26 league goals) it’s now the Bulgarian who is the main focal point for the Red Devils. These two average position diagrams illustrate this point: the first, taken from United’s opening home game of the season against Newcastle, shows Rooney (10) played further ahead of Berbatov (9) in the 3-0 win. However, two home games later and the second diagram, taken from Sunday’s match, shows the positions have been switched.
These two heat maps from the same games show how his movement around the pitch has also altered. In the Newcastle game, Berbatov dropped back into deeper positions to receive the ball and help start attacks, whereas on Sunday, although he didn’t receive the ball as much, Berbatov got to see a lot more inside the penalty box.
The evidence is backed by a recent endorsement from United’s new skipper, Nemanja Vidic who has come out in the press to sing Berbatov’s praises and emphasise his change in role on the pitch.
“He has learnt what he has to do. He has changed his game compared to last season. He is in the box more and is more of a threat. Dimitar has always had a great touch and gave us composure but because he is also going into the box, he is scoring goals.”
Our OPTA Member’s stats pretty much mirror what sort of season he’s having; Berbatov has had the Most Shots and Shots on Target, and, with 6 goals to his name, now ties Florent Malouda for top scorer in the Premier League scoring charts. Given that Darren Fletcher, with two goals, is the only other United player to score more than one goal so far this season, it’s a fair indication of his worth to the team right now.
Although he scored three on Sunday, Berbatov has shown a great consistency to date since the season started; he has scored in four of United’s five games, and assisted in the other. His 6 goals are already half of his total for all last season, and having picked up 2,3,3 Bonus Points in his last three games, the Bulgarian has 9 Bonus Points which, incredibly, is already more than he was awarded all last season.
Playing as the furthest forward hasn’t affected his Passing or Distribution, either; Berbatov has 12 Key Passes that have led to goal attempts, in terms of forwards, second only to Carlos Tevez, on thirteen. He sees plenty of the ball, too; out of all forwards, he’s third top for Touches and Passes, and second for Most Passes in Opposition Half and Lay Offs, as his influence on the team goes from strength to strength.
Despite United having three away games out their next four (bol, sun, WBA, stk), FPL managers have brought in Berbatov in their droves; nearly 50,000 did so on the back of Sunday’s performance, a true vindication of his talent, if ever there was one. Certainly while Wayne Rooney remains firmly in his shell, United are relying on Berbatov and the unexpected events that are conjured from Nani’s boots, to win them matches. Right now the Bulgarian is producing the goods and should that continue, Fantasy investment will surely keep flowing.