A two-goal first-leg lead over Schalke gave Fergie the confidence to ring the changes at Old Trafford last night, with plenty first-teamers seeing no game time at all. It mattered not, though, as an “under strength†Man United booked their place against Barcelona in the Wembley final with an easy home victory over Ralph Rangnick’s side. Here’s the notes from last night events…
Rest and Rotation
A glance at United’s starting line-up reveals Sir Alex had one eye on this weekend’s critical Old Trafford match against Chelsea when choosing his first XI. Dimitar Berbatov managed a rare start up front for United, as Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney were kept fresh on the sidelines. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were also rested, with the United boss allowing Johnny Evans and Chris Smalling a chance to impress in central defence.
For as much as the selection of some was reassuring for Fantasy Owners, the line-up perhaps casts uncertainty over other areas of the team this weekend. Owners of Nani and Antonio Valencia will be questioning how many minutes either will manage against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, given both played the full match in last night’s 4-1 canter. Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park had the night off and both would be in line to make returns at the weekend.
Darren Fletcher
Fletcher has missed the last couple of months with a mystery virus, but the Scot returned to first-team action last night, taking to the pitch for an 18-minute substitute appearance. Ferguson didn’t hide his satisfaction of seeing Fletcher back in action in his post-match comments, indicating that he has a major role to play in United’s remaining matches…
“It wouldn’t have been fair to pitch Darren in from the start because he really does need games…But he is catching up all the time and we may get him on the bench against Chelsea on Sunday with a view to getting more game time…Some players are big-game players and he is one.”
Anderson
Last night showed again how Anderson seems to be best suited to the role of attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, as he proved in the recent home win over Fulham. Backed by Paul Scholes and Darron Gibson and with Berbatov’s movement not his strong point, Anderson bombed forward time and again to get into threatening areas, and showed a cool head in grabbing a double.
The likely return of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez will shift United back into a 4-4-2 at the weekend, however, and that will mean a return to the central midfield role for Anderson who has started the four previous matches.
Seaside Break?
The Champions League Final takes place on May 28 with United’s final game against Blackpool six days earlier at Old Trafford. Should United have the title sewn up by gameweek 38, you have to imagine that Alex Ferguson will look to rest members of his squad ahead of the clash with Barcelona. This will be made easier should Blackpool be relegated by that point – which seems unlikely given the situation at the bottom of the table. Even so, the likes of Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic could have their pitch time cut should United go into the Blackpool game with little to play for.
