Louis Van Gaal hailed Manchester United’s resilient 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion, on Monday night, as their best performance of the season so far, and to a certain extent that may be true; United showed superb spirit and passion, reminiscent of Ferguson’s era, to fight back and rescue a point with three minutes remaining in the game. However, once again weakness at the back proved to be the Red Devils’ downfall, as the defence were easily exposed on several occasions. But on Sunday United face what will easily be their toughest test of the season and one must ask, can United really overcome Chelsea?
On one hand, Manchester United appear to finally be finding some form and seem to have settled in to become a team. Some of the interplay, especially in the second half, against West Brom was superb. In addition, the summer signings have started to perform well; Daley Blind has been consistently good and Marcus Rojo seems to be gaining confidence, as well as the incredible start that Angel Di Maria has had to his United career, proving how he truly is one of the world’s best players and never fails to have the fans on their feet. Going forward, United have all of the tools at their disposal to score against a Chelsea defence which has appeared to be shaky at times this season. Louis Van Gaal is also decisive enough to make the necessary changes which can change the game as shown by the way he brought on Marouane Fellaini at half time on Monday night; United fans will be hoping he can outwit Jose Mourinho. Another factor working in United’s favour is that the Chelsea players could be experiencing some fatigue due to playing on Tuesday night.
On the other hand, Manchester United are still incredibly susceptible to conceding goals causing them to throw away points, like the two dropped against West Brom. This is particularly worrying when looking towards the game against Chelsea this weekend. Chelsea have already scored twenty-three goals in the Premier League alone this season and the idea of the clinical Diego Costa facing United’s back four is terrifying, especially considering Cesc Fabregas’s current form, where he has already picked up seven assists. Finally, Jose Mourinho is a tactical mastermind and he will relish what could be a battle of wits against Louis Van Gaal and it will be interesting to see who will come out on top.
In conclusion, one has to believe that Manchester United have what it takes to beat Chelsea, and no doubt that Louis Van Gaal will have fired up his players for the challenge. But it will require a performance far above the standard that has been set so far this season, in particular from the defence. United will need their first team fully fit, especially Di Maria, and they will need to attack Chelsea while staying very strong at the back. Although it will be a tactical war between Van Gaal and Mourinho, one has to believe that Van Gaal’s men have got what it takes to win, they just need to show it.
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