Five talking points: Fulham 0-1 Manchester United

Manchester United sneaked past Fulham to go 10 points clear of their blue counterparts in Craven Cottage, with Wayne Rooney proving to be a difference at the cost of Aaron Hughes, whose affinity to play villain against the Red Devils continued. However, Martin Jol can take heart in his side’s electrifying performance, who had United on the ropes for a majority of the game.

1. The importance of a holding midfielder

The absence of Dimitar Berbatov forced Martin Jol to make a tactical change, by bringing on a holding midfielder in Chris Baird. Hopefully after his link-up play, Jol will be motivated to play players in a holding role more often; something that is believed to be extinct in the Premier League. If the philosophy of learning more on losing is to be believed, Jol will definitely look to Baird to keep his midfield together and link up play similar to that of Paul Scholes or Michael Carrick, who seemed to have mastered the holding role.

2. A rare lights out in a high-profile game

As fate would have it, Manchester United were involved in their second ‘Lights Out’ of the season at the twilight of the first half, which brought a halt to the magnificent attacking prowess exhibited by both teams. Kevin Friend withdrew the players from the grass upon the outage, however, the home fans in particular provided some entertainment with an aura flash photography that lit up the stadium comparative to the the opening ceremony of the Olympics. On a serious note however, care must be taken in the future that such a problem does not occur hereafter.

3. The tale of a sleeping United defence

As has been the problem for Manchester Unite this season, their defence once again proved to be their achilles heel as the Fulham players were able to trot past the United back four with considerable ease. This shortcoming can once again be blamed on by their insecure holding midfield of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley, the latter in particular who was having an off day until he was replaced by veteran Ryan Giggs who had a part to play in the Rooney goal. With Nemanja Vidic injured, Phil Jones was set to start, only to be replaced by Johnny Evans a few minutes prior to kick off. The pairing of Evans and Ferdinand that has churned out wonders for United in the past, proved to be a disaster as they were under pressure for most of the match under Brian Ruiz and Hugo Rodallega who were having a terrific game. This issue poses serious questions prior to the Champions League encounter the following week against Real Madrid, for which Ferguson must re-assess his defensive approach.

4. Loss of concentration during mid second half

With Manchester United already lacking the cutting edge, the concentration of the players soon took a beating as the pace of the game took a toll on the energy of the players. This was the time when Sir Alex Ferguson seized the opportunity with both hands to inject both pace and energy in the form of Javier Hernandez, who replaced a battered, Antonio Valencia who had been aptly dealt with by the impressive defensive prowess of Brede Hangeland and co. However, with 10 minutes of regular time left, Aaron Hughes was caught off guard by Wayne Rooney who capitalized by netting the winner.

5. A much improved Fulham sans Dimitar Berbatov

The absence of Berbatov would have taught Martin Jol a lesson he will never forget. Hugo Rodallega and Brian Ruiz proved to be a perfect match as there was no need to worry about the defence due to the presence of Chris Baird, who was a screen to the defenders. Giorgos Karagounis too showed why he is an integral member of the side and what he can bring to the table. The right wing of Ashkan Dejagah and Sascha Reither tore the United defence apart at times, with only the finish lacking. Jol can finally take pride of the side that he has produced.