There was a moment, as David Moyes was analysing the “punches” that have come his way, when Manchester United’s manager took exception to some of the less appealing statistics that have accompanied his difficult, erratic first year in the job and decided to put forward some numbers of his own.
“If you look back statistically I don’t think we’ve been absolutely dominated,” he said. “At half-time against Liverpool they had 240 passes, we had 240 passes; we had 51 per cent possession, they had 49 per cent possession. So if you want to talk about the stats I could actually tell you things.”
Unfortunately for Moyes, it does not really matter in football if the pass count is pretty similar when the opposition move the ball more purposefully, with real penetration, in better areas of the pitch. That, more than anything, has been the backdrop to United’s difficulties, why they go into the Manchester derby further back in the league than anyone at Old Trafford could possibly have imagined, and why they have won only once against clubs in the top nine.
At least Moyes can be encouraged by his team's last two performances, against Olympiakos and West Ham, and the shift in mood since that point last week when the weight of pressure on Alex Ferguson's successor was heavier than at any time over the previous nine months.
Better team
Yet we are still at the stage when Manuel Pellegrini can talk about City being the better team – he used the word "bigger" but put that down to language issues – without fear of being pulled up. "Maybe they are stronger, and we are more technical," was another observation as the City manager compared the two midfields. More technical means skill, refinement and everything, in short, that United used to take for granted. For the team in seventh position, those words should cut deep.
The evidence is there, though. Yaya Toure’s hat-trick against Fulham on Saturday took him to 20 goals this season. Compare that to the seven different players who have operated in central midfield for Moyes, and their combined tally of five. Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley have one apiece. The other three came from Phil Jones, who would rather be known as a defender.
City have scored 76 times in the league compared with 48 for their neighbours and, most remarkably, United’s total of 18 goals at home is the same as the clubs occupying the bottom two positions, Cardiff and Fulham, and fewer than Hull, Stoke, Swansea and West Ham.
It all leads to the same conclusion. While their opponents tonight have Toure, Fernandinho, David Silva and Samir Nasri backing up their strike force, United simply do not have a potential match-winner in midfield. “I take that point,” Moyes said. “We still think Marouane Fellaini can get some goals. But I do agree. They have quality – very good midfield players who are goalscorers.”
Pellegrini’s team are six points behind the leaders, Chelsea, but have played three games fewer and the trip across Manchester kicks off a pivotal run of four matches that will also take them to Arsenal and Liverpool. For City, the next two and a half weeks should tell us a lot more about whether they can reunite themselves with the championship trophy.
After the 4-1 defeat at City in September, Moyes had predicted he “might have to take a few more punches”. Now, he admits it has been harder than he imagined. “They’ve definitely hurt. They’ve hurt more because I joined Manchester United with big expectations myself – that I’m coming to a winning club.”
He could be up against the ropes tonight.
Guardian Service
