There were three obvious contenders for Manchester United man of the match in a hard fought win against Wolfsburg at Old Trafford on Wednesday night:
Bastian Schweinsteiger
He looked so off the pace at the start of pre-season that we wondered whether he was completely knackered as a footballer.
But his fitness has returned and he finally looked up to full speed on Wednesday – he looked like the Bastian Schweinsteiger that LvG hoped he was buying.
Flying into tackles, winning the ball at crucial moments and splaying the ball around with aplomb. If he stays fit, Basti could get into the Premier League Team of The Season.
A caveat here – he looked washed up by the time he came off the park on 70 minutes. So he still has some way to go to reach his peak.
Juan Mata
Regular readers will know that, while we like Mata, we would still like to ultimately see a more natural, pacy right winger on that flank.
Mata scored one and assisted one, to strengthen his already solid stats at Manchester United. He also had a 98% pass completion rate, which is remarkable, even by his standards.
But he still went missing for large parts of the second half and he isn’t a player who takes games by the scruff of the neck.
Chris Smalling
Just edges out Mata for his all-round performance and the fact that he was central to proceedings for most of the game.
He repelled the tide of crosses time and again, got forward when possible and also scored the decisive goal. Smalling is hardly recognisable from last season.
soccersweep Man of The Match: Chris Smalling
Manchester United fans: thoughts?
