Thank God Yeovil Town didn't score a goal in that incredible chance they had and the ghosts of MKD were kept at bay. We couldn't find any sort of rhythm in the first 2/3 of the match and our passing was woeful. With the introduction of Mata we saw a slight improvement in our passing and we recycled possession in a better way. When Di Maria was brought on in the last 30 minutes and added some mobility we finally managed to control the game. But when you need Mata and Di Maria on the pitch to win Yeovil Town, i think that really says something about the players that started the game.
One thing that bothers me is that our CBs haven't improved on the ball at all. As soon as they see the ball approaching their first thought is to kick it as far away as they can. Another thing worth mentioning is that, either you play with a back three or a back four, you must have one CB who is urgent and aggressive enough to get in front of the attackers and intercept the first ball towards them. Especially when your midfield is rather "thin", like ours today and most of the time, and your CBs just drop deeper and deeper to defend, the only thing you can achieve is invite pressure into your box.
As for the midfield, it's sad to say it again and again but Fletcher can't play the holding midfielder role as good as Carrick or Blind. He can't offer good quality possession during our build up plays and he can't find those important forward passes to the right man and at the right time. He is also aware that it's easy for the opponents to get past him so he either stayed too deep which created a huge gap between him and the other two CMs or he waited for Rooney or Herrera to drop deeper for cover which of course slowed the tempo even more for us.
Rooney showed again that the only two reasons to utilize him in the midfield are his well timed runs from deep into the opposition box and his working rate. But when he's not having a good day all his weaknesses as a CM rise to the surface, most of all his lack of positional awareness. Numerous times today, in throw ins and other set pieces, Yeovil could easily get the ball to the player Rooney was supposed to mark and they managed to create some nervousness to our defenders and managed to stay in our third with enough players.
Rooney also can't do these little one twos or try some layoffs in his deeper role to help the team get past the opposition's pressing but we already know that. Herrera was supposed to do that today and he didn't do a very good job. The incredible goal he scored surely made things a lot easier for us but his main duty today was to connect the lines and get the ball forwards. And he must improve because we signed him for that reason exactly.
Rafael and Shaw looked rusty. Furthermore, Rafael looked a bit disoriented like he didn't know where he was supposed to be in his wing back role. Shaw was slightly better. I noticed that he didn't attempt to cross the ball with his good foot a lot, instead he preferred to cut inside and search for a short pass towards Herrera or Fletcher with the two forwards and Rooney making runs into the box. I hope this is something that we have worked in training and not just Shaw not knowing what to do with the ball.
Happy because Herrera and Di Maria returned from injury and scored. Mata is still in good form and more players are becoming available for selection again. That's good news for the important game against Southampton next week.