Olympiakos 2-0 Manchester United
This was an aimless, passionless, hapless display from Manchester United.
This was a performance riddled with errors from the players and the manager, David Moyes. United were too cautious in design, too clueless in possession and too generous with space, presenting Olympiakos with time and room to score. Beware Greeks burying gifts.
This was a United side that its increasing band of detractors would argued appeared only marginally behind the Acropolis as a rebuilding project.
Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic looked confirmed in their last seasons at the club. Patrice Evra and particularly Chris Smalling endured uncomfortable evenings at full-back. Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia were weak out wide, seemingly having forgotten the art of crossing. Robin van Persie lacked service and composure when it mattered.
Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley were pedestrian at best in midfield; the pair share 44 England caps and were totally outplayed by Alejandro Domínguez, who has never been capped by Argentina.
Domínguez, 32, scored the first before Joel Campbell escaped from Carrick to curl in the second. Such was Wayne Rooney’s respect for Domínguez’s shift of work that he handed the Olympiakos No 35 his shirt after the final whistle.
Only Rooney, who ran more than anybody on the pitch (12.06 km), seemed aware of the need to show some urgency.
Only Rooney seemed to appreciate that United’s darkening season depended on a splash of colour here.
They lie 11 points behind a buoyant Liverpool in the hunt for the fourthChampions League place. Liverpool will have loved this result, and the possibility of United going out of the Champions League as that would end the chance of their winning it, thereby appropriating the last Champions League spot. It is not the first time that Liverpool fans had let rip a roar during a game involving Olympiakos, albeit not one on a par with the noise generated after Steven Gerrard’s strike in 2004.
That performance against Olympiakos helped Liverpool down the road to winning the Champions League. It is hard to see United progressing much further, if at all.
They will hope to turn the tie round with a more upbeat display at Old Trafford in the second leg but they are so vulnerable to an away goal.
The only other time United have come back from 0-2 down was when a Bryan Robson-inspired side defeated Barcelona in 1984. But where is the Robson type in this side?
Judging by Roy Keane’s acid-tongued verdict on United, the players could have done with the former midfielder delivering a few home truths in the away dressing-room.
As if contemplating a tackle on Patrick Vieira, Keane did not hold back, even lambasting Carrick’s interview.
The club’s hierarchy will continue to back Moyes but this was grim. Moyes has talked of the need for five to six new players; judging from this evidence, three of those are required in defence, an intelligent, disciplined ball-winner is urgently needed in midfield, and some more invention and pace elsewhere.
Criticism will rightly froth indignantly towards Moyes because his tactics were too cautious. He failed to give his players the right game-plan. Why Cleverley and not Marouane Fellaini? Why no Adnan Januzaj? Rested apparently. United do not play again until March 8.
Januzaj is hardly busy in international week presently. (Juan Mata was ineligible, having represented Chelsea in the competition).
Moyes also failed to instil the right mood. United were so insipid, shadows of the spirited fighters who won the league under Sir Alex Ferguson last year. They managed only two shots on target. In 90 minutes.
In a game they had to do well in. Against good but hardly great opponents.
Moyes’ wariness was at odds with the five other away coaches so far in this last-16 stage of the Champions League. All five away teams had really gone for it. All of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Borussia Dortmund had been rewarded with away wins.
Europe is proving a gloomy land for the teams from the Premier League, none of Manchester City, Arsenal and United in the Champions League or Swansea City or Spurs in the Europa League have even scored in the first legs. Over to Chelsea now.
United had been too circumspect, too respectful, too tardy in dealing with Olympiakos’ insurgents. Moyes’ logic in fielding Cleverley had been to provide some shield with Carrick in front of an ageing central defence yet it was through the middle that United were exposed in going 2-0 down by the 55th minute.
Giannis Maniatis, Oympiakos’ captain and central midfielder, kept being able to advance and shoot without any of Moyes’ midfielders closing him down swiftly enough. United were too slow to react to such incoming threat, the defence either sitting too deep or the midfielders not assiduous enough in denying the opponents space.
United had been publicly respectful and privately relieved when drawn against Olympiakos, particularly when the runaway leaders of the Greek Super League sold their centre-forward Kostas Mitroglu to Fulham and Argentine international Javier Saviola injured yet there was a belief and pace to Míchel’s side that worried United and the visitors’ sedentary tactics invited Olympiakos on.
Vidic rescued United when Domínguez darted through early on but he scored after 38 minutes. Maniatis shot into a crowd of players and Domínguez flicked the ball towards the far-post. De Gea was wrong-footed, initially moving to his left in line with Maniatis shot before seeing Domínguez’s involvement. De Gea threw himself to his right, stretching out a hand but the ball slowly crossed the line.
The evening deteriorated for United 10 minutes after the break.
Rooney had been attempting to help protect the defence, rushing back and making two interceptions. Carrick and Cleverley stood off Maniatis again.
Then Carrick failed with a desultory attempt to win the ball off Campbell, the attacker on loan from Arsenal, who strode into space and curled the ball left-footed around De Gea.
Moyes reacted by withdrawing Cleverley and Valencia, placing Danny Welbeck on the left, pushing Young to the right and placing Shinji Kagawa behind Van Persie with Rooney now back in midfield.
Uncertain in defence, timid in midfield, United lacked purpose and ideas in attack. Van Persie then controlled a Smalling cross but shot over. Kagawa played Patrice down the left but his touch was too heavy and his cross deflected up and was caught by Roberto.
United, and Moyes, have to raise their game, otherwise their season effectively ends on March 19.
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