Saturday 3rd May 2014 22:20
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Manchester United's lack of speed was once again evident against Sunderland, with no quick fix on the horizon either, writes Peter Fraser.
LACK OF SPEED
Manchester United's players covered a shorter distance and made less sprints than Sunderland on the field at Old Trafford on Saturday and this was a factor in their defeat.
Interim boss Ryan Giggs also saw his team spend more time standing still than their visitors and this lack of movement, particularly in midfield, has been a problem all season.
| Man United v Sunderland | Distance (km) | Sprints | Time Standing (%) | Time Sprinting (%) |
| Man United | 107.2 | 326 | 66.6 | 0.44 |
| Sunderland | 115.6 | 334 | 62.6 | 0.48 |
That central midfielders Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher then represented United's most frequent passing combination, with the pair playing 30 passes between each other versus Sunderland, also impacted upon United's speed.
The passes were too often square, as demonstrated in the below graphic, and stopped any pace in United's attacks while giving Sunderland time to get back into their defensive formation.
Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick played too many square passes and stopped United's speed
DEFENSIVE PROTECTION
Even with Giggs maintaining his policy of picking United's most experienced central defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Sunderland picked off their hosts in midfield in front of the back line by scoring with their only shot on target.
This was demonstrated by the manner in which Nani did not keep the ball in the 30th minute for an unmarked Sebastian Larson to score from Connor Wickham's cross on the right. That goal means United have now kept just one clean sheet in six Premier League home games.
Nani did not keep possession (left) as Sunderland scored from their only shot on target (right)
It was also the 12th occasion United had found themselves behind at half-time this season and they have now gone on to lose nine of those games.
The margin of Sunderland's win could also have been greater if Emanuele Giaccherini and Fabio Borini had scored rather than hitting a post and the crossbar, respectively, with second-half shots.
NO ROONEY OR RVP
Wayne Rooney was unavailable for United due to a groin injury while Robin van Persie could only play for the last 24 minutes in his first appearance in eight matches since picking up an injury in the UEFA Champions League second-leg victory over Olympiakos.
The lack of fitness of their two main strikers this season has played a part in United now having lost seven home games in a single campaign in the league for the first time since 1973/74.
United managed just two shots on target from their 17 overall shots against Sunderland and that failure to take their chances has been a factor in their downfall.
SUNDERLAND'S GAME PLAN
Sunderland are now almost safe from relegation following a run of form which has seen Gus Poyet's squad take 10 points from four games against Manchester City, Chelsea, Cardiff City and United.
That form meant Sunderland had no fear in taking on United and implementing their own game plan, as with many visitors to Old Trafford this season.
Lee Cattermole (No.33 - see below graphic) stayed in his own half and goal side of Juan Mata while centre-backs Wes Brown (No.5) and John O'Shea (No.16) remained deep and picked up United's lone striker, Javier Hernandez.
United could not come up with an answer and resorted to delivering crosses, of which they produced 33 to Sunderland's four, but this did not result in a goal.
via TEAMtalk | Manchester Utd http://ift.tt/1ukiGtr
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