As Greavies said 'Footballs a funny 'ol game' and watching United on Saturday certainly fits into that category. Us United fans are never satisfied and when I think back to the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s when winning matches and leagues were not the norm.
As for Saturday, United were excellent for the first 60 minutes and the last 30 minutes felt like a struggle and on another day could have been a disaster but for some good saves by De Gea and some wayward shooting.
The first half saw United play some great football and possibly the best of the season. The main catalysts were Carrick and Cleverley in the middle. Carrick was on great form and won every ball and distributed with ease. Cleverley was now back to the form which saw him dominate the midfield like the beginning of last season and was looking confident on the ball and again did not waste possession.
United got off to a blistering start and were 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes. The first goal score saw Ashley Young pick out Van Persie in the box who in turn rifled the ball into the top corner. The second goal saw a sweeping move by United where Cleverley had the ball out wide left he then picked out Carrick who then returned the compliment to an advancing Cleverley who first time curled the ball into the net.
United were now rampant and Rooney went close twice and Van Persie also went close. It was only a luck that kept Sunderland in this game. Half time came very quickly for United and not soon enough for Sunderland. Carrick was head and shoulders above everyone and was having a stormer. The second half started and Carrick was replaced by Paul Scholes. It was a surprise to many on the terraces but Scholes is not a bad replacement. The beginning went well with Rooney again going close hitting the crossbar from a Valencia cross and when Van Persie wriggled his way past 2 defenders his squared ball was met by Rooneys toe and United now 3-0 up and cruising.
Then for some reason United took the foot of the gas and Sunderland were then allowed back into the game. united made several changes where Giggs replaced Cleverley and a welcome return of Vidic who replaced Rio Ferdinand. United didn't have the fluency of the first half and often stuttered and lost possession and Sunderland grew in confidence and for the flexibility of De Gea Sunderland could have nicked a draw!
In the end the Sunderland pressure paid off and a sloppy United defence allowed ex-United striker Frazier Campbell to nod in a header from a couple of yards for a consolation.
Overall it was three points and the lead at the top of the table still 6 points but the last half hour saw United look sloppy and unable to keep that clean sheet. Man of the match would be a toss up between Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley who were the heartbeat of United. Also Ashley Young made a useful contribution and Rooney and Van Persie were causing chaos in the Sunderland defence. A busy Christmas and new year is ahead and it is good to see a relatively fit looking squad.
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