In their last day bid for Premier League survival, Blackpool put up a real fight at Old Trafford but in the end, United overwhelmed Ian Holloway’s spirited side to send them down to the Championship yesterday afternoon.
United took the lead through Ji-Sung Park on 21 minutes but a Charlie Adam free-kick levelled matters just before half-time. The Seasiders even had the audacity to take the lead thanks to Gary Taylor-Fletcher but their advantage was short-lived as Anderson equalised for the champions, before an Ian Evatt own goal and substitute Michael Owen put paid to the visitor’s hopes of top-flight football next season.
Line Up News
Sir Alex Ferguson promised a strong line-up and he didn’t disappoint; first-teamers such as Van der Sar, Vidic, Evra and Nani all started, as did Darren Fletcher, with Fergie giving his compatriot vital match time ahead of next week’s Champions League Final. As expected, Rooney and Hernandez were benched, with Dimitar Berbatov leading the home attack.
Blackpool fielded the same XI that beat Bolton 4-3 at Bloomfield Road last week; Charlie Adam started in what will surely be his last appearance for the side, with plenty of top-flight suitors undoubtedly leading the chase for his signature over the close season.
Player Positions
Evra and Rafael pushed forward from full-back against a narrow Blackpool side; this allowed Nani and Park more scope in their respective wing roles, as the pair drifted inside to support lone front man Berbatov for the home side.
None of Blackpool’s players were, on average, in the final third when in possession. Stephen Crainey marauded forward from left-back, which saw Ian Evatt -as left centre-back- positioned further forward and leave a huge gap between himself and the side’s other centre-back, Alex Baptiste. Their front three- Puncheon, Campbell and Taylor-Fletcher offered little width and dropped deep to receive the ball, which, in turn, gave the United full-backs more freedom.
Shot Directions
Man United had a total of 16 Shots, with 6% from the left, 76% down the centre and 18% from the right. Dimitar Berbatov, with an incredible 8 Shots, and Michael Owen (2) were mostly responsible for United’s attempts, though Anderson and Nani also managed a couple each.
Blackpool saw the vast majority of their 10 Shots come through the middle, too; 90% of all attempts came from the centre, with 10% from the left and none from the right. Charlie Adam managed 4 Shots but was the only Blackpool player to have more than 1 Shot all game.
Pass Types
United bossed the Possession, 59% to 41%, and resultantly, made plenty more passes than their opponents, with 610 to Blackpool’s 430. Crosses were even, though, 27-28, in a fantastically open game. Due to Blackpool’s high defensive line (shown above) United played more Long Balls 73 to 64, catching Holloway’s side on the back foot time and again, illustrated again in their 6 Long Balls against the Seasider’s 0. United made 500 Short Passes compared to Blackpool’s 340, moving the ball around as the visitor’s chased the game.
Star Player Comparison
Anderson grabbed a Goal and an Assist in the 4-2 win, spurring United on to victory in an impressive midfield performance. He had 2 Shots, making 2 Key Passes and played 6 Long Balls from his 60 Passes, with an 88% Accuracy. He saw plenty of the ball, with 81 Touches, and had the most Successful Dribbles (2) of any United player. Defensively, he played his part, too; Anderson’s 2 Successful Tackles were beaten only by Patrice Evra, with 3, and he made 1 Clearance in a performance that saw him pick up the Man of the Match award, with a rating of 8.8.
Charlie Adam was, once again, Blackpool’s stand-out player. Aside from his brilliant free-kick Goal, Adam had more Shots (4) -with 2 On Target- Key Passes (2), Crosses (8) and Touches (76) than any player on the visiting side. He also played 11 Long Balls, second only to keeper Matthew Gilks. Adam also contributed plenty defensively, too, with 3 Tackles, 4 Interceptions and 2 Clearance helping him to a match rating of 8.24.
