Last
season, after his red card against Liverpool, I wrote about how Louis van Gaal needed to stick with Di Maria
Players of such ability are few and far between, and as Sir Alex Ferguson understood, there are
certain players that need to be given a little more room for error than others (a certain Cristiano
Ronaldo for one)
Di Maria was one of those players, and LVG let him go.
DI Maria's performance on Wednesday was outstanding, he was at the hub of everything going
forward for a crisp passing PSG team
Clearly he had a point to prove
But is his improved form
since moving to the French capital because Di Maria spent his time in England sulking? Was it
because he didn't like the weather? Was it because of the unfortunate home invasion? No
LVG's
strict 'philosophy' meant a player like Di Maria would always struggle to adapt, and certainly struggle
to enjoy his football
His game flourishes when taking risks, just as it does young Memphis,
something LVG couldn't find a place for in his system
One gets the feeling Sir Alex might have found
a way to accommodate his considerable talents.
Players like Di Maria perform best when they make decisions in the flow of the game, playing with a
degree of instinct
It seemed under LVG, that this had been taken away from him
Yes he comes
with an element of risk, the dreaded loss of possession, but when the rewards are so high, a
manager of Van Gaal's pedigree should be able to make it work
The fact is, PSG also play a
possession game, in fact, their passing is a lot more fluid than anything Manchester United have
managed since LVG's first pre-season
Di Maria himself had a pass completion percentage of 92.3%
in the game and 3 completed crosses from 6 attempts (whoscored.com)
Yes this was just one
game, one he was extremely motivated for, but while Blanc's ethos seems similar in some ways to
LVG's, he allows Di Maria to drift and affect the game the best way he knows how
Blanc recognises what Van Gaal hasn't, it's tough to win if you don't take the odd risk
Granted those
risks led to Thiago Motta losing the ball in a dangerous area, resulting in Chelsea's equaliser, but the
damage was done with the first away goal, Chelsea were always chasing the game at that point
PSG
looked liable to score at any time, the pace and creativity of Di Maria and Lucas causing the flat
footed Chelsea defence no end of problems
They knew how demoralising those away goals would
be and they were greatly rewarded for their endeavour
Take note Louis, goals win games
The sight of Di Maria flowing Forward at will, show-boating, assisting(!) and winning(!) must have
been difficult for Manchester United fans to swallow
However, I for one was just happy to see him
unshackled, enjoying his football without being weighed down by the burden of maintaining 70%
possession
Angel is free again, and it's a joy to watch.
Source : DSG
Source: DSG