United lined up in front of 30,012 fans at the Friends Arena with a 4-3-3 formation, The wingers Zaha and Nani flanking RVP upfront and 3 central midfielders in Anderson, Carrick and Giggs pulling the strings. The game started in a lively fashion with both teams pushing men forward and knocking the ball around nicely.
Nani was looking particularly up for the game and it seemed he wanted to prove a point. However, the first chance of the night fell to Zaha after some good work by Nani and Anderson on the wing. Zaha found himself in a good position but sliced his left footed shot high and wide. With experience and composure I expect him to slot them away in the future.
Zaha didn’t let this knock his confidence and showed some great composure at the other end of the pitch, pulling off some lovely skill to turn his man and win a free-kick in to relieve the pressure on United. AIK’s number 9 Martin Kayongo-Mutumba was proving to be a handful all over the pitch. Firstly, drawing a typical last ditch block by the returning Nemanja Vidic and then at the other end of the pitch robbing Zaha of the ball and dummying a pass to his centre half which the crowd lapped up.
AIK seemed to be playing a very high defensive line and the likes of Carrick and Giggs were taking full advantage of it. Carrick, so easy on the eye, picked out Nani with a ball over top. He skinned his man but couldn’t pick up RVP waiting to pounce in the area. RVP nearly got his birthday goal moments later after a bit of fantastic play by Nani, taking the ball past his man with a first touch out of the air, the ball fell to RVP in a decent position but he could only force the keeper into a save.
Lindegaard didn’t have much to do in the opening half but sprang to life with a fantastic save from AIK’s top goal scorer this season Kennedy Igboananike. Mutumba again causing united problems with a precise ball in behind the defense. United counter attacked, and should have been in front if not for an equally good save from the AIK keeper that resulted from a one-two between Evra and RVP. United were very nearly behind 5 minutes later when they fell asleep at a set piece. Johanson was inches away from making contact but Vidic scrambled to clear with a commanding header. The low point of the half came when a sharp looking Nani went off with an injury to be replaced by Angelo Henriquez.
4 minutes into the second half the first goal of the game arrived from AIK’s Robin Quaison. An absolute peach curled into the top corner from 25 yards that the substitute Amos could do absolutely nothing about. Evans seemed to get a knock in the build-up to the goal and was replaced by Smalling shortly after. United quickly piled on the pressure. Firstly Vidic headed into the floor and onto the bar from a Giggs corner. An almost carbon copy resulted in Vidic meeting the ball first again but heading over. Then a penalty appeal was turned down when Henriquez was taken down by the keeper in the area. Replays showed the goalkeeper got a hand to the ball first.
The equaliser came on the 67th minute after a foul on Evra. RVP lined up the 35-yard free kick but drilled it at the wall. Carrick played the rebound first time out to Zaha who got past his man and to the byline. Zaha drilled a great cross into the area where Angelo Henriquez timed his run perfectly for a tap in at the back post. The young Chilean did very well after coming on and it seems like he has got the work ethic fit for the United shirt, chasing opponents down and committing to tackles. United should have took the lead but RVP missed the target with a free header from a Giggs corner.
Welbeck and Bebe replaced Zaha and Giggs with 15 or so minutes to play. Bebe had in instant impact finding space in behind the AIK defence just as Nani did in the first half. First crossing for Henriquez who couldn’t get hold of his header and when the ball fell loose Welbeck, RVP, and Anderson had a swipe at the ball but nobody could get it past the keeper. Bebe created a golden chance for RVP to win the game with cheeky dink into the box; RVP was free 6 yards out but headed straight at the keeper. He should have scored and given us the victory.
Overall, it was a good performance from United against a team fighting in their respective league and with some decent looking players in the team. Hopefully the injuries to Nani and Evans aren’t too serious. A huge positive was the commanding performance from Nemaja Vidic, making last ditch defensive blocks and colossal headers at both ends of the pitch; he looked like he had never been away. No signs of rust at all from the big Serb.
Man of the match: Nemanja Viidc
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