Everton Stun United

It has been asked on numerous occasions over the past few months - just what would Manchester United do if Wayne Rooney was injured and therefore unable to take his customary place in the starting XI? We pretty much got our answer on Saturday, and it made for grim viewing for United fans. Yes, I realise he wasn't injured and did in fact play, but he might as well not have been on the pitch for all the impact he had on the game. Quiet and out of sorts, the fact remains that this performance had been coming from him. Superhuman feats are just that for a reason - you cannot expect them week in week out. Like every other player he will have his off days, and that is when he needs those around him to step up and shoulder the burden for a change. Only the oft maligned Berbatov came even remotely close to doing so on Saturday. So United lost, with a whimper.

This is actually another knock on effect that United have suffered in the wake of Ronaldo's exit. Whereas previously if Ronaldo was having an off day, then there was always Rooney (or whisper it Carlos Tevez) to come up with the decisive moment that would swing a game in United's favour. Alas, it now appears that this is for Rooney and Rooney alone to conjure.

Take nothing away from Everton. United started well but Everton roared back and after the first twenty minutes they dominated. In the end they won comfortably, with wonderful performances from their midfield five. The signing of Donovan is proving something of a masterstroke from David Moyes - not many could have anticipated the stunning impact that he has had. This display and their recent form demonstrates just how seriously the injuries they suffered in the first half of the season hampered their form. One wonders where they would lie in the table had the injuries not been as widespread.

The Everton line was led, as ever, by the superb Louis Saha. It must be one of Ferguson's biggest regrets that Saha was never able to maintain his fitness for a sustained period of time at United. It is obvious how highly Ferguson rated him - moving on the prolific van Nistelrooy to make room for the Frenchman. This move coincided with United's return to a more customary style of attacking, penetrative football, that was often lacking in the days of the Dutchman. It also resulted in a return to Championship winning ways for United.

Unfortunately, injuries curtailed Saha's Old Trafford career and United ended up losing a man who may well have eased the burden that Rooney now bears.

Average Performance Gets Win Against Average Team

So United finally did it. They finally beat AC Milan at the San Siro, scoring their first goals against Milan in Italy in the process. It was a great result, tempered somewhat by the concession of the second Milan goal so late in the game, but to go away from home in Europe especially against an opponent of this stature and to come away with three goals is an achievement.

However, it has to be remembered that it's not the achievement it would have been some years ago. United were handed a lesson in this very stadium in the three nil reverse recently - beating Milan then would have been a real statement. And even at that stage they were an aging side, not the force they had been in years past. One thing they did have of course was Kaka in his pomp - form that he is struggling to recapture since his multi million Euro move to Madrid.

In fairness, United could only beat the team they were faced with on the night. And while the the remaining players in this Milan team are now older, and of course they are without Kaka, two other Brazilians have stepped up in the hope of emulating him - a somewhat rejuvenated Ronaldinho and Pato.

It was predicted far and wide that Milan would attempt to come out and blow United away early in the match, before tiring and aging limbs caught up with them. This is exactly what happened and United were fortunate to only be a goal down in the first thirty minutes - they gave away so many chances that they were lucky to still be in the tie, let alone the match. Ronaldinho was orchestrating play and it was deja vu all over again as United struggled to cope with Milan's early pressure.

Scholes' moment of fortune changed the game and the second half was a different story with United dominating the play. The energy of the United midfield simply overwhelmed Milan's and once Rooney got his double, it looked as if United could get a fourth and put the tie out of Milan's reach. Not to be, as a wonderful finish from Seedorf breathed fresh life into the tie. Carrick's relatively soft sending off was surprising given the manner in which the game was played in, but also entirely in keeping with the ebb and flow of the match.

Make no mistake, this was a big win for United. It laid to rest the ghosts of previous visits, gave Rooney his first European goals this season and proved he could do it away from home against one of Europe's biggest names. But that's all Milan are. A name. They are no longer the formidable force they once were. Sterner tests await United if they get through - though if they play like they did in the first thirty minutes here and give away a goal or two then it will be a toss up to see who progresses.

A quick note on Beckham - there has been a great divide in opinion as to how he performed in the match. Some say his display showed he can still compete at the highest level, while others are using it as evidence to suggest that he should not make the journey to South Africa. I respect Beckham for what he did at United but personally I think he contributed very little of note in open play and maybe it proved that Capello is right to view him as a cameo man at best.

Finally - I find it odd that a player like Flamini, who Arsenal fans were praying would remain at their club not so long ago, cannot get into this team on a consistent basis. How can it be that a player who seems to possess the energy Milan so desperately need in their midfield doesn't get selected? Or used off the bench even in this match when it was glaringly obvious that they were being overrun in the second period? It certainly seems strange.

Arsenal Versus United Reaction

Wayne Rooney is simply a force of nature. A man who could so easily have felt this season as if he had the weight of the world (or more accurately Old Trafford) on his shoulders, has instead been revitalised and reborn as a world class player. He is playing with a freedom at the moment not seen since his first couple of seasons at the club. Then, he would take a game by the scruff of the neck by charging at defences, using his power and pace to wreak havoc. In many ways this has receded in recent years. He has relied more on his cunning, his football brain, to pick a pass or make space for an effort on goal. The last fortnight however has seen a return to the form that brought him to the nation's attention as a teenager. If he can continue to produce anything close to the kind of form he has shown in the last month, United are in with a real shout of the title.

Speaking of revitalised and reborn, who could have seen this performance coming from Nani? The question now is can he prove that this is not a flash in the pan run of form? There are also a couple of caveats to his current run. Firstly, he is playing well from the right hand side of midfield. Throughout his United career he has more frequently been deployed on the opposite flank - maybe Ferguson has finally realised that from the right he is more likely to deliver a quality cross (being that he is right footed) and less likely to cut inside and shoot (repeatedly). Secondly, Nani played well against Clichy, an Arsenal left back who appears in terminal decline. The ease at which he was beaten time and time again was staggering. How will Nani fare against some of the leagues more seasoned performers?

This also makes you wonder about Valencia's role in the next couple of weeks, and indeed the season. Nani has justified his inclusion to this point, but what did Valencia do to justify being omitted? By all accounts he was well and truly hitting his stride and finally seemed comfortable in the United shirt. He appears to be hugely one footed so it will be interesting to see what Ferguson does from here on in.

As for Arsenal, well this was a second humiliation at the Emirates in a couple of months against another title rival. The combined score of the visits of Chelsea and United reads 1-6. Devastating. Wenger talked a big game before the match, and the outcome may well have been different had Arshavin taken one of his chances early in the game when he had the United defence, and Wes Brown in particular, on the back foot. In fairness to Wenger, he was as honest as he could have been in his post match appraisal of the contest.

Arsenal simply underperformed on the big occassion yet again, as they did in the Champions League semi final last year against the same opponents. Too many players didn't show up on the day - Denilson, Nasri, Clichy, Rosicky, and of course, Almunia. How Arsenal can ever expect to seriously challenge with the collection of goalkeepers they have simply beggars belief.

Arsenal knew they were entering a testing period of the season. A draw at Aston Villa and this loss means it has not started well. As for United, well they will just be hoping that Rooney stays fit for the season's climax.