Manchester United show they've still got fire in their bellies

When Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs were asked what spurred them on to turn around a 0-2 deficit from the first leg against Olympiakos in the Champions League, they said ‘desire’ and the ‘support’. While those were the intangibles in an invaluable win for David Moyes’ side, the tangibles were more easy to notice — the fight in the team, the fluidity on the pitch and the phenomenal finishing and goalkeeping on show. [caption id=“attachment_1442273” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Manchester United supporters celebrate after their team’s 3-0 Champions League last 16 second leg soccer match win against Olympiacos. AP[/caption] United’s season is hard to sum up — words like transition, torrid, wretched and inconsistent pop up. But this is a team that chooses to strike back when the odds are stacked against them — and by turning a two-goal deficit around after a demoralising defeat to Liverpool shows that they still have some fire left within them. Fight: Rooney spoke of desire after the match, and he showed what it exactly means through his deeds on the pitch. The No 10 was all over the pitch running down the opposition, winning headers in defensive positions and stitching up attacks. A look at his action areas chart will quickly tell you that this was a talismanic performance from a player who has come under fire in recent times. But after seeing him make three attempts on goal, win four out of six tackles, get six out of ten take-ons right and assist Van Persie’s second goal — one could argue that he earned his exorbitant salary. Fluidity: United fans were moaning when Moyes’ teamsheet came out before the match. Ryan Giggs and Valencia in this match? And Rio Ferdinand? And no Shinji Kagawa? 90 minutes later, you have to agree that the manager was right this time. Ferdinand’s presence at the back was the perfect foil for Phil Jones’ tenacity and provided more composure compared to when Nemanja Vidic is in the side. But playing Giggs as a roving midfielder was a tactical masterstroke from Moyes. Giggs, fresh after not featuring over the last eight matches seemed to roll back the years effortlessly. He was dictating play and was a constant threat with accurate long-balls — two of which were key to United’s goals. [caption id=“attachment_1441869” align=“alignleft” width=“456”] Giggs long ball was taken down by RVP before he was fouled.[/caption] Giggs also provided great support to the back-four with his availability for tight passes — allowing Danny Welbeck and Valencia to play wide and provide the type of width that United fail to generate with Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj in their playing XI. With fullbacks busy tracking those two, space opened up for Rooney and RVP through the centre. [caption id=“attachment_1441873” align=“alignleft” width=“456”] Giggs long ball found Rooney who laid it up for RVP’s 2nd.[/caption] Finishing and goalkeeping: If United had to win on the night, they needed their best to produce the goods. And cometh the hour, cometh the man. RVP was up to the challenge of taking the penalty, calmly tapped in a second and sumptuously scored a third from a well thought out freekick. It just shows that when Rooney and RVP combine, goals will flow — Alex Ferguson managed to play a system where those two would flourish but Moyes had, until last night, failed to bring out the best in them. With a slight rejig to the old-fashioned 4-4-1-1, he could have just found a way out. Last but not the least, David de Gea deserves more than a pat on the back. Another player who took his fair share of criticism early in his United career, the Spaniard now looks like one of the best in Europe. He was on hand to make a brilliant double save before parrying a deflected shot and holding onto a rocket from David Fuster. If he’s so good at 23, he can go on to be the best in the world one day – and is a certain replacement for Iker Casillas in the Spain team. [caption id=“attachment_1441879” align=“alignleft” width=“456”] Olympiakos saved and blocked shots.[/caption]