QPR 0 - 2 Man UtdMarouane Fellaini 58
James Wilson 90 +3:25
There was a red devil on the badge, but there was rarely any devil to their football. They wore red shirts and black short, but they rarely resembled Manchester United. Louis van Gaal will not be fooled by a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers that was far closer than the scoreline suggests. It kept United in the top four and ensured that they are on course for the Champions League, but Van Gaal will know that they remain an extremely expensive work in progress.
It was a gut-wrenching defeat for QPR. They had their chances, forcing David de Gea to extend himself on several occasions and played well enough to make QPR’s board think again if they were planning to sack Harry Redknapp. They were only beaten when young James Wilson ran clear in stoppage time to seal the win for United.
Ultimately, however, QPR have not won since 20 December and are still in the relegation zone. The one consolation is that they are not bottom.
United did not have a shot on target in last Sunday’s defeat against Southampton and they did not waste any time getting that particular monkey off their back, Michael Carrick testing Robert Green with a fizzing low drive from 25 yards, and it was not long before they had carved QPR’s defence open after fine work from Juan Mata.
Radamel Falcao was left out of the squad entirely against Southampton but the Colombian was back in the side because of Robin van Persie’s ankle injury and the game was only 15 minutes old when his big moment arrived. Mata’s curling pass found Falcao unmarked in the QPR area and, as he brought the ball down on his chest and prepared to shoot, a goal looked inevitable. But what followed was a reminder of why Van Gaal has said that Falcao has plenty to do to prove that he is worthy of making his loan move from Monaco permanent. His first effort was lacking in subtlety, the ball hammered straight at Green, and his follow-up was diverted behind by the QPR goalkeeper.
QPR were rocking at that stage – understandably so, perhaps, given the uncertainty over Redknapp’s future. However they gradually asserted themselves once they realised that United were not the relentless force of old and QPR’s awkward front two, Bobby Zamora and Charlie Austin, began to throw their weight around.
United were conceding possession with head-scratching regularity in dangerous positions – Rooney and Mata were notable culprits – and they were indebted, as ever, to David De Gea after he made a couple of outstanding saves to deny Austin. The first one from a looping Austin volley was impressive enough but the second was even better, De Gea arcing backwards and tipping a thumping 30-yard effort from QPR’s biggest threat over the bar. Eduardo Vargas also dropped a header on to the roof of the net after muscular forward play from Zamora.
A sign of United’s muddled thinking came when Phil Jones took a corner – no prizes for guessing that it was headed away at the near post – and Antonio Valencia was penalised for a foul throw. Van Gaal’s determination to play three at the back and his decision to use Ángel di María alongside Falcao was robbing United of their attacking flow, and the away end was verging on mutiny as chants of “4-4-2” and “Attack! Attack! Attack!” floated through the west London air.
Van Gaal took the point on board and a change of shape swung momentum in United’s favour. The ineffective Mata was replaced by Marouane Fellaini at half-time and when the young striker James Wilson came on for Jonny Evans, United had four men in defence, a diamond in midfield and Di María behind two strikers. QPR, meanwhile, had lost Richard Dunne during the break, Steven Caulker taking his place in the heart of their defence.
The result? A goal. Green had already made a stunning save from a Falcao header but his resistance was broken by Fellaini just before the hour. Rooney slid a pass through to Antonio Valencia on the right and the Ecuadorian broke with tradition by finding a red shirt with his cross for once. It reached Fellaini in the middle of QPR’s area and it was the power of his rising shot, struck with his right foot, that was too much for Green.
United had their release, although there was a reminder of the defensive vulnerabilities that still afflict them when an awful mix-up between Marcos Rojo and Carrick presented Vargas with a clear run on goal. The Chilean could have shot or passed it to Austin but instead he dithered, did nothing and United breathed a sigh of relief.
There was still time for De Gea to save from Mauricio Isla, before United broke away and wrapped up the points in stoppage time. QPR were isolated as Di Maria found Wilson, who scored his first goal for United, blasting home the rebound after Green had saved his first effort.
Guardian