Holy crap, didn't think we'd pull that. The last 20 minutes were really intense. Still, that was a pretty poor game overall. Newcastle scored with ease 3 times and hit the bar once. That's unacceptable. Anyway we are 7 points clear with City losing. Would you believe that? 7 points and we're still December!
Few comments about the game:
Defenders:
Our defense has been shaky as it has been throughout this season but Vidic should improve that when he starts playing more regularly.
On a positive note, Evans and Evra both have 4 goals this season. Incredible! They both have 4 times more goals than Andy Carroll.
Wingers:
Giggs was great. I thought he was finished but he's played very well in the last 2 games. He's still got some pace at this age. We can still use him as a rotation player. He's got that flair that players like Young or Valencia don't have.
Valencia on the other hand was sub-par by his standards. Other than that great cross onto Hernandez's head (that he missed by a few inches) he didn't do much. He could have also been sent off after that foul on Anita. He hasn't been his best this season. Hopefully he'll catch up as the season goes through.
Midfield:
Unlike Giggs, Scholes on the other hand wasn't as impressive. I am not a fan of Scholes-Carrick midfield anymore because both of them are slow. Cleverley improved our pace when he came on. Carrick is having a good run of form. That pass for the winning goal was brilliant. I think Cleverley-Carrick should be first choice midfielders for now.
Strikers:
Well taken goal by Chicharito! I still think that we'd get the best out of him coming from the bench. He didn't do much to contribute to the game until his goal. He was offside countless of times, and his passing is not that great. Why is Welbeck not playing? He scored around 10 league goals last season. When he's not scoring, at least he is dribbling, passing and holding the ball. Good thing that Rooney didn't play imo. He looked rusted in the last game. Was he injured or simply rested? If he's injured, hope he's back soon. I thought van Persie had a great overall contribution, tracking back, helping on the wings etc. He was one of the better performers today and deserved a goal.