Manchester United vs. Wolfsburg: Winners and Losers from Champions League Game
Juan Mata scored a goal and assisted another as Manchester United came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.
The visitors took the lead in the fourth minute via Daniel Caligiuri, but United equalized 30 minutes later as Mata stroked home from the penalty spot. The Spaniard turned provider for the winner in the 53rd minute, setting up Chris Smalling with a clever side-flick over the top of Wolfsburg's defense.
The victory was United's first in their return to the Champions League group stage after one season away, and it should give the Red Devils confidence ahead of their trip to Arsenal this weekend in the Premier League.
After Wednesday's result, all four teams in Group B are level on three points.
Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Juan Mata
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Juan Mata starred in Manchester United's comeback, scoring with a well-taken penalty and assisting Chris Smalling's winner with an improvised, no-look flick.
Opta noted that the goal was Mata's first in the Champions League since 2012, when he played for Chelsea. More recently, however, the Spaniard has been an influential attacking presence for the Red Devils. According to Squawka, Mata has either scored or assisted five goals in his last three Champions League and Premier League matches.
That sort of production is exactly what manager Louis van Gaal needs from his talented Spaniard. Mata is playing well lately, and he exuded confidence in setting up the winner for Smalling with an ambitiously clever flick.
Mata couldn't have known any of his teammates would be in position to score, but he knew that he could create a dangerous situation by sending the ball into the space. He did so rather brilliantly, and it led to a goal thanks to Smalling's composed finish.
Loser: Wayne Rooney
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Wayne Rooney went missing for Manchester United on the night, popping up only intermittently and missing his only chance of the match.
In the 26th minute, Anthony Martial glided past his marker on the right and pulled back a cross for Rooney at the far post. Rooney was entirely unmarked, but he skied his first-time shot over the bar.
Rooney was not on penalty duty later in the half, with Juan Mata taking the spot-kick instead. Tellingly, in the closing minutes, 19-year-old Andreas Pereira took a free-kick ahead of Rooney.
"Surprised there wasn't police announcement asking for info on missing 29-year-old Wayne Rooney," tweeted Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News.
At 29, Rooney is far from finished. But his influence seems to be diminishing.
Winner: Chris Smalling
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Chris Smalling scored the winner in the 53rd minute with a composed finish, poking past Diego Benaglio after latching on to Juan Mata's brilliant flick.
The goal capped a fine performance for the centre-back, who played well overall despite United's shaky start defensively.
Smalling is quickly becoming a key figure for United, and his continued progress at centre-back will surely be a building block for manager Louis van Gaal.
"We started up against it after conceding a goal. But we created a lot of chances and deserved the win," Smalling told UEFA.com. "We didn't give them too many chances. We created some ourselves, which gave us a deserved victory.”
Loser: Antonio Valencia
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Only Antonio Valencia will know what he was doing.
Wolfsburg took the lead through Daniel Caligiuri in the fourth minute, but the goal never should have happened. Max Kruse played in Caligiuri with a simple through ball, and Caligiuri would have been offside if not for Valencia. The Ecuadorian was standing a few yards behind any of his United teammates, giving Caligiuri a free look at goal.
The Wolfsburg man made no mistake, and although Daley Blind was also guilty of poor defending during the sequence, Valencia had to take the blame for a careless mistake.
It was little surprise when Valencia made way for substitute Ashley Young at half-time. The Ecuadorian was well off the pace.
Winner and Loser: Daniel Caligiuri
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Daniel Caligiuri started the move that led to Wolfsburg's early goal, and he finished it himself confidently. The strike seemed to put the visitors on track for a surprising result at Old Trafford, but it didn't turn out that way.
United equalized in the 34th minute via the penalty spot as Juan Mata slotted in calmly. Caligiuri conceded the spot-kick for an obvious handball, leaving his arm out as Mata tried a cross from the right.
For his mixed contributions at both ends, Caligiuri is both a winner and loser in this match.
"The way we played, we could've gotten a better result," he told UEFA.com. "With a little bit of luck we get the second goal in the second half. I'm very sad that we lost today."
Winner: Manchester United
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The result is all that matters, of course, though it was by no means a perfect performance by Manchester United. The hosts were sloppy in defense early and dropped dangerously deep in the closing stages as Wolfsburg pushed for the equaliser.
In between, however, Louis van Gaal's men created several good chances, scored two goals and controlled the game to the extent that victory was deserved.
"A work in progress," is the way BT Sport commentator Ian Darke described United on Twitter, and that's apt. The team has its faults, but you can see United improving.
With a few more wins, you could get the sense that United are starting to put together a good season. First up is a trip to Arsenal on Sunday, followed by games against Everton, CSKA Moscow and Manchester City.
By the end of that run, we should have a good idea how good United really are.
