Pink 96.9 fm your life, your music
Related Articles
It was hardly the obvious place for Jose Mourinho to have an epiphany about his best Manchester United line-up, but that September night at Sixfields in Northampton may have saved their season.
After three damaging defeats on the bounce, the last thing Mourinho and United needed was a tricky EFL Cup draw against a voracious League One side rarely beaten in their own backyard.
To safeguard against an upset, Mourinho decided to partner Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick in midfield and in so doing stumbled upon a winning formula that continues to serve him well.
When he started on the bench for four of United’s first Premier League matches, Herrera must have thought Mourinho was going to be just as unappreciative of his talents as his predecessor Louis van Gaal.
In two seasons at Old Trafford, the quiet and unassuming Spaniard had only been afforded occasional opportunities to let his feet do the talking and this campaign just promised more sitting on his backside in the dug-out.
But a Herrera goal and assist steered United past Northampton and when he started and helped United to a 4-1 victory over defending champions Leicester City the following Saturday, it was clear things had changed.
Since then, Herrera has been an indispensable part of Mourinho’s team. In tandem with Carrick, he has enabled £89million signing Paul Pogba to be liberated and brought greater balance to United’s midfield.
In almost every facet of his game, Herrera has shown improvement this season and all that was required was the consistent faith of a manager.
One stat in particular illustrates the work ethic of Herrera that is often overlooked – he has made more interceptions this season (47) than any other midfielder in the Premier League.
His tally is one more than Chelsea’s famously inexhaustible midfielder N’Golo Kante and all the more noteworthy when you consider that Herrera has reached his total in just 1,189 minutes of league football as opposed to Kante’s 1,530.
The increased game time naturally gives a more positive slant to Herrera’s numbers, but the average number of successful passes has risen from 54.2 per game last season to 67.3 this.
And despite a deep midfield role, Herrera has already contributed two Premier League assists – the same as in the whole of last season – and created 16 chances. In 2015-16, he created 21 chances in the whole campaign.
It cannot be a coincidence either that Herrera’s regular presence in the United side has resulted in an unbeaten run of nine Premier League matches dating back to their 4-0 loss at Chelsea back on October 23.
Having rediscovered the knack of converting draws into victories, United have also won their last four in the league and will be strong favourites to make that five when they host Middlesbrough on New Year’s Eve.
It has contributed to a feel-good factor at Old Trafford, particularly from Mourinho, as their early season troubles are left behind.
Having waited patiently for his chance for far too long, Herrera has seized it. And – surprise, surprise – United are so much better for it.
