After a dominant victory over Leicester City on Saturday Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney,
After a woeful display at previous matches was dropped against Leicester which seems to be the answer to all of the club’s recent troubles. But is the answer really that simple?
A cursory look at the stats comparing Manchester United playing with Rooney in the team, to when he has been left out, would suggest not.
What difference does Rooney make?
With RooneyPL since 13/14
Without Rooney95Games2449Wins 1221Draws525Losses7151Goals For321.6Avg. Goals For1.397Goals Against241Avg. Goals Against151.6%Win Percent50.0%1.8Points/Game1.7Opta
For all of the criticism Rooney attracts, he remains a highly influential player for United, and the central position he occupies ensures that he is often the man starting attacks for the club, as well as dictating the tempo. In Premier League matches since the 2013/14 season, United have scored a higher number ofgoals per match when Rooney has been in the team (1.6) compared to when he has been absent (1.3), as well as winning more points (at an average of1.8compared to1.7) per match.
However, the fact that the difference between these numbers is so marginal indicates that Rooney is not the domineering figure he once was for United. And against Leicester,United were noticeably improved with Rooney left to stew on the subsbench.
United, with and without Rooney Man United Passes per gamePassing AccPasses Opp Half pgPassingAcc in Opp HalfRest of Season475.484.18285.279.38v Leicester71086.939981.2Opta
Rooney has this season been criticised for too frequently slowing down United’s tempo, and for congesting play by dropping into deeper, central positions in search of the ball, encroaching upon the space of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini. With Rooney benched, United made a far greater number of passes (with significantly more played in the opposite half), with pass accuracy also increasing.This is largely because, for perhaps the first time this season,United looked to have finally fielded a balanced midfield in the match against Leicester.
Paul Pogba was among the most improved.
Since signing for a world record £89.3 million fee, Mourinho has struggled to find Pogba's best position, instead crowbarring him into an unwieldy double pivot alongside Fellaini, with Rooney deployed just in front in the match against Watford Pogba remained in this position against Leicester, but with Juan Mata starting in the number 10 position ahead of Rooney, Pogba found himself with much more space to run into, delivering a vastly improved performance as a result. Mata's heatmap shows just how often the Spaniard was willing to flitto the wings to accommodate Pogba...
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