Ángel Di María | Match Discussion thread 2014/15

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Chelsea - 26/10/2014

It was like watching Nani on a bad day.
 
Shame that he had an off day, with Fellaini as a target.

Does he need to play in a more central area?
 
Wasnt his best day, but felt he was better when switched over to the left side. In the 1st half all the action was with Januzaj, and Di Maria would have been better, but I suppose it was felt his defensive qualities were needed more with Rafa
 
I prefer him left of a midfield 3 or playing at the tip of a midfield 3. Having him there gives us someone who can pick the ball up in our own half and take it up to the final 3rd. He's the only player we have who can really do that.

What I'd like to see is him left of a midfield 3 or at the tip with Januzaj left of the front 3. I think it's the way forward but how to fit the 3 strikers? Play Rooney right of front 3 with Falcao or van Persie in the middle? Have all 3 interchanging?
 
Definitely better on the left or through the middle, his crosses from the left are more lethal. His set pieces can be all over the place sometimes, sometimes superb.
 
I'd prefer to see van Persie taking corners, have to say. Obviously want him as a threat in the box though as we don't have many. Di Maria seems to take better outswinging corners than inswinging too i've noticed.
 
Manchester City - 2/11/2014

Disappointing performance. His corners were very poor.

The left midfield position in a diamond is ideal for him, but does he fulfill the necessary defensive duties and/or can the formation be used against bigger teams? Or is the drop off in performance due to facing Ivanovic and Zabaleta?
 
Wasted out wide. His corners were quite good for most of the game, but really poor towards the end when good delivery was needed most.
 
Yeah corners were so poor towards the end. Big shame as Fellaini was winning most aerial battles today so it was probably our best hope of scoring.

On the diamond I think it's hard to know really whether van Gaal trusts the system, and Di Maria in that position, because we haven't had a fully fit or settled back 4. Perhaps once we get that he will trust the diamond and Di Maria at left centre midfield for games like this but I suppose at the minute his hands are tied somewhat and we have to tighten up a bit more in midfield.
 
Hopefully. If Herrera is fully fit it would make a difference too in terms of whether we use it or not. As I said before with that diamond Herrera and Di Maria are very important cogs as we don't really have direct replacements. Now that Carrick is back we've an alternative to Blind but I don't view Fletcher or Fellaini as direct replacements for either Di Maria and Herrera the way we were using them in the diamond. Perhaps Herrera's absence has been another reason why we haven't been using the diamond of late.
 
Crystal Palace - 08/11/2014

Finding it tough out wide, has been pretty poor the last couple of games. The lack of movement around him doesn't help but I really do feel we need him in a central area.
 
I would like to see him in the number 10 role tbh. We need some pace and better movement up front tho.
 
He needs to play deeper and central, get him picking the ball up on halfway and driving forward, Rooney can do it now and again but Di Maria can do it multiple times during a game. We can pass the ball around in midfield all day, we need someone to bring the ball forward. Problem then though is where to fit Rooney in? The diamond was ideal for playing our best players in their best positions. Seems like van Gaal was unhappy with the balance of the team with that formation though. If Di Maria plays centrally, who plays wide? we don't have anyone else.
 
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JSNFRMN_MUFC said:
If Di Maria plays centrally, who plays wide? we don't have anyone else.
Click to expand...

That's the problem, if we stick with 4-3-3 we have to play with Di Maria out wide. Januzaj too, even though he's been below par for a few games now. Hard to know whether we persist with it, but it's a bit of a mess of a situation considering it's the third different system we've tried this season. Diamond worked best for me out of the three, we're always going to be suspect at the back this season I feel no matter what system we use, but at least with the diamond we looked a real threat going forward and were creating plenty of chances.
 
He wasn't great. He tried too hard.

I want to see him play in midfield/central areas.
 
Yeovil Town - 4/1/2015

Great to have him back. The goal was evidence of what we miss without him... PACE!
 
Leicester City - 31/1/2015

Shot when he should have passed and passed when he should have shot, tried and failed with so many through balls and didnt really look before trying to pass. He seems to have gone backwards and I dont think the LVG style of play suits him at all
 
I got the feeling that there was a lack of understanding between him and the others, he was making passes that players weren't reading, this is perhaps highlighted in his much lower pass success rate. Just on a different wavelength to others I feel at the moment, earlier in the season, he and Rooney looked good together. I think he'll come good, needs to be kept in one position, the use of him as a striker needs to end. Playing at the tip of the diamond isn't his best position either, it's much better than upfront but needs to be on left of diamond in my opinion, thought maybe he wasn't playing there because he's not trusted defensively but then Januzaj was picked on left of diamond today so not really sure. Great at getting up and down the pitch. A positive from him today was that he completed the 90 and didn't look tired. Something he's struggled with this season which is maybe why he wasn't picked on the left of the diamond.

Still a lot of unanswered questions all around.
 
Mixed performance, for me. He was a threat and helped to set a higher tempo, but sloppiness at crucial times and the lack of an end product was disappointing.
 
If he carries on like this for the rest of the season and PSG will give us our money back it should be considered. I feel like I've dreamt his first few games here. Maybe this is a bit premature and it doesn't help that the 2 players infront have been poor and we are playing one striker and one winger in central midfield.
 
I thought Di Maria was awful today although he has not been great for some time. I can see him leaving in the summer
 
Looks a different player to the one we saw at the start of the season, enthusiasm looks to have gone. Careless is probably the best word to describe how he's been. Not just in his play but his demeanour too. Something is clearly bothering him.
 
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