Falcao is back, and Manchester United's forward line looks terrifying
The rest of the league's worst nightmare is coming true.
On Boxing Day, Radamel Falcao turned in his best performance in a Manchester United
shirt, finally looking a player worth his massive wages. He may not
have scored a goal, but he provided a great assist for his team's first
and won the ball to start the move for their second in the 3-1 win over
Newcastle.
Falcao's biggest problem to
date has seemingly been his fitness. It's likely he rushed back from
knee surgery too quickly in a bid to make Colombia's World Cup squad and
hasn't been quite right since. Just three weeks ago, Louis van Gaal said that Falcao could only play for 20 minutes and came off as critical of his expensive forward.
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Even when Falcao's gotten on
the pitch for United this season, his off-the-ball work wasn't nearly as
impressive as it had been in previous seasons, whether that was due to
fitness issues or a lack of familiarity with his teammates. But Friday
his movement was spectacular, and he appeared to have an excellent
understanding with Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. The trio pulled Newcastle's defense apart regularly, creating chances and a few easy goals.
This looked like the real
Falcao, not the shell of a great player that's been limping around since
May. The conventional response to this signing was that it was a risk,
but if he could get back to full fitness and discover his best form, it
would be an absolute coup for United.
Friday's game against Newcastle
is a sample size of just one, but it may signal that United's risk paid
off. For the first time this season United's formidable striking trio
were all fit and looked like they had an excellent understanding of how
to play with each other -- a terrifying sight for the rest of the
Premier League.
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