Humiliation: Assistant manager Ryan Giggs has his head in his hands near the end of the game as Louis van Gaal fails to get off the winning mark at MK Dons
Di Maria is supposed to lift spirits as well as add quality to a squad which has struggled in the opening games of the season under Van Gaal, but morale was, to say the least, not helped by what happened here on Tuesday night.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILVKKgi6Ij4
With no European distractions, it might have been a competition in which he would field a strong team and attempt to iron out some of the problems which have blighted his opening games in the role.
They might have taken confidence against a side from League One, but with a few injuries to nurse, Van Gaal treated this partly as an experience for young fringe players and partly as a shop-window opportunity for those he wouldn’t mind selling to help the club offset the Di Maria fee.
Instead, the star names were rested with Burnley in mind. There were 10 changes from the team which drew at Sunderland, on Sunday, and those seeking to impress Van Gaal and potential buyers started with purpose.
But it did not last long for Shinji Kagawa, who tried to continue after taking an early bang in the face but was replaced after just 20 minutes by Adnan Januzaj.
Perhaps this was the first evidence of the new Barclays Premier League’s post-Lloris concussion rules starting to influence the touchline thought process of medics and coaches.
The return of Evans from injury was a more encouraging sign for United, who still lack options in defence.
At least it was until the 25th minute, when terrible carelessness by Evans in defence presented the ball to Reeves, who took David de Gea out of the equation with a cut-back to Grigg, who slid the ball into an open goal.
It was reward for the way MK Dons refused to be ruffled by an energetic United start, when the pace of Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez caused a few problems and Nick Powell, playing his first United game for 20 months, threatened around the edge of the penalty area.
Powell went close in the opening minutes, sweeping over with his left foot from 20 yards, and closer still nine minutes after his team had gone behind from a similar distance, but slowly the home team settled, enjoyed decent spells of possession and put United under occasional pressure.
Karl Robinson’s team have for some years been one of the better footballing teams in the lower leagues. The philosophy is engrained.
Confidence spread after Northern Ireland international Grigg had fired them ahead and the Milton Keynes crowd serenaded Van Gaal with: ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’.
Dons teenager Dele Alli, strong and composed in central midfield, showed why many Premier League clubs are monitoring his progress. By the time the interval arrived, the home team were in control, United’s strikers had been neutralised and Van Gaal was deep in tense conversation with Ryan Giggs.
United flickered after the break but there was no great change. Welbeck fired wide from distance but at the other end, De Gea was required to save from sub Daniel Powell.
Then Grigg pounced for his second and Afobe sprinted clear to collect another pass from the excellent Reeves to slide the third past De Gea.
Afobe then added a fourth, finishing with his left foot after tearing through United’s defence past Vermijl, Evans and Pereira to score with five mins left.
It sparked celebrations in the stadium mk, where they will always live under the ignominy of their controversial creation.
Little more than a decade ago there was no team in Milton Keynes and many of the locals filled the void by supporting Manchester United.
On Tuesday night this largely unpopular club beat the world’s most popular and they deserved it.
source: dailymail.co.uk
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 