“It’s a time to show guts and courage,” said Gary Neville in the Sky Sports studio upon seeing the swelling over Antonio Valencia’s left eye.
It was an admirable if disconcerting effort for the Manchester United winger to play on for so long – almost to the 77 minute mark – after suffering a serious blow to the head in the early stages. But there’s more than one type of bravery in football. And Ryan Giggs showed plenty of the kind that really counted on Wednesday evening at Old Trafford.
David Moyes’ United have wilted under pressure at various times this season. The late heroics of the Sir Alex Ferguson era have given way to late equalisers against Southampton, Cardiff and Fulham. There were even late defeats at home to Everton and Swansea. Most spectacularly, there was the Capital One Cup semi-final shootout against Sunderland and the surrender to Liverpool.
Confidence then, has been an issue. Nerves are fragile. But that’s not such a problem when you’re approaching 1000 appearances for the club with 13 Premier League trophies and a couple of Champions League medals to your name. Crucially, Giggs is a player not afraid to risk the ire of the crowd with an ambitious pass. He has earned the right to take those chances.
The veteran Welshman had a sub-70 per cent pass completion rate in the first half – among the lowest of anyone on the park. He surrendered possession of the ball 14 times in the match, occasionally trying to be too cute with a lofted ball to a team-mate. There was the odd groan, of course. But these are broad shoulders and this is a man with complete belief in himself. Giggs never eschews the opportunity to play that pass.
There was early evidence of its potency when he threaded a delicious ball through for Danny Welbeck to run onto. Then there was a piercing cross that Wayne Rooney headed against the foot of the near post. The casually stroked pass out wide to the full-back has become a familiar trait of this United team under Moyes, but Giggs is prepared to look forward with real purpose. “They had somebody in the middle of the park with the ability to pass the ball forward,” said Neville. “United haven’t played too many passes forward in the last few weeks.”
Sublime
Importantly, with Giggs in the team, the strikers knew that the through-ball was now a possibility. So when the ball was with him they got on the move. That’s what happened for the sequence of play that led to the opening goal when a sublime long-range pass found Robin van Persie in space. “He doesn’t make that movement if the ball’s not on Ryan Giggs’ foot,” said Jamie Redknapp. One dumb Jose Holebas foul later and United had the penalty - and the momentum.