Forget Fellaini and start Schweinsteiger against Liverpool

Louis van Gaal returned to his antagonising form from earlier in the season when he expressed his disappointment with Manchester United fans for cheering the substitution of Marouane Fellaini against West Ham.

Van Gaal reasoned that “he performed well in our gameplan" but as many have noted on numerous occasions during his tenure, it is not clear what this means.

Fellaini’s flailing elbows and propensity to charge around the pitch like a headless chicken often render him akin to a windmill on wheels. This is reflected in his first half statistics against West Ham: he made zero tackles, no interceptions, blocks or clearances and he lost possession eleven times, more than any other Manchester United player.

This is par for the course for Fellaini’s contribution to the season. Up until mid-January, when he had been starting regularly, there had been seven defeats in all competitions, all of which featured Fellaini.

However, the team at that point had an unbeaten record in games not featuring Fellaini. In the league, that translated to 2.4 points per game without him but just 0.9 points per game with him.

It is, therefore, confounding to hear Van Gaal state that “Fellaini played, again, a good match.” Moreover, the man that replaced him, Bastian Schweinsteiger, had a positive impact and his influence in midfield has been missed – despite his form not reaching his Bayern Munich levels.

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The team’s loss ratio more than doubles when Schweinsteiger is absent, suggesting that he contributes to a solid midfield pivot. This is not something that Fellaini can attest to and his fumbling presence should be replaced by Schweinsteiger for the Europa League second leg against Liverpool.

Manchester United cannot afford another poor start in the game; it is imperative that the team starts well otherwise Liverpool could be out of sight early on. Schweinsteiger is a vocal presence on the pitch, which is particularly important when the team contains as many youngsters as it currently does.

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Matching Liverpool’s pressing is important and this is an area where Fellaini consistently falls short, whereas Schweinsteiger is a more effective ball-winner. Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin would be a robust midfield pairing. as both are astute players in terms of reading the game and making interceptions, which will help with disrupting Liverpool’s flow.

Vitally, the German World Cup winner has a huge edge over Fellaini when it comes to distribution and range of passing. If United are to impose themselves on the game in a way that was completely missing from the first leg, Schweinsteiger should start. He may not be able to go the distance but he can help the team get a foothold in the game early on and build confidence.