Manchester United vs. Wigan: What Blowout Win Means for United Going Forward

Manchester United received goals from players who do not normally feature on the score sheet against Wigan and Sir Alex Ferguson will have significantly more confidence in his reserves going forward.

The Red Devils went into the locker room at halftime tied 0-0. With Wayne Rooney still injured and Robin van Persie on the bench, this looked like a game where the Dutchman would be called on late to provide a winner.

After a frustrating first half without creative attacking players like Antonio Valencia, Shinji Kagawa and Tom Cleverley, United supporters had reason to doubt that the secondary players had the necessary sharpness to win this match without the support of the regular starters.

But Paul Scholes sparked his side just six minutes into the second half when Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi sprawled out to deflect a cross from Luis Nani, and the 38-year-old cleaned up the bouncing ball for United’s first goal.

United seemed a significantly more dangerous team after that, and Alexander Buttner and Javier Hernandez—both making their first Premier League start for the Red Devils—combined for the team’s next goal in the 63^rd minute.  

Buttner continued to give United an attacking presence from the left-back position that it had been lacking at times with Patrice Evra on the pitch, and with the confidence gained from his assist from just minutes earlier, he made a spectacular and determined run to get past three Wigan defenders and score the team’s next goal.

With three points securely in hand, Nick Powell made his debut memorable with a fantastic strike from outside the penalty area to make the victory even more impressive. 

Wigan seems destined for the bottom quarter of the table and faces serious danger of being relegated this season. Recording a 4-0 scoreline against the Latics is exactly what the Red Devils should have done. 

But Sir Alex trusted players like Hernandez and Buttner to provide United with enough firepower to lead a convincing victory. Their performance suggests that they are determined to compete for playing time, and that will motivate them to provide quality showings in matches such as this one.

The competition for spots in the starting 11 will ensure that the Red Devils will be dangerous when the first-choice players are kept on the bench. 

United will have to wait for matches against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to prove that it can beat the top teams, but this victory suggests that the Red Devils have the depth to avoid dropping points against the mediocre sides.

With players like Hernandez, Buttner and Powell determined to prove themselves to Ferguson, there will be more performances like this in the future.