There has been a lot written about Javier Hernandez recently, but his two goals in the comeback against Braga have pushed him back into the minds of many Reds, as well as Sir Alex Ferguson.
He seemed like a man possessed on Tuesday night, hunting down every ball, working even harder than usual to ensure he does not get forgotten about as the Van Persie/Rooney combination starts to impress.
With the abundance of striking talent we have leaned towards playing one main striker, leaving the young Mexican on the outside looking in.
Talk of a move away from Old Trafford in January or next summer has even begun, with Hernandez spoken of as a possible replacement for Radamel Falcao, should the Columbian move on and there has also been talk of Italian clubs showing interest.
I have read many reasons as to why ‘Chicharito’ should be sold, most of them ridiculous; from the fact he has to travel great distances with Mexico for international games to his poor all round (a point made even more ridiculous after his performance on Tuesday).
It is true that we have the likes of Will Keane coming through (although injured for the long-term right now) and who would argue if the 24-year-old was used as a makeweight should we try to sign Falcao ourselves?
But in my opinion it really is a no-brainer that he should stay.
Have these people already forgotten about his 20 goals in his debut season, many of them very important ones. He even managed 13 last term when he really struggled to get into the first-team plans.
This year, Hernandez seems different. I am sure spending so much time on the bench last season will have hurt, and we can see he does not like it.
Hernandez has looked much improved, he’s always worked hard but he seems ready to go that extra yard into the channel, and even think more about the timing of his runs (He would have had a hat-trick on Tuesday if the linesmen were any good).
I always like to see at least one of Hernandez or Danny Welbeck in the starting line-up. They are our only players who will stretch teams. They’re prepared to run in behind, even if it’s just a selfless run to create space for Rooney or Van Persie. We definitely miss that when they are absent and our play becomes slow and predictable.
Ferguson said himself that after Tuesday Hernandez reminded him of what he is about, and he may even have played himself into the starting line-up against Chelsea on Sunday.
The boss himself has not worked out how he wants us to play yet. He knows we can do 4-2-3-1, he also knows that we have excellent wingers and he’s even experimenting with a diamond now in an attempt to get the best out of Cleverley, Kagawa and Rooney in the same team.
Hernandez seems to have thrown another spanner in the works. Who is complaining though? Our attacking options haven’t looked so good in years.
If we could just stop conceding the first goal all the time…
Sir alex said that he has an headache for selecting striker for chelsea match so he can try in 4-2-1-3 system: de gea,rafael,rio,evans,evra,cleversly,carrick or anderson,rooney and he get the three striker available welbeck in left,chicharito and van persie right.