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With less than 90 seconds to go in the first half, debutant Marouane Fellaini attempted a cheeky pass towards the left wing intended for the charging Patrice Evra. The ball, however, was under hit and Bayer Leverkusen started a quick counter attack from their own half. It was the exact situation that their manager Sami Hyypia would have drawn up, an opportunity on a transition to open up United, but seconds after the giveaway, Fellaini stepped into Sidney Sam and immediately won the ball back, fairly, and with so much force that the German fell to the ground. Thirteen seconds later, Shinji Kagawas effort on goal deflected wide for a corner, after Manchester United, not their opponents, triggered a counter attack immediately in a transition, thanks to the strength and positioning of Fellaini. Welcome to the Champions League, where midfield superiority and clinical transitions are vital to success. Welcome also to the Champions League group stage, Fellaini and his manager David Moyes, who both came away from Manchester Uniteds 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night with top marks. Moyes had spent much of Mondays press conference deflecting questions about his lack of experience at this level and, when he finished talking, he went about setting up a team he felt were built to play at the highest level of club football. Chris Smalling, for Fabio at right back, Fellaini, for Anderson in midfield, and Kagawa, for Ashley Young on the left, were the three changes from Saturdays win against Crystal Palace and all three made a significant difference to Uniteds identity. Smalling is a very good defender in a 1x1 situation and with Antonio Valencia playing ahead of him, with a flexible, less rigid, front three, there was little need for him to get forward often. In big games he should play this role more for both club and country. Kagawa was deployed on the left of midfield but did not spend the match hogging the touchline. His first start of the season lasted 70 minutes and it was clear United had missed his brain in the first month of the campaign. His tactical understanding meant he could interchange with Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in attack, as both forwards enjoy moving to the flanks, while dropping deep to help on the left defensively when not in possession. His performance was influenced in part by Fellaini, as were many of the Manchester United players. Fellainis positioning as the left sided central midfielder means he was often the central figure in a defensive trio, involving Evra and Kagawa, in closing down any threats down the right. Sam and Emre Can, two of Leverkusens brightest young players, for the majority of the match were very ineffective on the right flank. Fellainis presence inside Manchester Uniteds midfield is sure to make Evra and Kagawa better, as he did with Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines at Everton (even though he played higher up the pitch more at Goodison, he still dropped in to cover on the left a lot). Fellainis style, which sees him win more balls than a Tom Cleverley for example, needs partnerships so he can ignite teams transitions and find key outlets, and the trio combined very well considering it was their first game together. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) The new partnerships will take time to grow and it was no surprise that the visitors first goal of the game came when Evra was up field and Fellaini had to step in at left back to replace him. This allowed Sam to sprint deep into Uniteds final third, in space usually occupied by the Belgian, before crossing a ball in that came out to Simon Rolfes to power home an equalizer. By playing Fellaini on the left, the excellent Michael Carrick is able to play on the right centrally, and six minutes after allowing the 1-1 goal, United took the lead for good when the Englishman sprayed a trademark ball out wide for Valencia to run on to, and then cross into the box for Van Persie to volley home. It was a goal that showed Uniteds style, while evolving under Moyes, remains very direct, with width, which is how they looked so often under Sir Alex Ferguson. Two goals would follow that came from fast breaks inside their own half, again following the theme of quick counter attacks, and the goals will delight Moyes who spoke on Saturday about the need for his team to ensure their domination is reflected in the score. The big lead allowed Moyes to bring Fellaini off to a standing ovation. His passing alongside his partner Carrick was outstanding, as the central midfielders were the only two players to complete more than 50 passes. Not only does their relationship take the pressure off Carrick to be the main guardian of the gates for Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, it also allows him to pick his moments to move forward and showcase his ability to make a key pass (he was 17 of 24 with passes in the final third). (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) However, it was Fellainis role without the ball that United desperately needed, an ability to win key aerial battles (which he did four times), make successful clearances, interceptions and, above else, ball recoveries to help ignite those transitions: (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) Moyes spoke Monday about what he felt he needed to do to win Champions League games, despite not managing in them once the group stage had started. Midfield dominance, transitions and an old pal from his Everton days means so far so good for Uniteds new gaffer. St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . Then he got back at the team that released him five days before the start of last season, hitting a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning of the first game at Fenway Park since Boston won the World Series last October. Dexter Fowler Jersey . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/car...-musial-jersey/. According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. Red Schoendienst Jersey . In the last race before the Sochi Olympics, Bjoergen followed up her win in the 10-kilometre classical race on Saturday by beating World Cup sprint leader Denise Herrmann of Germany by 0.43 seconds for her fifth victory of the season. Steve Carlton Jersey . - Suspended Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon has voluntarily checked into a treatment facility and seems to be doing well.Not so fast, college football offences. A proposed change by the NCAA rules committee would prohibit offences from snapping the ball until at least 10 seconds had run off the 40-second play clock, slowing down the up-tempo, no-huddle attacks that have been making defences dizzy. The rule allows defences time to make a substitution without the offence changing players -- as is currently required -- and with no fear the ball will be snapped before 29 seconds are left on the play clock. An exception will be made for the final two minutes of each half, when the offence can snap the ball as quickly as it wants. "This rules change is being made to enhance student-athlete safety by guaranteeing a small window for both teams to substitute," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, chair of the football rules committee, said in a statement Wednesday. "As the average number of plays per game has increased, this issue has been discussed with greater frequency by the committee in recent years and we felt like it was time to act in the interests of protecting our student-athletes." The committee also proposed a change to the targeting rule that would eliminate the 15-yard penalty when instant replay officials overturn an ejection. Last year, when a targeting penalty was called, the 15-yard penalty stood even if the replay official determined the player should be allowed to stay in the game. Both proposals need approval from the playing rules oversight panel, which is schedule to consider them on March 6. The proposal to slow down offences will have a hard time passing if the many coaches who run up-tempo these days have anything to say about it. "Its ridiculous," said Arizonas Rich Rodriguez, who has been at the forefront of the fast football trend. "For me it goes back to the fundamental rules of football. The offence knows where they are going and when they are going to snap the ball. Thats their advantage. The defence is allowed to move all 11 guys before the ball is snapped. Thats their advantage. "Whats next? You can only have three downs? If you play that extra down you have more chance of injury." Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze said he found about the proposal when he got a phone call from Auburns Gus Malzahn, a fellow advocate of up-tempo offence. "I said, Yall are kidding me. Thats not true," Freeeze told Malzahn.dddddddddddd. This is a non-rules change year for the NCAA, but exceptions can be made for rules that affect player safety. There was much discussion about the pace of the game last season, with some coaches -- most notably Alabamas Nick Saban and Arkansas Bret Bielema -- questioning whether something needed to be done to slow down offences. Safety concerns were cited because of the increased number of plays. The fastest-moving teams -- such as Arizona and Ole Miss -- average more than 80 plays per game. Texas Tech led the country with 90.3 plays per game last season. Arkansas ran 64.7 plays per game, 121 out of 125 FBS teams. Alabama was at 65.9, 116th in the country. Freeze said he was skeptical of the health risks presented by up-tempo offence because hes never seen any data to support the claim. "I would think they would have some type of study that proves that," he said. Rodriguez has been pushing the pace with his teams for more than two decades and doesnt buy safety concerns. "If that was the case wouldnt every team that went fast in practice have more injuries?" he said. The committee said "10 seconds provides sufficient time for defensive player substitutions without inhibiting the ability of an offence to play at a fast pace. Research indicated that teams with fast-paced, no-huddle offences rarely snap the ball with 30 seconds or more on the play clock." Freeze and Rodriguez both said their offences rarely get plays off within 10 seconds of the ball being spotted. "If they say its not occurring anyway, why put in a rule?" Freeze said. "I just dont really understand what we gain from this rule other than a chance to create more chaos." Its not just the up-tempo coaches who voiced their disapproval with the proposal. "I just spent two days at Big Ten meetings and it wasnt even brought up," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. "It doesnt make sense to me." The Scarlet Knights ranked 84th in the country in plays per game (71). Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville, a former defensive co-ordinator whose team averaged 78 plays per game (28th in the nation), said the proposal was never discussed during last months American Football Coaches of Association convention. "This came out of left field," he said. "Its wrong." 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