Antonio Valencia put in a shift on Sunday. Actually, all the Ecuadorian ever seems to do is put in shifts.
That is by no means a bad thing but he must wonder, at times, how he ended up as a right back when he was purchased by Alex Ferguson as a winger.
The 30-year-old, who often plays centre midfield for his country, kept Matteo Darmian out of the Manchester United side for the derby clash against City.
His main job was to neutralise Raheem Sterling and keep an eye on Aleksandar Kolarov. He ticked both of those boxes and supported Juan Mata in attack when he could.
A good, solid shift.
However, the very selection of Valencia over the more ambitious, impulsive Darmian did not go down with many United fans. His inclusion hinted at a conservative approach that played true until the closing moments of a dry game of football.
Valencia limped off with a foot injury with less than 10 minutes on the clock in the 0-0 draw, and may sit out Wednesday’s League Cup meeting with Middlesbrough.
Post-match, Valencia’s Instagram account had a new, and somewhat bizarre posting.
He may have been quoting some criticism directed towards him or someone close to ‘Toni’ has the log-in details.
