On Manchester United: What we learned from their 3-1 win over Celtic

So it's been a while since I wrote anything on my favorite club, so it's time to check back in with the Red Devils. They played their season opener in a friendly against Celtic yesterday and won 3-1. Let's take a look at what I saw in this friendly match, good and bad:

1. Dimitar Berbatov: He's really freaking good. Man U fans have taken to using Berbatov as a scapegoat for any and every misfortune of the club. He does have a sort of poor scoring record (29 goals in 86 appearences) but Man U fans have to face the fact that sometimes goals don't dictate how valuable a striker is to the team.

Let me tell you right now, the players love Berbatov. Darren Fletcher came out before the match and was talking up Berbatov, stating that he was a key leader on the team. Berbatov is also the perfect antithesis to Rooney. Rooney is all hot-headed desperation and power, Berbatov is all modesty, grace, and finesse.

Fans don't like him because they claim he doesn't look like he's trying. What I saw yesterday was not a man who was not expending effort, what I saw was a man who was so skilled that he just didn't need to expend that much effort. One of the commentators said that Berbatov looked like he had "hands on his feet" his ball control was so expertly handled, and it's shocking how true that statement is. His play is so subtle, his position so well timed, that he just looks like he's barely trying. But if you could read his mind, you'd know of his genius.

And we saw just how valuable Berbatov can be in yesterday's game. They scored 3 goals right? Berbatov assited two and scored the other one. One assist was a back heel, the other was a perfectly weighted, selfless pass across the goal box to a budding Danny Welbeck. His goal was an absolutely flawless one. He deadend a bouncing ball with the heel of his foot, then in his second touch, pinwheeled his entire body and swung his leg straight through the ball, sending it careening unflichingly into the side-netting.

Berbatov is an important part of this team. Because let's face it, Rooney can't play in every goddamn game. They tried it last season and he got hurt. Ferguson needs to warm up to the idea of resting Rooney and letting Berbatov take matches that won't be as challenging, the Hull City, the West Ham, the Wigan Athletic.

Berbatov showed just how valuable he is to this organization, and hopefully Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Man U fans, have loosened the noose around his neck.

2. Youngsters. This is a Manchester United team with a lot of budding young star power. Danny Welbeck, Chris Smalling, Gabriel Obertan, the Brazilian twin full backs Fabio and Rafael, Federico Macheda, Tom Cleverly, the list goes on. Let's go through some of the key younger guys from that list and talk about how they looked yesterday.

Danny Welbeck. Welbeck is an important part of this team for a number of reasons. He's a speedster, which is something that every team needs for a 75 minute substitution when a game is tied up and you know that their back line is exhausted. He's an English national, and that always helps with the fan base at home. And he's just a really hyped up player. Yesterday, Welbeck scored, which is awesome. And he looked hungry for the goal which is also awesome. I still think Ferguson is going to want some more looks at little Danny before he decides if this will be his go to guy for a shot in the arm in the second half when they just can't get the breakthrough against Arsenal.

Chris Smalling. This guy is really important. Rio Ferdinand was injured again in the World Cup and has proved that he is probably not going to be a consistant starter and may not even be a 90 minute player anymore. So knowing that Smalling will be there to pick up the slack will be key for United. Yesterday, I was impressed with Smalling's football IQ, he seemed to know what to do at all times and seemed to have a lot of confidence. However, he did commit a terrible foul in the 18 yard box that led to Celtic's only goal off a penalty, so Fergie is probably still a little wary on him and could be looking at the other young central defender Johnny Evans, who had a great game.

Gabriel Obertan. This was the young player of the game for United, in my eyes. Obertan was brought in as attempt to smooth the creases after Ronaldo was transfered to Real Madrid two seasons ago. And in this game, Obertan showed that he could be just as creative and explosive as Ronaldo. Obertan was was giving it his all on every play, possessed an extremely creative flare, and also seemed to have a cutting edge for finishing. Fergie could be considering Obertan as a starter in place of Nani, another player brought in to try and replace Ronaldo.

Federico Macheda. The 19 year old Italian came into the match in the 75th minute and did what he does best, he created chances. He didn't score one, but he definitely was in around the goal when he needed ot be there and didn't look like he had his head up his ass like some fans have claimed that he does when comes into a game. He will be a real option late in the game for United if they need a breakthrough.

These are the things I took from Man U's opening game against Celtic. Did you see something you wanted to bring up? Comment!