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Monday, September 29, 2008

Praise from Patrice

He’s back.

Short and sweet, perhaps, but Patrice Evra’s summation of Cristiano Ronaldo will be enough to make opposition defenders quake in their boots.

Against Bolton on Saturday Ronaldo scored one and set up the other as United cruised to a 2-0 victory in his first league start of the season.

“Ronny scored against Middlesbrough [in the Carling Cup] and he’s now scored against Bolton,” Evra told MUTV.

“He’s getting better and we’d like him to be fit for every game. He had a big injury over the summer but now he’s looking more like the player we saw last season. Ronny’s back.”

The Reds’ no.7 wasn’t the only player to come in for praise from United’s left-back. Evra also singled out Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and new team-mate Dimitar Berbatov after Saturday’s win.

“Rooney and Scholes had a big impact [when they came off the bench],” Evra said. “Scholesy played a few long passes and opened up the game, while Wayne scored and did his job very well.

"Berba is great to play with. As a defender you can pass the ball to his feet early and you know he has a good touch.

“He needs to play a lot of games as it’s a new team for him. But he’s a good player and everybody will help him so he can give his best for Manchester United.”
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English Premier League September 28, 2008 Standing

2008/2009 English Premiership
Overall Home Away
GPWDLGSGAWDLGSGAWDLGSGAGDP
1 Chelsea 6 4 2 0 12 3 1 2 0 6 2 3 0 0 6 1 9 14
2 Liverpool 6 4 2 0 7 2 2 1 0 4 2 2 1 0 3 0 5 14
3 Aston Villa 6 4 1 1 12 8 2 1 0 6 3 2 0 1 6 5 4 13
4 Arsenal 6 4 0 2 12 4 2 0 1 5 2 2 0 1 7 2 8 12
5 West Ham 6 4 0 2 13 10 3 0 0 9 3 1 0 2 4 7 3 12
6 Hull 6 3 2 1 9 11 1 1 1 4 8 2 1 0 5 3 -2 11
7 Blackburn 6 3 1 2 8 12 1 1 1 2 5 2 0 1 6 7 -4 10
8 Man City 6 3 0 3 16 9 2 0 1 10 3 1 0 2 6 6 7 9
9 Portsmouth 6 3 0 3 7 12 2 0 1 4 2 1 0 2 3 10 -5 9
10 Wigan 6 2 2 2 9 5 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 6 2 4 8
11 Man Utd 5 2 2 1 6 4 1 1 0 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 8
12 West Brom 6 2 1 3 6 7 1 0 2 5 6 1 1 1 1 1 -1 7
13 Sunderland 6 2 1 3 6 8 1 0 2 2 4 1 1 1 4 4 -2 7
14 Everton 6 2 1 3 9 13 0 0 3 2 8 2 1 0 7 5 -4 7
15 Fulham 5 2 0 3 5 6 2 0 1 4 3 0 0 2 1 3 -1 6
16 Middlesbrough 6 2 0 4 6 9 2 0 1 4 3 0 0 3 2 6 -3 6
17 Bolton 6 1 1 4 5 9 1 1 1 4 4 0 0 3 1 5 -4 4
18 Stoke 6 1 1 4 7 12 1 0 2 5 7 0 1 2 2 5 -5 4
19 Newcastle 6 1 1 4 5 11 1 0 2 3 4 0 1 2 2 7 -6 4
20 Tottenham 6 0 2 4 4 9 0 1 2 2 4 0 1 2 2 5 -5 2
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Aalborg adopt 'underdogs' tag

Aalborg defender Michael Beauchamp admits his side are massive underdogs going into tomorrow night's Champions League clash with United.

The reigning champions of Europe visit the Danish champions on Tuesday evening aiming to get a first Group E win on the board, and Beauchamp is realistic about his side's chances of springing an upset.

"This is huge, awaiting a clash with Manchester United," said the Australian defender. "They are big favourites and strictly speaking our chances of winning are minimal. Instead we're viewing this match primarily as a great experience."

Beauchamp is fortunate to be able to face United, having been sent off in his side's opening match at Celtic for an offence committed by team-mate Michael Jakobsen.

UEFA subsequently overturned the decision and applied the ban to Jakobsen, allowing Beauchamp to line up for what he terms his 'dream match'.

"Luckily everything has been put to rights," he said. "Apart from the referee, everyone could see it wasn't me but Michael Jakobsen who made the challenge.

"Thankfully AaB appealed and now I'm available for a dream match which my parents are flying over from Australia for."
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Reds set off for Denmark

Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves did not travel with the rest of the Reds squad, who set off for Denmark on Monday morning.

The Reds face Aalborg in the Champions League on Tuesday night and Sir Alex has taken an otherwise strong 20-man squad with him.

Sir Alex said on Saturday that Owen Hargreaves felt a recurrence of the knee injury that has hampered his United career.

Reds skipper Neville came through the weekend's 2-0 win over Bolton seemingly unscathed, but his absence from the squad will see Wes Brown return to right-back.

Aalborg are the unknown quantity in Group E. However, the Danish champions, managed by Bruce Rioch, earned an impressive point in Glasgow on Matchday 1 with a goalless draw at Celtic.

Rioch can boast two 1-0 home wins against United during spells in charge at Middlesbrough and Arsenal, but he also lost by the same scoreline in both return fixtures at OT.

The Reds have never played Aalborg before, but Sir Alex's men have met other Danish sides in recent years, including Brondby in 1998/99 and FC Copenhagen in 2006/07, where United were defeated 1-0 on the last visit to the country in November 2006.

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Fletch wary of Aalborg threat

Aalborg do not boast a squad of household names, but Darren Fletcher says United won't underestimate their Danish opponents ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group E clash.

The Reds flew out to Denmark on Monday morning intent on securing a first European victory of the campaign. Group E remains all square following two goalless draws between United and Villarreal, and Celtic and Aalborg.

Fletcher feels the Danes will be buoyed by their point at Parkhead and warns that the Reds must tread carefully.

"Aalborg may not to be a familiar name, but there are no mugs in the Champions League. They'll still be a top side," he told ManUtd.com. "A lot of people have already discounted them, but the fact that the pressure is off might help them. It's a game that we'll have to be on top form for if we're to get the three points."

Following a somewhat slow start, the Reds have begun to find their form of late with a draw at Chelsea, a Carling Cup victory over Middlesbrough and a second league win of the season against Bolton.

Fletcher hopes a win on Tuesday will kick-start the Reds' Champions League campaign. "The longer you go without a win the more worrying it becomes," he admits. "It was a good performance against Villarreal, we just didn't get the result to match it.

"The 0-0 draw between Aalborg and Celtic was good for us, especially considering Celtic's excellent home record. Aalborg will take great confidence from that, but it's important we win in Denmark and get things going."
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I'm so sorry

Bolton are set to receive an apology from referee Rob Styles for the astonishing penalty mistake he made at Old Trafford. The official has asked his superiors at his governing body, the PGMOL, to pass on his regret at awarding Manchester United a spot-kick when Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly tackled fairly by Jlloyd Samuel on Saturday. It is the second time in just over a year that Styles has had to apologise for a penalty error after pointing to the spot at Anfield in August last season when Liverpool full back Steve Finnan collided with Chelsea's Florent Malouda. That decision proved crucial as it allowed Chelsea to draw the match 1-1 and the referee was dropped as a result. He was temporarily demoted again after awarding Birmingham a soft penalty against Manchester City in March. Styles' latest significant mistake may also have changed the game, as Bolton were holding on with the match goalless when the kick was awarded and converted on the hour. United went on to win 2-0.
Leo Spall, Daily Mail Read more...