Bolton [0 - 1] Manchester United
90' [0 - 1] D. Berbatov
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Saturday, January 17, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Manchester United Vs. Wigan Athletic Result Report
United moved second in the table and just two points behind league leaders Liverpool with an unspectacular victory against Wigan Athletic, a battle which was over no sooner than it had started thanks to a first-minute strike from Wayne Rooney.
Sir Alex made five changes to the team that beat Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday. Rafael, John O’Shea, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Nani were all drafted in to replace Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Ji-sung Park.
Sunday’s victory took the Reds to within five points of league leaders Liverpool, fuelling Wigan’s visit to Old Trafford with a sense of purpose in the first of two games in hand on the Merseysiders. Steve Bruce’s men may be in flying form, but this was a chance United patently couldn’t afford to pass up.
Wigan are an altogether different proposition to Chelsea. But Sir Alex predicted his side could expect “an equally testing time”. But, when it came down to it, Wigan were like the Nicholas Cage action film: gone in 60 seconds. Less than a minute had elapsed when Dimitar Berbatov’s exquisite pass with the outside of his boot found Cristiano Ronaldo on the right. The Portuguese, who paraded his FIFA World Player of the Year award before kick-off, showed his class with a flurry of stepovers and a drilled pass across the face of goal that Wayne Rooney calmly tapped home.
It seemed like the perfect start. But that was soon tempered by Rooney’s departure from the field after just eight minutes. United’s goalscorer signalled to the bench that he could not continue, worryingly pointing to his hamstring, which is a to his hamstring, which is a notoriously temperamental injury.
Wigan’s powerful front man Emile Heskey had the visitor’s first shot on goal after 20 minutes. Amr Zaki teed up his strike partner’s headed flick on and Heskey fired wide.
By that point the game had become scrappy as United appeared settled on a lead and Wigan struggled to make headway in the final third. Rooney’s replacement, Carlos Tevez, had the best chance to add to the lead when he went clean through just after the half-hour mark. Wigan failed to deal with a loose ball and Tevez took the ball toward goal. He rounded Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, but he stumbled in doing so and Mario Melchiot recovered to make the tackle.
Melchiot again came to Wigan’s rescue with eight minutes to go in the half. The Latics couldn’t clear Nani’s ball into the box and Scholes pounced from 12 yards, but Melchiot was brave with his block. Scholes, whose presence anywhere within 40 yards of goal draws shouts of ‘SHOOT’ from the United faithful, had several shots blocked before they had the chance to ripple the net.
Despite the Reds’ fine start, this was far from United in full flight. Sir Alex didn’t want his side to settle on such a precarious lead, and with half-time approaching was soon out in the technical area making his point clear.
The second half began as scrappily and disjointed as the first had ended, but Wigan still had a menacing edge to their attacks. Jonny Evans did well to block a shot from Antonio Valencia, while Maynor Figueroa's well-struck volley was saved well by van der Sar, before a Valencia header went wide from close range.
The Old Trafford called for United to ‘attack, attack, attack’, and Sir Alex seemed to adhere by switching to a 4-3-3 formation when Anderson replaced Nani with half an hour remaining. Ronaldo pushed up alongside Berbatov and Tevez, but United's attacks were relatively blunt and Wigan were resolute.
Berbatov was unlucky with five minutes to go when a deft shot with the outside of his foot curled narrowly wide of the post. The Bulgarian can reflect on one of his better displays for the Reds, full of commitment and no shortage of class.
For United on the whole, however, this was a case of getting the job done. It may not have been particularly pretty, but points in the bag are all that matter as the title race ups a gear. And with top spot up for grabs, albeit maybe only temporarily, when United travel to Bolton on Saturday, this was mission accomplished.
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Sir Alex made five changes to the team that beat Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday. Rafael, John O’Shea, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Nani were all drafted in to replace Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Ji-sung Park.
Sunday’s victory took the Reds to within five points of league leaders Liverpool, fuelling Wigan’s visit to Old Trafford with a sense of purpose in the first of two games in hand on the Merseysiders. Steve Bruce’s men may be in flying form, but this was a chance United patently couldn’t afford to pass up.
Wigan are an altogether different proposition to Chelsea. But Sir Alex predicted his side could expect “an equally testing time”. But, when it came down to it, Wigan were like the Nicholas Cage action film: gone in 60 seconds. Less than a minute had elapsed when Dimitar Berbatov’s exquisite pass with the outside of his boot found Cristiano Ronaldo on the right. The Portuguese, who paraded his FIFA World Player of the Year award before kick-off, showed his class with a flurry of stepovers and a drilled pass across the face of goal that Wayne Rooney calmly tapped home.
It seemed like the perfect start. But that was soon tempered by Rooney’s departure from the field after just eight minutes. United’s goalscorer signalled to the bench that he could not continue, worryingly pointing to his hamstring, which is a to his hamstring, which is a notoriously temperamental injury.
Wigan’s powerful front man Emile Heskey had the visitor’s first shot on goal after 20 minutes. Amr Zaki teed up his strike partner’s headed flick on and Heskey fired wide.
By that point the game had become scrappy as United appeared settled on a lead and Wigan struggled to make headway in the final third. Rooney’s replacement, Carlos Tevez, had the best chance to add to the lead when he went clean through just after the half-hour mark. Wigan failed to deal with a loose ball and Tevez took the ball toward goal. He rounded Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, but he stumbled in doing so and Mario Melchiot recovered to make the tackle.
Melchiot again came to Wigan’s rescue with eight minutes to go in the half. The Latics couldn’t clear Nani’s ball into the box and Scholes pounced from 12 yards, but Melchiot was brave with his block. Scholes, whose presence anywhere within 40 yards of goal draws shouts of ‘SHOOT’ from the United faithful, had several shots blocked before they had the chance to ripple the net.
Despite the Reds’ fine start, this was far from United in full flight. Sir Alex didn’t want his side to settle on such a precarious lead, and with half-time approaching was soon out in the technical area making his point clear.
The second half began as scrappily and disjointed as the first had ended, but Wigan still had a menacing edge to their attacks. Jonny Evans did well to block a shot from Antonio Valencia, while Maynor Figueroa's well-struck volley was saved well by van der Sar, before a Valencia header went wide from close range.
The Old Trafford called for United to ‘attack, attack, attack’, and Sir Alex seemed to adhere by switching to a 4-3-3 formation when Anderson replaced Nani with half an hour remaining. Ronaldo pushed up alongside Berbatov and Tevez, but United's attacks were relatively blunt and Wigan were resolute.
Berbatov was unlucky with five minutes to go when a deft shot with the outside of his foot curled narrowly wide of the post. The Bulgarian can reflect on one of his better displays for the Reds, full of commitment and no shortage of class.
For United on the whole, however, this was a case of getting the job done. It may not have been particularly pretty, but points in the bag are all that matter as the title race ups a gear. And with top spot up for grabs, albeit maybe only temporarily, when United travel to Bolton on Saturday, this was mission accomplished.
Read more...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Manchester United Vs. Chelsea Match Report
At the start of a crucial week in United’s season, the Reds sent out a defiant message of intent with an impressive 3-0 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov scored the goals on a weekend where United got under the skin of both major title rivals.
United, who started the match eight points behind league leaders Liverpool, could feasibly be top of the table by the time Liverpool play their next league fixture, a difficult Merseyside derby a week on Monday. That would require United also beating Wigan on Wednesday at home, and Bolton Wanderers away next weekend. But phase one – beating Chelsea – was comfortably completed on Sunday.
The chaotically congested first half to the season required laying of foundations, and if a game against Chelsea early in 2009 wasn’t enough to announce that the title race really is gathering pace, Rafael Benitez’s bizarre rant on Friday lit the blue touchpaper ahead of a significant weekend in the Premier League calendar. Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Stoke City presented United – and Chelsea, of course – with the chance to really pressure the league leaders.
For Sir Alex, Rio Ferdinand’s absence was a disruption, but the able Jonny Evans again deputised for Rio, who has missed four matches prior to this clash. Michael Carrick was a surprise omission, kept on the bench with Ryan Giggs starting in the centre of midfield alongside Darren Fletcher. But the Welshman was hugely influential.
Sir Alex predicted in his programme notes that he didn’t expect a goal frenzy, and the early exchanges suggested as much with few clear chances. Chelsea postured with possession football, while United hinted at an intent to break sharply from midfield with Giggs and Park’s surging runs.
On 22 minutes United claimed a penalty when Ashley Cole handled Ronaldo’s cross. But the linesman signalled a free-kick instead, which television replays seemed to support, and Petr Cech was forced to punch clear Ronaldo’s inswinging shot. Another set-piece two minutes later from the Portuguese – this time after Deco’s foul on Rooney – was deflected wide.
Howard Webb seemed determined to be at the top of the bill, needlessly brandishing four bookings in the first half an hour, which merely served to increase the tension on an already high-pressure encounter. Disappointingly there were more yellow cards than clear scoring opportunities in the first half. One of United’s best fell to Dimitar Berbatov after half an hour, but his scuffed left-foot shot caused Cech little bother.
United looked more and more threatening as the half progressed. Park was unlucky when a good move involving Giggs, Berbatov and Ronaldo created space for the Korean to shoot, but his attempt was blocked by John Terry.
The Reds were denied a perfectly legitimate goal at the end of the first half when a clever corner routine between Rooney and Giggs proved too clever for the officials. Rooney rolled the ball out of the ‘D’, but pretended that he was leaving the corner for Giggs to take. Without Chelsea realising it, the ball was in play and the Welshman took it goalwards before crossing for Ronaldo to head home. But the perplexed officials disallowed it. Ingenuity of this kind should not be punished, but justice was nevertheless done on the retake, as Vidic headed Berbatov’s flick-on past Cech.
United began the second half with greater control than at the start of the match. The Reds stroked the ball around confidently. And the patience soon paid off. Ronaldo’s backheel down the left found Evra and his cross was side-footed home from a jubilant Rooney. Old Trafford immediately belted out renditions of ‘we shall not be moved’ and ‘are you watching Merseyside’.
Ronaldo went close with two late efforts, one a deflected free-kick which Cech had to tip over, and another long-range effort that fizzed narrowly wide. The Portuguese had a significant influence on United’s third goal, though he did not score it. Ronaldo’s fearsomely struck free-kick from wide on the right was slammed home by Berbatov to complete an emphatic win for the Reds.
If this was indeed the weekend the title race really started to hot up, United responded by scorching a team many still claim could be the Reds’ fiercest rivals.
Read more...
United, who started the match eight points behind league leaders Liverpool, could feasibly be top of the table by the time Liverpool play their next league fixture, a difficult Merseyside derby a week on Monday. That would require United also beating Wigan on Wednesday at home, and Bolton Wanderers away next weekend. But phase one – beating Chelsea – was comfortably completed on Sunday.
The chaotically congested first half to the season required laying of foundations, and if a game against Chelsea early in 2009 wasn’t enough to announce that the title race really is gathering pace, Rafael Benitez’s bizarre rant on Friday lit the blue touchpaper ahead of a significant weekend in the Premier League calendar. Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Stoke City presented United – and Chelsea, of course – with the chance to really pressure the league leaders.
For Sir Alex, Rio Ferdinand’s absence was a disruption, but the able Jonny Evans again deputised for Rio, who has missed four matches prior to this clash. Michael Carrick was a surprise omission, kept on the bench with Ryan Giggs starting in the centre of midfield alongside Darren Fletcher. But the Welshman was hugely influential.
Sir Alex predicted in his programme notes that he didn’t expect a goal frenzy, and the early exchanges suggested as much with few clear chances. Chelsea postured with possession football, while United hinted at an intent to break sharply from midfield with Giggs and Park’s surging runs.
On 22 minutes United claimed a penalty when Ashley Cole handled Ronaldo’s cross. But the linesman signalled a free-kick instead, which television replays seemed to support, and Petr Cech was forced to punch clear Ronaldo’s inswinging shot. Another set-piece two minutes later from the Portuguese – this time after Deco’s foul on Rooney – was deflected wide.
Howard Webb seemed determined to be at the top of the bill, needlessly brandishing four bookings in the first half an hour, which merely served to increase the tension on an already high-pressure encounter. Disappointingly there were more yellow cards than clear scoring opportunities in the first half. One of United’s best fell to Dimitar Berbatov after half an hour, but his scuffed left-foot shot caused Cech little bother.
United looked more and more threatening as the half progressed. Park was unlucky when a good move involving Giggs, Berbatov and Ronaldo created space for the Korean to shoot, but his attempt was blocked by John Terry.
The Reds were denied a perfectly legitimate goal at the end of the first half when a clever corner routine between Rooney and Giggs proved too clever for the officials. Rooney rolled the ball out of the ‘D’, but pretended that he was leaving the corner for Giggs to take. Without Chelsea realising it, the ball was in play and the Welshman took it goalwards before crossing for Ronaldo to head home. But the perplexed officials disallowed it. Ingenuity of this kind should not be punished, but justice was nevertheless done on the retake, as Vidic headed Berbatov’s flick-on past Cech.
United began the second half with greater control than at the start of the match. The Reds stroked the ball around confidently. And the patience soon paid off. Ronaldo’s backheel down the left found Evra and his cross was side-footed home from a jubilant Rooney. Old Trafford immediately belted out renditions of ‘we shall not be moved’ and ‘are you watching Merseyside’.
Ronaldo went close with two late efforts, one a deflected free-kick which Cech had to tip over, and another long-range effort that fizzed narrowly wide. The Portuguese had a significant influence on United’s third goal, though he did not score it. Ronaldo’s fearsomely struck free-kick from wide on the right was slammed home by Berbatov to complete an emphatic win for the Reds.
If this was indeed the weekend the title race really started to hot up, United responded by scorching a team many still claim could be the Reds’ fiercest rivals.
Read more...
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