Hull 1 : 3 United

What a relief it was to see United secure a victory yesterday. After the twin set-backs against Villa and Fulham (if you take away the gift from Wolves!), I was wondering if United will have it easy at all anymore even if it was against a team like Hull who have perpetually been locked in the relegation battle. The worry was vindicated to a large extent yesterday. United barely looked at their best yet came away with 3 valuable points in the bag!

After the disappointment at Craven Cottage the onus was totally on us to do well against the struggling Hull. To me seeing Vidic and Browne on the starting sheet was such big news. In the wake of the worst injury crisis I have seen United go through, the make-shift defense was exposed against Villa and Fulham (I guess you should ask Bobby Zamora how he felt about playing against our Nth string defense. He looked like Torres' Guru in that game!) and having a traditional 4-4-2 was as if United had been gifted with an unlikely Christmas present! United players had to come to their own, still, and that's where the drubbing at Fulham seemed to be having a hangover effect. It was Scholes' misplaced pass that lead to Fulham's first goal (another one by Murphy) and at the KC Stadium misplaced passes was becoming the order of United's game. The Skysports commentators had lost count of the number of times United gave away possession just in the first half. Hull consequently had a few good chances but their not so accomplished strike force meant they couldn't really capitalize. United, on the other hand, still had a few good opportunities to take the lead luckily they could convert one, late in the first half, through Rooney. In spite of not having played their best football, United had their noses in front at the break!

A few minutes into the second half it pretty much seemed to be the continuation of United's possession-gifting game. Things got worse when Rooney's inexplicable back-pass straight into the path of Fagan lead to Hull's equalizer through a penalty. After the penalty was converted, United had about 30 minutes for redeeming the situation and any United supporter would have been feeling the nerves like I did. Rooney took that task upon himself and more than redeemed himself by being responsible for United's 2nd and 3rd goals. United's second came of a lightning counter-attack (happy to see that after a long time!), though through an own goal and the third was an easy tap-in for Berbatov created smartly by Rooney.

Finally United could boast of a comfortable victory (only going by the score-line mind you!) to somewhat bury ghosts of Fulham. Though we can always argue that the defeats to Villa and Fulham were due to the defensive injuries, United still have to get their act together in other parts of the pitch. Berbatov still doesn't seem to have settled and he is nowhere near the threat he used to be at Tottenham. I still have a feeling letting go Tevez for the Bulgarian (though it seemed to be the logical way) and it really hurts to see him score so many goals for City like they way he has been. More than the goals, I sorely miss Tevez's 'never say give up' attitude and his work rate which Berbatov undoubtedly lacks in tons (he says that's his style but I just don't agree!). Anyways it's Rooney who's doing all the hard work for United by getting on the score-sheet and long may it continue.

We are just 2 points off the top and what a blessing it has been. Chelsea, I would have thought, would have run away with the title by now but thanks to their inept form, we are still in with a big chance to win the title.

With half the season just over for us here is my take on the season so far : I had actually thought that Sir Alex was too ambitious in vying for the title without bringing in replacements for Ronny and Tevez. Though Sir Alex's strategy seems to be working (largely courtesy of others' dropping points), I still feel we need somebody who can account for about 10-15 goals for us. With Berbatov proving to be as less prolific as he has been and Owen being played as little as he has been, I am just not happy with our over-reliance on Wayne Rooney. Midfield (mostly Giggs and Valencia) have contributed some goals but how much can we rely on them to deliver? So the bottom line is that all our fortunes squarely rest on young Rooney's shoulders. Hopefully he will stay fit and keep that scoring rate for the whole of the season.

The midfield has been a mixture this season. Fletcher has emerged as our numero uno. Scholes started the season brilliantly until the game against Sunderland and his form since then has been patchy to say the least. Carrick and Anderson are yet to attain great consistency this season and Hargreaves' absence has been so sorely felt specially when we have lost to teams like Chelsea and Liverpool. Valencia seems to have found some form and I would say he has exceeded most people's expectation.

Our defense has been ultra reliable last 3 seasons. With Ferdinand left injured for most of this season, we have seen holes appear there with or without the likes of Browne and Evans to replace him. Just shows how much of an asset the Vidic-Rio partnership has been for us. To me, Vidic's presence at the back will determine if we are going to win the league or not.

I'm not very bullish about our chances in the Champions' League this season. I will be happy if we can make it past the quarter finals stage. From there on anything can happen!

United 0 : 1 Villa

This is my 6th post for the season and I just can't believe I'm going to post my 3rd on a defeat!

It's been that kind of a season this, United had already tasted defeat 3 times with the season not even at half way stage. Just when United were looking like they will go on a long and healthy run after the bitter disappointment at Chelsea, United came short again, this time at home.

Villa have been United's bogey team for some time now. But they have come leaps and bounds under the ambitious Martin O'Neil, hoping to mount a challenge for a top 4 slot. They came agonizingly close to achieving that as well as turning their record against United around last season. It was only the Macheda miracle that stopped Villa from going back from Old Trafford with some points last season. This time around, one would have thought it wasn't going to be any easy for them to gain anything from this fixture. Surely, with United on the upswing with plenty of goals off late, it was only natural for anybody to think so. If anything, it was United's injury crisis that had led to United having to string a make-shift defense for last few matches that was the worrying factor. And that's how it turned out, unfortunately. A shock first half goal from Agbonlahor, that saw Villa aerially threaten United defense (read Wes Browne), turned out to be United's undoing. United's lack of luck at the other end meant that United just couldn't capitalize on the Golden opportunity Everton had provided us (they drew 3-3 at Stamford Bridge) to go level with Chelsea at the top of the table.

I have to say that United going with Rooney as the sole striker was a worrying factor for me as I looked at the starting line-up. But given that United had scored plenty of goals in the last 2 league encounters with the same strategy, you wouldn't really question Sir Alex's strategy. With Rooney coming agonizingly close to scoring on two occasions in the first half, I felt parity would be restored sooner rather than later. But it wasn't to be. Also, introducing Owen right at the beginning of the second half did suggest a little bit of haste in United's decision making (as if there was a sudden loss of trust in the lone-striker ploy). United looked too anxious to equalize and perhaps that didn't help. Villa looked more resolute in the second half and as a result the number of chances we had were lesser than those in the first. So, in retrospect one can only think what would have been the case had we gone with 2 strikers straightaway - perhaps with Owen just fresh from his hat-trick, there would have been a different story to tell. Having said that, I also feel that the one-striker ploy could not have been avoided as it probably was a ripple effect of the weakened defense.

Though United failed to capitalize on the Chelsea slip-up, I wouldn't really mind being just 3 points away from the top. United's patchy performance is not unexpected given that we have not really been able to fill the void left by Ronaldo and Tevez (in the goal-scoring department). I just hope United will learn from these mistakes and avoid further dropping of points. I also hope United get back to the good old 4-4-2 for the simple reason that I feel Rooney, even though he has been brilliant in shouldering the goal-scoring responsibilities, sometimes is overawed by his lack of goals on a bad day at office. If Owen or Berbatov can find some form upfront, I am sure we could see more and more of Rooney's brilliance.

Pompey 1 : 4 United

I wasn't too lucky to witness the whole of this match as I was travelling during most of the game but was filled with immense joy when I got to know, the following morning, that United had won by a big margin (3 goals is quite big in away games isn't it?!) and the fact that Rooney had scored a hat-trick was really the icing on the cake.
I could watch about 30 minutes of the first half and I really was surprised that Avram Grant's appointment as their manager had really rallied them. It showed in their performance upfront with them looking to take the game to United. I honestly felt that playing Rooney alone at the front was a little defense tactic specially after seeing Giggs playing as just a winger and not a support striker.

Portsmouth looked really sharp to begin with and could have had a goal if not for Tomasz who showed brilliant reflexes in front of the goal. I think the first goal (the only one I was able to witness) was all courtesy of Valencia's brilliance. He outrun Hreiderssen so easily with his sweltering pace and it was his pass to Rooney that resulted in the penalty. Was happy to see Rooney convert it in clinical fashion.
I didn't catch up with much of the game after that. But I was able to watch the highlights of the game the following day and man was it satisfying to do that. Conceding the goal through a non-existent penalty notwithstanding (that decision was perhaps the worst penalty decision I've seen!) United I think were outstanding. Rooney's second and third goals were clinical again. I think with these 2 converted penalties, there won't be any arguments further on as to who'd take our penalties from now on. Also, I guess if somebody was due for hat-trick, it had to be Wayne Rooney, for all the hard work he'd been putting day-in and day-out for United specially after goal-scoring responsibility had been thrust squarely on his shoulders. Ryan Giggs was back to his brilliant best, coming up with a goal to remember to score his 100th. Add that to the 2 assists it was another MOM (Man of the Match) performance by the legend. People had been calling for bringing in players like Ribery and Silva to replace Ronaldo. How many of us have realized that Giggs has effectively been playing the role Ronaldo used to play- scoring goals, providing assists and taking free-kicks! I'm already thinking the PPFA Player of the Year is a long gone conclusion if we win the titleLong live the Welsh legend.
I also think Valencia came up with one of his best performances of his short United career yet. He kept running down the flanks all day and was a perennial threat. I like the fact that he is a very traditional minded winger who mainly concentrates on delivering good passes from the wide than trying to be a hero on his own (unlike players like Nani) and that I guess makes him a truly adorable team man. An unsung hero really.
I also think Tomasz Kuszczak deserved a word of praise. I didn't really fancy him to pip Foster for the support keeper's role but this guy seems to have grabbed his chance with an impressive showing. Tomasz has always had sharp reflexes but has been known to be poor on the delivery front. But going by today's performance, I wouldn't mind having him between the posts instead of Foster as he seems to come up with some great saves. As long as he can do that, who cares about the delivery (let's leave the passing work to the mid-field shall we!)
Like I have said above, I thought United weren't achieving much with Rooney as the lone striker but the moment Giggs was there to support him in the second half, things seemed to change for good and I guess it was Sir Alex's tactical genius to achieve a robust mid-field plus some support for Rooney that ultimately clinched it for us.

All in all a great result for us. I would have expected Arsenal to help us out a little by taking some points off Chelsea but they have ended up with an embarassing defeat at home. Though that means the Blues are still 5 points clear, I have a feeling Drogba's absence during the African Nations' Cup will do us some favour (given that he's been doing all the goal-scoring off late). Let's hope that's how it transpires and come New Year we'll be breathing down their necks. Go United! - for a record 4th consecutive title!

Chelsea 1 : 0 United

Disgust! That's the only word I can use to explain the feeling I have about last night's game.
Man United, who were written off by pretty much everybody (many of whom had the audacity to call the defending champions underdogs!) came up with a brilliant tactical performance only to be undone by poor refereeing. Chelsea won by a solitary, disputed goal that has now given them a 5-point cushion almost a third into the season.

It was disappointing to see every quarter of the media virtually writing off United prior to this game. The ESPN, the channel that I follow (unfortunately!), has this set of so called football pundits who are pathetic to say the least. None of the 'pundits' thought United could gain anything from this game. It really smacks of bias and illogic. When United travel to Liverpool, Liverpool are the favourites just because United have not obtained great result against them in the last season. United's league win, it's position above Liverpool and Liverpool's poor reason just don't count for the occasion. And when United go to Chelsea with just 2 points separating them, Chelsea are clear favourites because : Carlo Ancelotti is leading them; He ousted United out of the Champions' League with AC Milan twice; Chelsea are a goal-scoring machine; And United have "not been convincing" this season! Really, it's as if United are at the bottom of the table. No respect for United's tactical ability even if they have a certain Alex Ferguson as their manager. No respect for United's ability to fight back - something which is acknowledged as their trait.
Never mind. Having known the English press, this kind of behaviour is hardly unexpected!

I was just hoping and in fact strongly felt United could turn the tables on Chelsea. Fletcher's availability for this game was a major boost. And I must say that I was not surprised that Sir Alex went with a defensive 4-5-1 formation. The defense was definitely a worrying aspect considering that Browne and Evans had looked quite ordinary during the midweek clash with CSK Moscow. But it was United who enjoyed most of the possession when the game started. With every passing minute you could sense that Sir Alex seemed to have found an answer to silence Ancelotti's much-touted diamond formation. Fletcher, Anderson and Carrick combination worked brilliantly specially with their ability to close down Chelsea midfielders. Valencia, with his attacking runs kept Ashley Cole on his toes and forced him to defend most of the time. Rooney, being the lone striker was prepared to do all the running and could have been rewarded had it not been for a wrong off-side ruling. He was clearly on his way for a one-on-one with Cech only to be flagged off-side. Replays suggested he wasn't, though by a few centimeters I guess! United won the midfield battle all of first half but the fact that Rooney wasn't supported upfront meant that they couldn't quite create clear chances but had to contend with half ones. Chelsea did try to break free every now and then but they too didn't create great number of chances.

Second half looked pretty much the same. United enjoyed better possession most of the time but couldn't come up with a clear chance. Rooney went closest when he missed the far post by about a foot. As time progressed in the second half, it seemed as if United would either hold on for a draw or that one killer goal could clinch the game for either side. That is just what happened - On the 75 minute mark, Chelsea were awarded a dubious free kick though Fletcher seemed to have got the ball off Ashley Cole. When the free kick was whipped in, Browne was brought down by (the actor called!) Drogba and the ball deflected into the net off the shoulder of Terry who was lurking behind him. The referee failed to spot the foul and United were unluckily behind with 15 minutes to go. From then on United pressed forward desperate for a reply. Owen and Obertan were pressed into service. Though it seemed that they could nick an equalizer, they just didn't seem to have any luck in the final third of the pitch. And that's how it ended. Chelsea, who seemed to be chasing the game most of the time came out as the unworthy winners.

Irrespective of the result, I thought it was a very spirited performance by United. There was great improvement in effort and desire from the United we saw 2 weeks ago at Anfield. And it was absolutely agonizing to see United came off unrewarded from a game they deserved at least a point from. But then such things happen in football. Wayne Rooney was my Man of the Match. In spite of being lonely upfront he worked tremendously hard to find the net as well as supported the midfield diligently. The midfield worked brilliantly well according to me. If Carrick, Anderson and Fletcher can improve on their shooting abilities, United can definitely find the match winners we need in such games. The make-shift defensive combo of Browne and Evans did very well and definitely handled the pressure of facing Anelka and Drogba very well.

Chelsea might have opened a healthy 5-point lead but it's still early days according to me. United just need to build on this performance and I am sure we can stay close on Chelsea's heels through the season. With Chelsea and Liverpool having to visit Old Trafford later in the season, I am positive the situation is entirely in control!

Liverpool 2 : 0 Man United

It has happened for the 3rd time in succession and I have a sinking feeling about it. Believe me it's an uncomfortable task to write about any United's loss and given that this time I have to write about a loss at Anfield, it certainly doesn't make it easier.

Liverpool had not had a great season at all. They were coming into this match on the back of 4 consecutive defeats in League and Europe. And everybody was of the opinion that if they lost a 5th, they would be out of the title race and Rafa would definitely be shown the door. Things were only made worse for them with Gerrard becoming unavailable for this game due to injury. United on the other hand were sitting at the top of the table which I would put down to the failures of its rivals to obtain consistent results, Liverpool included. So the onus was really on the Reds from Liverpool than United even given the fact that United had let its fiercest rivals do a double last season and everybody had been calling for a revenge this season.

The fact that form is hardly of any relevance in derbies such as this was something you could realize watching this game as it was Liverpool who started to boss the proceedings. They were egged on by their supporters who were boisterous as ever. Liverpool enjoyed more possession and showed more of an urge to turn the tables. Though most of the first half looked a cagey affair, it was Liverpool who had the better chances. Van der Sar was called in to make some good saves - first he denied Aurelio off a free-kick and then denied Lucas from scoring from a header.
United didn't get much possession through out the first half. They struggled to get their familiar passing game going. Perhaps it was because Liverpool were always on the heels of United players and they were successful in closing in on most attempts by United players to build an attack.

Second half had a similar story to tell until Torres came up with some magic - A Benayoun through ball saw the Spaniard finding space in front with only Ferdinand to counter. Torres showed his class by muscling through and coming up with a stunning finish from a difficult angle and it was 1-nill Liverpool. Until then Torres had not had much to do in the game but given the reputation he has built for himself (of being one of the best strikers in the world right now), the goal was no where near being a shocker. United had a good 25 minutes to make a turnaround. But they just couldn't find their game on most occasions. They almost had a chance to do that when Micheal Owen, who was shown not an iota of respect by his former supporters, was on course to a one-on-one situation with Reina only to be cynically brought down by Carragher. On most occasions, such a foul would have invited a straight Red but this time the defender only saw a yellow much to the dismay of United. As tempers soared high, the game saw 2nd yellows for Vidic and Mascherano but that didn't have much of an impact on the game. None of the United front men could come up with the goods needed for an equalizer. On the contrary it was Liverpool who got the second just before the whistle that seemed to be the icing on the cake for them.

Though it was a very disappointing result from United's perspective, there is hardly much we could complain about except the Carragher offense. Liverpool undoubtedly looked the better side and United didn't seem to have the same desire for the game. The front men, Rooney and Berbatov hardly saw much of the ball in the Liverpool box. I was actually startled when I saw Carrick and Scholes starting the game together - Carrick has not had any form this season and Scholes has been off-colour since the Sunderland game. Liverpool midfielders' drive to close in on United's play didn't help the cause. Vidic and Ferdinand looked quite nervous specially against Torres and not without reasons. Ferdinand has not been in great form for club or country this season. And Vidic was perhaps keen to overturn the treatment he received from Torres last season. Most people have been vocal about how we missed somebody like Ronaldo. Well, if you let go of your best player you are obviously going to feel his absence! And everybody knows that United is in a rebuilding mode as far as the wings are concerned. Valencia has been decent while Nani is yet to live up to his potential. For me, the reason we lost was because we didn't show enough hunger for the game. Liverpool made it a do-or-die situation for themselves and found the spirit to redeem themselves to a certain extent through this result. On a lighter vein, I am not too disappointed by the result. Because this result means that Mr. Benitez has saved his job and we know how Liverpool have the knack of dropping points under him. So never mind if they are going to do another double over us. As long as the title stays at Old Trafford, long live Rafa and Liverpool association!

The Legendary Derby - Man United 4 : 3 Man City

Micheal Owen you beauty! One strike and he turned the whole world upside down! United clinched the most entertaining tie I have seen them playing all my life. Easily the best Manchester derby I have watched, ever!

It was an absolute humdinger of a match. And the the build-up was no less sensational. It had to be - after their new owners splashed loads of money and helped City build a "strong" side, it was not going to be a low profile derby anymore. With them making a perfect start to the season so far add to that, the controversies such as the one about Tevez's switch and the one involving Adebayor last weekend, there were all the ingredients for a perfect derby build up.

And did it start by living up to the billing! Wayne Rooney scored quite a brilliant goal in just the 2nd minute of the game and it seemed as if United had decided to kill the tie in the first half. But City reacted well to their credit. After the first few minutes of the United "storm", City obtained more possession and seemed to get a good grip over the game. They gradually improved their possession and were actually were rewarded with a goal, a gift from James Foster, who through an inexplicable mistake helped Tevez create a beautiful chance for Barry to capitalize on. That soft goal seemed to send the United players' spirits spiralling down as they seemed to lose control of the game and City actually began to dominate the second half. They almost doubled their score before the half time break but Tevez only ended up hitting the post in what actually was a easy chance.

Second half was a repeat of the first half as far as United were concerned. Just a few minutes into it, United scored through a Fletcher header. But City responded in no time. Craig Bellamy came up with the goal of the match, a brilliant strike onto the corner of the net and it looked like we had a great match on our cards. Conceding the second goal didn't really make too much of difference to United's game. In fact, they only seemed flourish. United created a heap of chances as the second half progressed. They could have scored at least 3-4 goals in no time but for the City shot stopper Shay Given who seemed totally invincible for a short period. In particular, it was Berbatov who was at the receiving end of that show by Given and was a tad unlucky not to score.Yet it was increasingly looking like United would score and they didn't disappoint - Ryan Giggs, who was having a great match, beat a couple of defenders with some vintage trickery and found Fletcher to perfection and Fletcher didn't disappoint. United had about 10 minutes left on the clock and looked set to defend the game out for an easy victory from then on. But a silly mistake from Ferdinand saw Bellamy clear with the ball. Bellamy was too quick for Ferdinand to redeem and he came up with an great finish to beat an off-colour Foster with a clinical finish. That goal which came as a shocker for United came at the completion of 90 minutes and it just looked as if City were destined to leave with a point.
United didnt really get too close to scoring in the allotted 4 minute added time and everybody was expecting the referee to blow his whistle. But the injury time dragged on into the 6th minute and that's when we got to see some magic, Ryan Giggs found a loitering Micheal Owen in the City penalty box to perfection. Owen controlled the ball brilliantly, foxed Given and put the ball into the far net! And that was it, it was game over, in the most dramatic fashion.

Mark Hughes was visibly upset at seeing United score during a prolonged injury time.
There has been a lot of controversy around why the injury time was dragged beyond the stipulated 4 minute mark. But it was later explained that the Craig Bellamy goal was celebrated for almost a minute by his city teammates because of which a minute's time was added on by the referee. And along with that there was half a minute added to account for the substitution made by United. So, it should appear that the officials strictly followed the rule book on this occasion!

This is by far the best game I have seen United play and win. They looked a touch wary in the first half after the ill-conceded goal but were all over their neighbours in the second. But I would say that the mistakes made by the defense made the game as interesting as it was. Ryan Giggs was my man of the match and he looked a good 10 years younger in this game. Fletcher scored a brace which was heartening to see for he deserved both the goals for the hard work he put up in the mid field.
City have actually announced, through this game, that they are definitely a top-4 material. With their improved strength, we can certainly look forward more interesting derbys. The down-side would be that United stand the risk of losing points to their neighbours!

Season 09-10 Match 5 : Tottenham 1 - 3 Man United

It's been a lazy start to the new season as far as this blog diary is concerned!
This is my first post for the season and already 5 games have been played! Evidently there is so much to write about not just about what has happened in these 5 games that have gone by, but also the build up.

This season was the most anticipated as far as I was concerned. There were a couple of reasons for that - Firstly, the loss of our most prolific player by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Ever since it was declared that United had agreed to sell Ronaldo for a record-shattering sum (80 million Pounds), it was more than a million dollar question as to how United would cope without him. Just the fact that Ronaldo was our best player for the last 3 seasons during which we won all the League titles including a Champions' Trophy was enough evidence to suggest that question was on everyone's mind. And the second reason was the result of the last match of the last season - A humiliating defeat to Barcelona in Rome in our quest to retain the Champions' trophy. You didn't have to see Sir Alex Ferguson's face after that defeat at Rome to understand what he felt about that. And for millions of United fans like me, it was a result that just couldn't be digested easily and it's not easy when you are left reeling for an entire off-season because of one bitter night. Without going too much into the Ronaldo saga, all I would like to say is that we all knew he was going to go someday. And that day just arrived this summer. But knowing what happened at Rome, I felt Sir Alex would definitely buy a strong replacement - somebody like Silva or Ribery. But then nothing of that sort happened which for me was difficult to fathom given the money we had. And yeah, the transfer market had gone absolutely bonkers in terms of valuation which I'm sure contributed immensely to that outcome.

With just Micheal Owen, who could go down as one of the most shocking of our buys ever and Antonio Valencia being the most notable of our acquisitions, I wasn't too convinced United would be the same force in England and Europe. That being the feeling, I was happy to know that we were playing the new boys, Birmingham and Burnley first up. The match against Birmingham wasn't very convincing as far as United were concerned. But we still ended up winning that game. With United yet to settle down, they went to Burnley and we were beaten by a very spirited team playing in top flight after more than 30 years in front of their home crowd. United, it seemed, were just following their regular ritual (something they've been doing last few seasons) of having false starts to their new seasons. Match 3, they go to Wigan and by half time are trailing by a goal at half time. And that's when United decided to show their true colours - the ability to fight adversity. In about 25 minutes United settled scores with all detractors by scoring 5 goals!
But wait a minute, the real test of the season had yet to arrive for we still had Arsenal to play at home in game 4. Again, it was a case of United struggling. Andre Arshavin put a thunder bolt into United's net and United have an uphill task again. United came out and showed a bit of class in the second half. Rooney won a penalty and converted it (and giving us some good news on the penalty taker's situation) and Diaby gifted an own goal that sealed the tie in United's favour.

But believe me Game 5 was the real acid test yet. Tottenham had a perfect start to their season till then and playing them Away with some of their players flying really high on confidence was not an easy task. We needed to be at our best to avoid dropping points for the second time so early in the season. And the way the game started, it seemed it would be more than an acid test for United - Jermaine Defoe scored spectacularly off their first move and United were a goal down inside 50 seconds. The Hotspurs looked to be in a hurry to finish off United and they could have scored a couple more inside the starting 10 minutes. But that's that. United didn't hold back too much. The open attacking style of Tottenham meant United found the kind of space they love playing with. The midfield combination of Anderson and Scholes along with Fletcher and Giggs on the wings started to control the proceedings. Anderson and Fletcher looked particularly impressive with some quick incisive passing. Berbatov and Rooney too seemed to find their rhythm upfront. That spawned the opportunity for the equalizer the Red Devils were looking for - Berbatov was brought down, a free-kick was awarded, in-steps Ryan Giggs and the years are rolled back! Giggs brilliant curling kick opens the scoring for United!

United didn’t stop there. They pressed on and with Tottenham showing no restraint, the game was virtually played end to end. On one side, United’s strong defence (with the combination of Vidic and Ferdinand back again) saw out most of the threats, United looked to be getting closer and closer at the other end. Ultimately they did take the lead and it was Anderson who scored his first goal for United and he did that in some style, putting the ball past Cudicini from outside the Tottenham box. So United went into the break with a well-deserved lead.

Come the Second half, United seemed happy to carry on still on the lookout for goals. Rooney and Berbatov who hadn’t yet scored looked to press on the pressure pedal. But there was a twist to the story, Paul Scholes went into a rash tackle and was given the marching orders with a second yellow. Replays actually suggested that Scholes was trying to pull off the challenge in the end. Nevertheless that meant United had to protect the one goal lead for about 30 minutes which lead to Berbatov getting sacrificed. But that’s where United showed their true character during this match. At no point during the whole of the remaining second half did United look like a 10 men team. Fletcher, Anderson, Evra and Rooney in particular seemed to almost double their work rate. Tottenham didn’t seem like they could make use of the sending off. To add to that, Rooney came up with a brilliant individual goal wrestling through two defenders and nonchalantly scoring between the keeper’s legs to put the tie to an undeniable rest.

This was definitely United’s best performance of the season so far. A team that seemed to be hit hard by Ronaldo’s departure finally put all doubts about their abilities to rest and proved they are good enough to retain the title. Almost everybody looked top-class – Giggs, Anderson, Fletcher, Evra, Berbatov, Rooney - the whole pack. My man of the match was Anderson. He looked a very busy player always willing to run from defence to the attack. Considering doubts were cast on his abilities since the Barcelona debacle, this was a refreshing performance from the Brazilian youngster. The Berba-Rooney combine seemed to come off in this game. Fletcher obviously is turning into a mid-field maestro! And Evra is undeniably and still the best left-back in England.

So all in all, an utterly brilliant game for us and that made my weekend. Glory Glory United!

Man United 2 : 0 Man City

Well, I have missed commenting on quite a few things by being irregular on this blog.
The good thing is that there've only been good things that have happened after those consecutive defeats against Liverpool and Fulham. United have won everything since then. The Macheda sensation won us matches against Villa and at Sunderland. Then there was the Tottenham thriller at Old Trafford. We've even seen the dangerous (sometimes that is!) Middlesbrough away fixture through and without any hassles. And today we were able to comfortably brush aside the derby challenge. So I have absolutely no complaints about the way United have been playing. What's more United are looking forward to the grand Champions League finale at Rome, with the high-flying Barca. What else can you ask for from the Red Devils. Who cares if we are not going to have the Quintuple. The League and Champions League double would be good enough for me any day.

The Manchester Derby today was really a damp one if you were a neutral. City have struggled away from Eastlands all through the season. And it was no different at Old Trafford. United played Berbatov and the seemingly unhappy Tevez upfront and Ronaldo on the wings. City seemed to be up to the challenge to start with and the game certainly wasn't one sided by any stretch of one's imagination in the starting 10 minutes. But a Ronaldo free kick changed it all. Ronaldo, who seems to have found enhanced confidence in his free-kick taking abilities of late got one to break through the wall. A lucky deflection had Shay Given wrong-footed and United were well on their way. United were steadfast in the search for the second. Carlos Tevez looked ever the busy player he is and came close with a brilliant shot which struck the post. As the first half approached its end, a brilliant bit of control by Berbatov made way for a bit of Tevez magic. Tevez outsmarted the defender with his quick feet and this time hit the inside of the post for a brilliant finish. The game was over before the first half whistle.

Second half had nothing special to talk about. United looked happy to play a training-ground game and didn't really look desperate for more goals. Though City showed a bit of resilience, they really couldn't create any clear chances. Robinho, I must say, again came short on expectations. Ronaldo's angry reaction to being substituted was an interesting incident. I hope that incident doesn't get blown up into anything bigger because I have a feeling Ronaldo has achieved so much since the last 3 seasons with United that I am a little scared his achievements could grow his ego to a level where he could consider himself bigger than the club. That's always a cause for concern because we all know what can happen in such situations with Sir Alex's no-nonsense philosophy. I just hope things don't get serious.


As for the performances, I loved the way the defense performed. Anything that looked like a serious threat was closed down. It helps when the mid-field has people like Darren Fletcher to provide more protection to the defense. Carlos Tevez was perhaps my Man of the Match among the front men. He could have scored at least 3 tonight and as usual wore his heart on his sleave.
On the talk of his leaving United at the end of the season, I just feel that the possibility of that happening is high. First of all, I think that the price tag put on him is quite steep. Tevez is a good striker and a wonderful player to have. But he is not an out an out striker who could be payed so much specially by United who have 2 very established strikers in Rooney and Berbatov. Also, staying at United would mean living with lesser games in a season and I don't think Tevez is a player who likes staying on the bench. It would be sad to see him go because he's bee such a player for United specially last season. But then, sometimes you cant have all the good things in life!

Fulham 2 : 0 Man United

It's been quite a while since I updated this blog and well so much has happened during this time. And what do I say about what has transpired with Man United in the last one week! We were 7 points clear with a game in hand and the title race looked like it was long over. One catastrophic mistake from the ever-reliable Vidic and look what we have now. Well, I guess the Premier League didn't want the title decided too easily!

Ever since United lost to liverpool on that fateful Saturday afternoon, everybody had been talking about a backlash from United at the Craven Cottage. And there could be no other kind of response that could be expected of a United side that has been flying high this season - symbolised by the unprecedented quintuple pursuit. And to underline the mood the team were in Sir Alex made 5 changes to the side that lost against Liverpool. But it has to be said that Fulham started the game well, perhaps better than United and got quite an attacking game going. Just as United were trying to weather the attack, the unthinkable happened. Van der Saar made a good save to keep off a header from a Fulham corner but only to parry it to Bobby Zamora who's close range header was instinctively blocked by Scholes by his hands. The ref had no other option but give a penalty. The worse thing was that he handed Scholes a straight red! Danny Murphy promptly stepped in and put the penalty past Van der Sar. All of a sudden things were getting going from bad to worse for United in the title race. Because they were up against a steep task of turning a match with just 10 men. From that point on, United goal post turned into a fort under bombardment. Fuham had smelt blood and they were going for the kill. If not for Van der Sar, United could have been 3 down and out inside the first half. Thankfully, they somehow hung on to live in the second half.

Second half saw changes straightaway from the very beginning. Rooney came in for Berbatov and Tevez for Giggs and it seemed like it was match on. It was something only United could do - a 10 man United side came up with attack after attack on the Fulham goal. Ronaldo had atleast 2 headers he should have scored from. Rooney had a certain goal saved by Schwarzer. United worked really hard, specially through the ever so diligent Fletcher and Park. But the goal just didn't seem to come. Luck perhaps had deserted United in the afternoon. As United had committed forward, Fulham got to the end of a counter attack and scored late in the second half - around the 87th minute. And clearly it was game over for United. But there was some late controversy to round a bad day off. Wayne Rooney was shown the second yellow after he showed too much urgency in getting the game moving by throwing the ball towards the free kick spot, which was foolishly mistaken for aggressive behaviour by the referee. So in the end it was just more agony for United.

What could be said of the performance. Football showed its unpredictable side again - just one moment's defensive instinct cost a side the whole match and in United's case some damage to it's title aspirations. It was really over the moment Scholes handled the ball. In fact, credit must be given to 10 men who tried to make a match of it in the second half but without much luck.
United were chasing the game all the time and had issues with handling the pressure that came along - Ronaldo for example could so easily have been sent off for dissent.

So, with the last 2 results, United themselves have brought life into the title race. Liverpool and Chelsea must be thinking they have a chance now. To put it really bluntly, I don't think United have played better this season than they had the last 2 seasons. Yet they have been clinical in their ability to win games inspite of competing in so many tournaments and that's what has kept them on top all this while. It was really the inability of the other 3 of the so called top 4 that had seemed to have given away the title into United's hands. I guess the Premier league didn't deserve to be decided so easily and hence the drama in the last quarter! I still believe United have the best chance to secure the title! Glory Glory...

United 3 : 0 Chelsea

It was touted to be the Moscow re-match. It was also told that the winner would probably pose the biggest title threat in the remaining part of the season. Man United were even taunted by a certain Rafa Benitez that their manager enjoyed unfair treatment by the FA. Jose Mourinho had flown down to Old Trafford to learn about a few chinks United could be carrying into the Champions League. No matter what the odds were, the Red Devils came up with a truly sterling performance to register a thumping win over arch title rivals Chelsea that could well be United's launchpad for a secure looking title defense.

United had never really attained their best form this season as yet. Their goal difference, usually something that United would be miles ahead, was so much of a worry for Sir Alex that he feared it could cost them their title! Inspite of having the gifted quartet upfront, United had been struggling to stay close to top for most part, the matches in hand notwithstanding. And yet they chose the best stage to silence all their critics.
It wasn't the brightest of starts you could get to see. Infact, it seemed that hardly any football was being played in the first half. That's something that is seen these day whenever any two of the big four lock horns. Sides are only trying to play non-footballing battles - getting physical, trying to get opponents booked, letting their egos loose and so on.
This game was no different and I'm afraid it probably was the best example of how the top sides shouldn't be playing against each other - neither teams got their act together for most part of the first 45 minutes and instead we got to see about 4 yellows! In my view, Chelsea looked a wee bit better than United early on. But the stop-start play didn't let either teams create any significant chances to score. The only chance of the half fell to Berbatov who could only muster a tame shot at Petr Cech's goal.

Just as it was set for the the curtains to be drawn on a painful half, United tried something really cheeky, a clever corner routine to catch Chelsean defense unprepared which resulted in a Ronaldo goal. What was actually a very smartly taken corner was later ruled as illegitimate by the linesman who couldn't understand it! But United scored off the resulting corner to put that controversy behind. And suddenly, and quite thankfully there was some football that could be spoken about from in the first half!


Second half was expected to see more of Chelsea, similar to the last match between the two sides at the Bridge. But as Chelse pushed for an equalizer, United found more space to play with. United kept made clever usage of the spaces to create the second goal around the hour mark - an Evra cross found Rooney cheekily scoring throught the legs of Ashley Cole! With the second goal scored, United were pretty much running away with the match. Chelsea seemed to have no answers to that. Infact, they harldy even bothered Van der Sar the entire match. The much hyped Scholari was found wanting in the strategy department. United were really rampant after the second goal. So much so that they could add a well planned third goal, this time through Berbatov, to build their tally. In the end, 3-nill was a score worthy of the game United produced in the second half and a score good enough to make a huge dent in Chelsea's title aspirations and their confidence.

It was a one of those performances of the season from United. Sheer quality was oozing out of every bit of play from every player in the United colour. The game was probably won by United in the midfield, where United had fielded a very odd combination of Giggs and Fletcher. Giggs came up with a Man of the Match performance and he dictated play for most part, thwarting the likes of Ballack and Mikel and was ably supported by young Fletcher. Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov looked ever so sharp upfront as did Evra and Park. And at the back, Vidic and young Evans did a fantastic job to keep Drogba and co quiet for most duration of the game.
All in all, a game to remember. Glory Glory United!