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!
