Win against Bolton for a 3-point lead

United 2:0 Bolton

United have finally got their noses in front in the title race with a 3 point lead after a comfortable win over Bolton at Old Trafford. And it was another brace for Christiano Ronaldo, who finally beat George Best's record goal tally, that was the talking point of the night.

I could only afford watching the first half of the match as it was a rather late start. United had quite a few changes to the starting eleven that lead to a pretty experimental line-up - Defense consisting of Pique, Vidic, O'Shea and Hargreaves and Tevez-Saha combination in the front. Though it wasn't the most entertaining Old Trafford encounter, the first half was productive enough for United to close the deal. Ronaldo scored both the goals that came in the match inside the first 20 minutes. The first goal came off a set-piece - off a corner when a header rebounded for Ronaldo to score by a volley, a beautiful one at that. The second goal was another Ronaldo beauty, a fierce dipping free-kick that had everybody spellbound. That goal took Ronaldo past George Best's highest goal tally for a season - an United record. With still 8 matches to go and Champion's League chances alive, I wouln't mind betting on Ronaldo taking his tally past 40 - what an achievement that would be for a winger!

So it was another Ronny night again at Trafford, something that's become a familiar story to us United fans and we all they keep coming. With a 3-point lead in hand and prospects of Arsenal dropping more points in the offing - they travel to Chelsea, the quiet title contenders, United can look forward to add to the lead tally by winning their match against the visiting Liverpool this coming Sunday. Hope that's the way it's going to be.

EPL Match 29 : United scamper home against minnows Derby

Derby 0 : 1 Man United

Man United gained a hard-fought victory against the weakest side in the league Derby courtesy of a, you know who, Ronaldo's goal. It wasn't as easy as it was supposed to have been - Derby put up a decent show at Pride Part and United agonizingly seemed continue on their poor goal-scoring form as if they were carrying on from where they left off in the FA Cup match against Portsmouth.

Credit has to be given to Derby for their efforts - they came very close to scoring on quite a few occasions, specially in the first half. If not for the brilliant show put up by Ben Foster, United could have been trailing against the Rams. The two saves he produced in a space of a minute were probably enough to get him the Man of the Match. United didn't take most of what came their way - Ronaldo probably was guilty of missing far too many. He did manage to come up with decent efforts, specially on the free-kicks but was found wanting on accuracy. In fact, Ronaldo looked so frustrated he almost seemed to lose interest. But with the goal-scoring form he has been in this season, he had to score some time and it came just in time to help United obtain all 3 points. Rooney was the provider this time and his cross towards the end of the second half found Ronaldo in front of the goal and needed a difficult tap-in which the Portugues winger produced to perfection. That goal was enough for United to seal victory and end a frustrating goal drought of nearly 180 minutes.

With that victory United are at the top of the table again. Though equal on points, they are ahead in goal differnce with a game in hand. And thanks again to Middlesborough, Arsenal were held to another draw at the Emirates stadium - it was former Arsenal boy Aliadiare who was back to haunt them!
On the Champions League side, United are going to face a familiar opposition - Roma and I'm happy we haven't drawn any of the other English sides. I am keeping my fingers crossed as far as our chances of getting to Moscow are concerned.
Overall, a great weekend for United and hopefully things will carry on well and we should be able to do a double!

Champion's League : United in the quarters

A scurried Ronaldo goal was all that took for United to advance to the quarterfinals in the second leg match against Lyon at Old Trafford.

United went with an unsual combination of 4-3-3. It was also surprising to see a midfield comprising of Fletcher, Carrick and Anderson - possibly the most inexperienced combination but you get the feeling that, may be Sir Alex wanted to show that he had confidence in all of his mid-fielders. It wasn't the most fluent and attacking Old-Trafford fixture, certainly not from United's perspective - United probably were only looking to score a few and keep it tight at the defense. Yet, they did enjoy good amount of possession and created quite a few chances. Lyon on the other side looked dangerous only on occassions - specially through Benzima, their star striker and their free-kick specialist taker Juninho.

United's goal came just a few minutes before half time. Anderson's shot deflected towards Ronaldo who scampered past a few defenders and coolly put it past the keeper. It was Ronaldo's 30th goal of the season and now United legend George Best's record certainly seems to be in big trouble With a goal in the kitty, United's strategy for the second half surrounded around sound defending and breaking on the counter attack. But United didn't come too close to scoring a decisive second. Lyon tried desperately to get the equalizer and sometimes looked like getting one - but on most occassions United did well in the defense and Van der Sar hardly had to drop a sweat. And in the end United coasted to victory.

Elsewhere, Arsenal overcame the defending champions AC Milan with a 2-0 score. I did catch a few glimpses of the game and I have to say Arsenal completely deserved the victory. They were up to the task and kept the pressure on the aging Milan side all through the match. So it wasn't all that impossible task for them to beat the Roseneri as it was made out to be in the pre-match talk. This should give Arsenal lot of confidence, specially because they had gone through a few matches without a victory - after being beaten convincingly by United in the FA Cup. What kind of effect this kind of victory is going to have on the Gunners is something we'll have to wait and watch.

EPL Match 28 : Efficient at Craven Cottage

Fulham 0 : 3 Man United
I only managed to watch the first 30 minutes of the match. United had started without their starlets Rooney and Ronaldo and with the not-so-fancied Saha - Tevez combination. United started off well and looked very convincing nonetheless. Saha had a great chance early on which he, I have to say, floundered. Tevez looked lively and so did Nani and Park. I did get to see the first goal and it was a beauty. Owen Hargreaves' free-kick taking abilities were well known when he was with Bayern Munich. But he hadn't had much chances to display them since coming to United. With Ronaldo on the bench it was just the right situation for him to step up and make a statement. And that's what he did and that too with little fuss and great control. A free-kick dipping into the right corner of the goal and United were away to a promising start.

But that was all I could catch up. It was great to wake up today and see United winning by 3 goals. Good to see Park scoring and to know that Paul Scholes had a great game. Though the victory was somewhat expected as we were playing a struggling Fulham, we shouldn't take much away from United's display with several key players being rested.

So 3 points in the kitty keeps the United's quest to go on top again, pretty much intact. Especially in the light of Arsenal's dropping of more points at home - They scampered to a draw against the resurgent Villa. So 1 point is all there is between United and the top of the table. With United looking great even while playing with half-strength side, it will be difficult for the likes of Arsenal to stop them from retaining the title. For now, the focus would be on the Champion's League return leg match against French League title holders Lyon. With an away goal to their credit, United will be pretty confident of advancing to the next stage with little or no hassles.
Arsenal are going to have a tough job of overcoming the Roseneri at San Siro - a near impossible proposition. If the Gunners are to lose out on the Champions league this week that would leave them with just the League to play for in the remaining of the season. Would that leave them too wounded to go further or give them enough resources and motivation to go all out for the title? The answer to that question would probably determine who wins the title!

Magpies humiliated again!

Newcastle 1: 5 United

It didn't matter that United were playing at Newcastle's home this time, United still came up with a sterling performance to record a thumping victory. The scoreline surely is going to make matters worse for Kevin Keagan and his revival plans.

Keagan had revealed that he was plotting an upset at St. Jame's Park. And it did turn out to be an open encounter in the first few minutes of the game. Both teams made good moves upfront and the game was being played end to end. But that's when United are more dangerous, because it gives lots of space for our talented front men - Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo. And so it wasn't a surprise that the first goal came from the lethal combination of Rooney and Ronaldo. Ronaldo's pinpoint cross found Rooney make an easy tap-in volley. First goal on, the game seemed to be drifting United's way. Second goal was a beautiful finish - Ronaldo was at the end of a neat through pass from Carrick and he showed typical cool composure to put it past Shay Given.

Second half wasn't any different. United looked like scoring any time while the Magpies didn't look too threatening to the United defense. So when Ronaldo scored his second in no time - this time he coolly ran around the substitute keeper and finished it as coolly the game was as good as over. And it was only left to seen as to how many United would end up scoring. Rooney came up with a brilliant curling effort to score his second of the night and Saha had some reason to smile too - he scored United's fifth of the match.

All in all, a commanding performance specially because it was an away match and United have been rotating players to keep the squad fresh as it's the business end of the season.
The front men looked at their typical menacing best. And I have to say Carrick has been finding form off late and his passing last night was awesome - reminiscent of his last year's form. Nani looked pretty dangerous too and it's good to see him carry on from where he left in the FA Cup victory against Arsenal. The victory was doubly sweeter after seeing Arsenal dropping points at St. Andrews (thanks to the brilliant Mcfadden!). Just 3 point adrift - meaning we can breathe easy now! Keep it going Red Devils!

The beauty of FA Cup

I've always heard that FA Cup has a special place in the heart of the football fans, especially in England. And I got a taste of the brilliant football it can produce and it's ability to inspire teams to perform out of their skins, while watching yesterday's 5th round tie between Liverpool and Championship side Barnsley. It's great to watch lower rung teams challenge big opponents and put their lives on the line to secure something out of FA Cup matches.
Liverpool have been under so much pressure - poor performance in Champions league, they have spurned the wonderful start they had to their League season and their Manager Rafael Benitez has been under fire for some time now. Yet you would expect Liverpool playing at Anfield to have little trouble in getting past their unfancied opponents. As usual Liverpool were on their money looking like scoring many goals. But they could only afford a solitary goal in the first half and Barnsley were defending for their lives - that's what I meant when I said these teams put their lives on the line playing in such big encounters. And that attitude helped them get an equalizer in at the fag end of the first half.

Second half was predictable - Liverpool going for goals like they wanted 10 of them! And they did look like getting as many except for the desperate defending from Barnsley - specially their goalkeeper who kept like a man possessed. It was just amazing watching them stop everything and anything. And just when they seemed to be happy to hold on to a draw for a replay at home, Brian Howard scored off a beautiful effort in the injury time! His shot had no answer from the part time liverpool keeper and they were into the quarters. A team struggling in the Championship at No. 14 overhauled Champions League contender! On of those fairy tales the FA cup is known to dish out often - the very reason why one can consider watching matches which expected to be one-sided and yet get thoroughly entertained while watching. Just incredible!


At Old-Trafford, United were up against their title-rivals Arsenal. United had been under pressure since losing meekly to City last week. And if you are a United supporter, you would know what to expect - a strong come back. And that's what they came up with - a sterling performance to beat Arsenal 4-0. United looked on top all the time and in all departments of the game - something they were found wanting against City on. The victory was more special because it came without some big names - Ronaldo and Tevez their top two scorers so far. But it was great to see Rooney back and lift the team with his energy as he usually does. And so was it good to see Patrice Evra back at the left back position.
This victory could well spur United on ahead of the Champions League and also give mental edge over Arsenal race for the Premier League.

EPL 26 : United fail to pay fitting tribute

Man United 1 : 2 Man City

The weight of paying a fitting tribute to the legends of the Munich air-disaster probably turned too heavy for United as they succumbed to a meek loss to their neighbors.
In a match charged with high emotions, I had imagined United would come all guns blazing. The whole talk of wearing special no-sponsor-tags kit, chances of silence getting disturbed by City fans, the importance United paying a fitting tribute and the like probably took the focus away from the importance of exacting revenge on the City rivals and the fact that we had the catching up job pending on the Title front. Because it wasn't a performance you would expect from a United side which is deemed by Sir Alex as the best he's had in his time at Old Trafford.

I must say that United started the match with typical flair finding space upfront and creating a few chances for shots on goal - Tevez and Giggs having a go at the City goal. But as time passed City, known for it's tight defense this season seemed to close down well on most of United's attacks. Dunne and Richards looked very solid in their defense and City keeper Hart didn't have much work to do.
The first goal came off a rare mistake by Rio Ferdinand - Steven Ireland's shot was blocked by VDS but unluckily the ball rebounded nicely for Vassel to put it past him into the net - a shock lapse for United. United did try to respond with a few shots on goal, but they were not that convincing - the best chance possibly was the turn and shoot effort by Tevez but it didn't test the keeper awfully much. Within a few minutes the unimaginable happened - United were 2-nill down this time the goal coming off debutant Benjani's shoulder from a neat Petrov Cross.

You could be forgiven for thinking that United probably would fight back for a memorable victory befitting of the occasion. But it wasn't the night for such optimism - Man City were too composed and organized to be broken down. In fact, they kept the attack going and did have a few more chances to build on the 2 goal cushion. United did try to up the ante but they were never really convincing. Scholes still looked off-colour, Ronaldo certainly wasn't anywhere near his best and was kept quiet most times. The substitution also didn't have much of a fire-power - Park, Carrick and Hargreaves didn't seem to achieve much to change the situation. And I guess the absence of Wayne Rooney was bitterly felt all through the second half which underlies the importance of his play-making abilities as much as his goal-scoring prowess. Frustration was the catch-word of the United performance in the second half. Though United did come up with a goal late in the dying moments, it was a case of too little too late.

With United sorely missing Rooney, I felt they had missed a trick by not going for another striker in the Jan transfer window. How can you have treble aspirations when you have just two fully fit strikers? We have already seen that Tevez playing all alone upfront can be pretty ineffective. I also feel that banking on Ronaldo for goals all the time doesn't augur well for us - because he's going to have his off-days too - specially against well-organised sides. Over-all it was a sad night for us. We've got to pick ourselves up and come back strongly and leave nothing to chance - no more slip-ups till the very last match if we are to win the title again. Knowing the fighting spirit of United, I'm sure we can bet on a very strong come-back. Amen!