Win at Portsmouth, Surreder at Monaco

I couldn't really get to watch the Portsmouth match fully - could only watch the second half.
By half time United had already scored a goal, again through Darren Fletcher who's been playing on the flanks filling in for the injured wingers. Second half display from United was a treat to watch - Tevez, Anderson and Rooney ravaged the Portsmouth defense but just couldn't get the goal that could seal the game once and for all. Scholes was impressive too as he controlled the midfield like he usually does when he's at his sublime best. United had a lion's share of the possession as United kept bombarding Pompey with attack after attack. Somehow, they didn't get that last pass that could fetch them a goal. One goal cushions are really slender to hold on to. And Portsmouth could so easily have spoiled the day for United had they just got one shot right - they did try doing that with Van der Sar having to keep off strong long range efforts. The defense, as usual, was lead by the rock solid Rio Ferdinand and the warrior-like Nemanja Vidic, who fought off a couple of stiches in the middle of the game to see the match safely through.

United's goal scoring has been pretty ordinary this season considering their performance since the pre-season. Last year's top-scorer Ronaldo is still nursing his injury. But how long can we rely on a winger to get us goals? Rooney has been struggling to be amongst goals - his continued goal drought gives more fuel to the raging debate in the English media about his real abilities and the positions he should be played in. Tevez hasn't yet got to a prolific scoring rate and I doubt if he'd be able to do that either. Even if the Rooney-Tevez combine has proven to be quite successful, I just feel playing them together all the time, specially away, doesn't really do justice to either of them as both like feeding off a taller target man. Is United serious enough about the dire necessity we have for a target man? - Berbatov or a similar striker is a definite necessity we can't just take lightly.

Chelsea on the other hand got all 3 points through a solitary goal - a Deco strike, to keep themselves at the top of the table. They did seem to struggle away against Wigan, which would probably mean they aren't as unbeatable as they are being touted to be this season.


I was lucky to watch the Super cup tie against the UEFA champions Zenit St Petersburg. And I must say I hadn't watched United being dominated that way all my life. The Russian side was full of energy and great confidence. And they savaged United with beautiful passing play and speed. Well deservedly they came out worthy winners. United players looked jaded most part of the game - either they were put off by the dominance their opponents put them under, something they are not at all used to, or may be they were just being indifferent.

Opening Day blues

It feels as if it's been ages since Man United won the premiership last season. Thanks to the long drawn (and ofcourse frustrating) Ronaldo transfer saga and partly due to the less than happening United pre-season (No summer signings against 4 last season!) The build up to the season has been dry and unstimulating and so was run-up to the season opener. Come to think of it, it seems as if we've forgotten we won the coveted Double just a few months ago. Unbelievable is all I can say!

For a host of different reasons, the starting line-up looked shockingly low on resources and that inspite of having almost the same team that won the Community Shield. But the fact is that the team that started was nowhere near our full-strength side. Here is the list of absentees : Hargreaves, Ronaldo, Park, Saha (due to injuries), Nani (suspension), Anderson (away at Olympics), Tevez (last minute omission for family reasons). Rooney getting fit in time was a consolation. It was no wonder that there was a fear of deja-vu striking - remember last season's frustrating opener against Reading at home. The flip side to it was the excitement of seeing some of United's starlets - the talented Frazer Campbell got a start to play alongside Rooney and also there was the promise of seeing the Silva twins.

United did start the proceedings in their familiar attacking vein. Campbell could have had a memorable goal scored inside the first 15 minutes had it not been for the Newcastle shot-stopper Given who stopped his effort from close range off a brilliant cross from Rooney. Had that goal been scored things would have been much different than the way they panned out. As it happened, the Magpies didn't sit back and play a defensive game but played with sufficient flair and confidence - specially through their new signings Jonas and Colocini. And they were rewarded for that in the 22nd minuted through the talented Obufemi Martins who scored off a powerful header to silence the noisy first day Old Trafford crowd. Jolted by the blow, United answered back almost immediately through Fletcher, who made a smart run-in to square things off. But United didn't have much to smile about after that. Carrick had to be taken off inside the first half due to an ankle injury. And after the start of the second half, Ryan Giggs had to leave the field too, again for injury reasons. With the midfield stalwarts leaving, United hardly had any creativity in the midfield. Consequently, they found chances hard to come by. There were the regular chances created by the likes of Rooney and Vidic, United actually were struggling to find a clear opening. Youngsters Possebon and Rafael de Silva were handed their debuts and were quite impressive but couldn't really do anything sensational to help the team cause. With every passing minute Newcastle appeared to be happy to play for time and obtain a valuable point - something not many teams can relish. They did succeed in keeping off United's usual last minute bombardment and ended with a creditable draw.

It was a disappointing start to say the least for United. To not see 5-6 regular first team faces is a hard one to take and possibly that's what cost us 2 points and more importantly it cost us a lot of pride considering the imperious start Chelsea had to their campaign. One thing this match underlined for certain is the growing necessity of a striker who could fill in for either of Rooney or Tevez - perhaps Berbatov signing is going to be a no more a luxury, specially with the lofty ambitions of retaining a double being nurtured. Youngsters getting a look-in probably was the only take away for United. Campbell looked very sharp but seems to lack the physical strength - something he should be able to build with more first team chances. The Silva twins also look like they're here to stay - who would mind having more of the Brazilian flair in the middle! Hopefully with the likes of Tevez , Anderson and Hargreaves set to return, we can put this result behind and get back into the reckoning.

United Champions!!!

Hurray!!! United are champions again!
In what was supposed to be a high pressure game, Man United showed why they're the best team in Europe by comfortable coasting to a 2-0 victory and hence sealing the Premier League title for the 10th time.

Things didn't seem to be all that rosy from the start. It was pretty much a given that United needed nothing less than a victory to capture the title - as if to say Chelsea winning at Stamford Bridge against Bolton was a foregone conclusion. Teams travelling to Wigan this season have struggled there, mostly because of the quality of the turf. Mathew Flamini had termed it as the worst he had witnessed in his professional career, after Arsenal had failed to score in a nil-nil draw. But United were lucky though - there were to play on lush green relaid pitch.

United didn't look their fluent best in the first half - perhaps the pressure was telling. Wigan looked the better side initially, creating most chances but not really able to take any of them. Though United were playing 4-4-2, chances looked hard to come by. Midway during the first half, United were lucky to not concede a penalty through Rio Ferdinand. Just minutes later United obtained a deserved penalty, when Rooney was brought down by in the box. As usual, it was Ronaldo who stepped in to take the penalty and given the kind of form he's been in nobody would dare doubt his confidence - and convert he did with consummate ease - as if there was no pressure on him at all! With that, United went into the half time with the comfort of having scored a crucial goal. The other good news at half time was that Chelsea were yet to open their account at the Bridge.

Before the start of the second half, with rain coming down heavily there were fears of rain affecting the freshly-laid pitch. But with just a single-goal cushion, United showed desire for more. They seemed to come to their own in the second half, creating more chances. But most times, the Wigan keeper Kirkland seemed to be the one hurdle they couldn't breach. Kirkland came up with some brilliant saves - he first prevented Rooney from scoring and then came up with a quick reflex action save to deny Tevez. Meanwhile Giggs was brought on who, playing in his record appearance seemed to add some pace to the wings. And that pace was going to bring United their second goal - Rooney put in a clever little pass for Giggs who found himself clear of defenders and came up with a dream goal. It was a goal befitting Giggs' durability and class given the importance of the goal. That was pretty much the title-sealing goal and United had no problems getting to the finish line.

Over all, United showed why they're the team to beat in Europe at this moment. Second league title in succession from a young side talks volumes of talent that is in store.

United 4 : 1 West Ham

West Ham have been United's bogey team for some time now. For a team that was battling relegation till the last day, they did extremely well to beat United last year and had beaten United at home in their home fixture this season too. With such a reputation preceding the Hammers, United were bound to be nervous going into this fixture at Old Trafford. The fact that two of their star men this season, Rooney and Vidic, were unfit to play in this one made things more interesting going into this must-win tie for United. But United weren't going to get distracted by any jinxes in such a crucial tie especially after the mighty delight of making it to Moscow. So, a scoreline of 4-1 in the end pretty much sums the ruthless efficiency with which United got the job done.

First half was one eventful period of the match. United had their peddle on the gas right from the word go. Christiano Ronaldo, the man of the season so far, wasted little time in letting his opponents know that he meant business. His goal came as early as in the 3rd minute and that was one goal that could describe the confidence with which he's played all of this season and gone on to be voted the player of the season - he drove the ball in from the half-line, kept pegging, cut-in from the right and unleashed a furious shot past the goal-keeper. West Ham weren't doing too badly on the other side. United had to make one goal-line clearance and were lucky to survive a hand-ball claim against Brown. Second goal came pretty soon after that for United - Hargreaves, playing on the right-back, where he's been doing pretty well, put in a smart left footed cross which, courtesy of some poor West Ham defending, found Ronaldo who smartly thighed it into the goal. Just as it was beginning to seem that United had settled any nerves that existed before the start, there was some real delight to follow - Tevez came up with one of the goal's of the season - a 25-yard scorcher that had enough swerve and pace to easily bamboozle the West ham goalie. So, there you were, within 30 minutes, the match seemed to have been put to bed and United had probably started thinking about Wigan already. But there was more drama to follow - Nani's immaturity seemed to explode unnecessarily and had to be sent off for head-butting the Hammers' skipper Lucas Neil. That was followed by a brilliant Dean Ashton bicycle-kick goal to make the tie more interesting. With United down to ten men, there were fears of seeing a West ham revival.

Following the Ashton goal, United settled down to play the holding game - most of the second half saw United doing that. But West Ham didn't seem to be doing too much to make use of the advantage they had been provided with. United kept the odd attack going and they did score the fourth through Micheal Carrick around the 60th minute. That fourth goal pretty much put the game to rest and United calmly saw through the remaining of the match with little hassle.


United will now head to Wigan where they'd be playing the last game of the season. If they win there, the title would stay at Old Trafford. The focus now is on Chelsea who travel to Newcastle for their penultimate fixture. They need to win that to keep the pressure on United. I'm hoping Kevin Keagan's in-form team will do some damage to Chelsea's title hopes.

Chelsea 2 : 1 United

I am totally gutted! What could have been a well-deserved draw for United was turned into a complete misery by, of all people, the bloody linesman. How a game of such monumental importance can be decided by some reckless stupid referee is something I just can't comprehend. Is the FA ever going to do something on the growing number of such refereeing blunders?

First half completely belonged to Chelsea. The onus was on them to take the game to United, given the must-win situation and they certainly took the game head-on. Man United looked terribly clueless in first half. Perhaps it was because of the cautious approach employed by Sir Alex - the exclusion of Ronaldo from the starting eleven was certainly an evidence to that. Chelsea created umpteen number of chances and could have taken a big lead in the first half. But somehow, they seemed to be lacking on the final ball. The injury to Vidic didn't help United's cause and the back four seemed pretty susceptible for most of the half. Another noticeable aspect of United's game was the poor show of Nani on the right. Either the situation seemed to have got the better of him or he still needs some maturing up to do. Chelsea kept creating chances and spilling them and just as when United were seeming to get away with the situation, Michaeal Ballack made a smart run to head Chelsea in front in the injury time. Perhaps Chelsea deserved that goal.

It's not in United's character to have a bad first half and not do anything about it. So, as expected United showed a spring in their run in the second half. The game looked far more entertaining and open. United had a lucky break when Chelsea's Mr. Dependable at the back Ricardo Caravalho giften Wayne Rooney a free ball in front of the goal. Rooney, who was struggling with the recurrence of his hip injury, showed great composure and self-belief in putting the ball past Petr Cech. United's performance only improved from that goal on. With Ronaldo coming in for Rooney after the goal, things looked more promising for United. 80 minutes into the game, just as it was looking as though it was destined to end in a fair draw, the linesman took center-stage.
What looked like an innocuous cross into the United box seemed to touch the hand of Carrick, who was only trying to avoid the contact. And the stupid linesman declared a penalty. Ballack, who seemed to be having a tough time with Drogba's attitude, stepped in and confidently put it past Van der Saar.

It was nothing but a shocking decision by the ref. How on earth these referees can make a hash of the whole season in one moment of indecision is something that is incredible and quite unpardonable. Of course that will be the talking point for days to come. This bitter loss notwithstanding, United can still clinch the title if they can win the remaining two matches. I certainly don't want a team like Chelsea to win the League - they're too boring for my liking. And United have been the deserving candidates ever since they put that sorry start behind and came up with solid performances week in and week out after that. Things might not be that easy for United, but then if any team can handle pressure in the EPL, it has to be United. Glory Glory United.

Blackburn 1 : 1 United

Well...it was touted to be a tough away fixture for United and it turned out to be just that. An 88th minute goal by late-goal specialist Carlos Tevez saved the day for United which puts them 3 points clear of Chelsea - 3 points which could clinch the title in the end.

United started the game well and had a golden chance created around the 10th minute - Rooney coming up with a smart cross for Tevez who had nothing but a simple tap-in to make but messed it up while being wrong-footed! That was the only chance United could create the whole of the first half. That probably was a result of some deft display by Rovers who looked the better side the whole of first half. They were rewarded for their display a few minutes before half time when some indecisive clearance saw the ball luckily falling neatly in front of Santa Cruz who made no mistake in putting it past Kuzzack. United had looked a little ragged before that goal and after that goal was scored against them, they only seemed to get more indecisive.

Second half continued to see United struggle for to get the opening goal for most part. There were at least a couple of instance where United could have been awarded a penalty but somehow referee Rob Styles seemed comfortble in turning a blind eye to them. It didn't help United that the Blackburn keeper Friedal was having a great day in front of goal turning away most of the chances - the two saves to deny Rooney and O'Shea were the most notable. Just as when it started to seem as though United were going to go back with a loss, Carlos Tevez came up with a smart goal to save a point for United. The goal came off a corner which Paul Scholes turned towards the goal and Tevez was lurking there to turn it into the goal past Friedal.

It was a tough game for United. Sir Alex fielded an almost full-strength for this one inspite of the Champion's League semifinal coming up middle of the week. Yet I felt Giggs looked a little off-colour and should have had Nani playing for him from the start. United found it tough to get into their usual flowing style and never really got it going. Yet one point at the end of the day could be a very important point in the title race. It's Chelsea next and that could be the most important game yet in this season. Hopefully United will come up with the goods at the Stamford Bridge and if they can do that, we can surely have the title decided there.

United 2 - 1 Arsenal

It has to be one of the most memorable matches of the season. Man United came back from behind to drive the last nail into Arsenal's coffin (read season) and with that have inched more closer to the title.

The pressure and onus was all on Arsenal for this tie at Old Trafford. And they seemed to be responding to it quite well if the first half was any indication - Arsenal dictated terms for most of the half and created several promising chances in front of the United goal. That was because they controlled the midfield for most part but were found wanting in the finishing department - reminiscent of their poor goal-scoring form last year. Adebayor could easily have had a hat-trick had he taken the chances that came his way - but he isn't a Fernando Torres, is he? United on the other hand didn't look too convincing to start with, yet they had a few clear chances upfront - Rooney had 2 decent chances and I thought he should have converted at least one of them. Somehow it felt as if the score was destined to stay nil-nil at half time and so it did!

With United not looking at their best, Sir Alex was going to pep them up to look better in the second half. But it was the Gunners who took the lead albeit off a shocking goal - Adebayor came up with his own version of the "Hand of God" and suddenly Arsenal seemed to have an edge in this crucial tie. But United were going to see poetic justice done to them at the other end - Gallas, the Gunners' skipper and somebody who always seems do well against United found himself at the receiving end of a penalty - courtesy of a hand ball! In comes Ronaldo and he converts not once but twice - one of them could not be counted though! With that equalizer, the game was left wide open. You could clearly see Sir Alex playing his strategy to perfection. He sent in the energetic duo of Anderson and Tevez and United seemed to have gained an extra edge in most departments of the game. Also United were lucky that Van Der Saar was having a brilliant day keeping things at bay - he prevented at least 2 own goals and saw off several chances created by the Arsenal attack. United weren't going to be left unrewarded for the spring in their game, their second goal came pretty much in line with the run of play and what a beauty it was - Owen Hargreaves, who looked very sharp the whole of the match, came up with a sweetly timed curling free kick which Jens Lehmann could only watch going into the corner of the net. At that point with just ten minutes to go, United seemed to have got the match-winner. With some adept defensive work, they were able to cling on to the lead and finally end any title hopes the Gunners had been nurturing.

Overall, it was a memorable league tie. Arsenal gave most of what they had but United some how seemed to have the edge with their class. From now on, with only 4 games left, if United can win 3 they will certainly retain the title even if they lose at the Bridge. Go United go!