It will be an unique occasion tomorrow as all roads would lead to Old Trafford to witness the most important match of this season. Leaders, Manchester United will entertain Chelsea at the Theatre of Dreams in an exciting fixture tomorrow.
Chelsea would be happy to arrive at Old Trafford with Didier Drogba who has been given the green flag after an injury. They’ll also be happy to meet the Red Devils without their leading scorer Wayne Rooney, who faces an absence due to an injury suffered during their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
In today’s conference at Carrington, Sir Alex Ferguson said, "We are relieved about Wayne. The diagnosis - no fracture, just ankle ligament damage - is good news, considering how bad it looked. He is looking at (being out for) two to three weeks so we will have to pick a team without him. But I think there are plenty of goals in the team without Wayne.”
Manchester United would be looking to take a giant step towards the title. Sir Alex Ferguson has said that their clash with Chelsea is crucial but not a title decider. Both teams would be looking for a win but with the absence of Rooney, Sir Alex has to turn to Berbatov to fire the goals.
Dimitar Berbatov has been the second-highest scorer for the Red Devils this season. I think Berbatov has to step up to keep the momentum going at the top of the Premier League and turn the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich around at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
He’s not a attacking player like Rooney as he prefers to score goals by slipping the ball through. He has the quality and must produce some match-winning performances at this crucial time.
A good news for United is one of their long-term absentees - John O'Shea and Owen Hargreaves may feature against Chelsea. Sir Alex hinted that both the players have been training well enough to be considered for substitute berths against the Blues tomorrow.
Mike Dean has been appointed as referee for United vs Chelsea clash. Manchester United are unbeaten in their last four home league games against Chelsea, winning three of those. I hope United make it four tomorrow. Glory Glory Man United.
Do you think Fergie has warned Berba to improve or perish? If he has, will Berbatov be able to deal with such added pressure and start scoring goals on a regular basis?
I hope he starts and scores in today's game against Wolves. Sir Alex will partner him with Michael Owen to give Rooney, a much deserved rest. Also, we might see Oberton or Nani start the game since Giggs looks doubtful after suffering a hamstring injury against Villa.
Common Berba, just get on the pitch and do what you are expected to do for £30.75million. Forget the pressure and just score goals.
Even after:
1. Losing to Liverpool by 4-1
2. Losing Vidic for a Red
3. Losing to Fulham at Craven Cottage
4. Losing Scholes & Rooney for a Red
5. An injury to Dimitar Berbatov
Premier League leaders Manchester United stretched their lead to five points after disposing of Fulham at the Theatre of Dreams. Goals from Scholes, Berbatov and Rooney made the scoreline read 3-0 in favor of the home team.
Sir Alex had used his usual starting eleven in the team, whereas I thought he would use some youngsters. But then the experience began to show as United dominated the game right from the start. Paul Scholes superb 25 yard volley was saved by Cottagers goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, only to see it spin back into the net. That was it. The opening goal in the 12th minute provided the perfect launch pad for United as they kept looking for another goal. An imperious passing move consisting of 20-30 passes from the home side allowed Dimitar Berbatov to slot in a second when the clock read 30 minutes. Carrick, Berbatov and Ronaldo kept on attacking but could not find the net.
Wonder kid Wayne Rooney came off the bench to tap in Ji-Sung Park's cross at the far post and round off a one-sided victory. United made full use of their game in hand over their title rivals, with Liverpool 5 points adrift of them, Aston Villa eight and Chelsea 10 points. Another impressive feat was United maintained their 14 consecutive clean sheet in the league.
... will be the question that Sir Alex would be dealing with.
Manchester United will be looking to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points when they play Fulham today. United brushed aside Derby during the last weekend to march ahead in the FA Cup. And now they look all set to play Fulham to further strengthen their hold on the title.
The only problem that Sir Alex will be facing is that of selecting the team. Wonder kid Wayne Rooney looks set to return for the Red Devils after a seven-match absence. Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Carlos Tevez, Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov are among the big names who could return to the starting eleven. Also, it would be difficult to choose between Giggs and Nani on the left wing as both of them are in great form. Nani scored against Derby and Giggs has been incredible since signing an extension to his contract with The Red Devils. Youngsters Rafael and Welback and of course Gibson will also be fighting to get in the first team.
With many of the senior players missing through injuries, Sir Alex had a big challenge when he entertained Tottenham at The Theatre of Dreams. But he kept his promise and we saw youngsters like Fabio and Welbeck in the starting eleven.
The match started on a worst possible way for United as Roman Pavlyuchenko's early opener stunned everyone. Nemanja Vidic got himself in a muddle and allowed Pavlyuchenko to give him the slip and turn home a deft header to give an early lead for the Londoners. But United were always in the game as they moved freely around the park, until they leveled through Paul Scholes.
Carrick spotted Scholes lurking with menace on the edge of the box and coolly rolled a corner into the veteran's path. The shot was pretty fierce and once it had flicked off Tom Huddlestone, Ben Alnwick did not have a hope of keeping it out. Within a minute Carrick floated a pass over the Spurs defence and the ball landed with Berbatov. Berbatov's first-time control was awesome. His second touch was a precise shot into the bottom corner that again left Alnwick flailing. That was it, United had done it. Now they were set to remain on track for an unprecedented quadruple after reaching the last 16 of the FA Cup.
What impressed me in this match was the way Carrick got so much space to play. He has been a very important player in Sir Alex's team. Just in the blink of an eye, he transformed the tie in United's favor. But the game saw some more injury woes as Fabio collapsed in agony in the early moments of the second period after he had landed awkwardly following an aerial duel with Spurs substitute Giovani dos Santos. Welbeck too joined the injured list late in the game.
The team that lacked the leaders a week ago, now leads the way for others to follow. Manchester United scored a late late winner at The Reebok to move 1 point clear of Liverpool and capture the top spot for the first time this season.
Dimitar Berbatov scored the winner late in the match by heading Carlos Tevez's cross past the Bolton goalie. Tevez was lucky enough to run with that ball supplied by Giggs as 3 players collided for the same. But Tevez keen to impress Sir Alex to extend his tenure at the club, marched on fearlessly and crossed it just in time for Berbatov to head in. Jussi Jaaskelainen was the most frustrated man on the field. His heroics for 90 minutes had kept United at bay and it looked as if the match would end in a draw. With saves from Cristiano Ronaldo, Scholes and Carrick, Jaaskelainen was doing everything to prevent United from scoring.
But alas, United did score late. Sir Alex also looked happy with the late drama that he witnessed. Five consecutive wins now have United at the head of affairs, piling the pressure on Liverpool ahead of Monday's Merseyside derby at Anfield. Rafael Benitez might be repenting for his words against Fergie as United have taken Liverpool head on. When they touched down after their successful Club World Cup quest in Japan they were seven points adrift of their fierce north-west rivals. Liverpool should note the statistic with alarm. Also, United maintained another clean sheet to equal Chelsea's record of 10 consecutive clean sheets.
After Liverpool had thrashed Newcastle United last week to move up the table, Man United had to be at their best to pose some challenge. And Manchester United did keep up the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea as they earned a hard fought battle against Middlesbrough. Dimitar Berbatov's third league goal for the club was enough to earn all 3 points at home.
United had better chances in the match but the brave visitors defended manfully and could have taken the lead when Tuncay headed just wide in the 61st minute. I guess that could have put United under pressure. But Sir Alex intelligently substituted Paul Scholes for Darren Fletcher and the veteran did steady the ship as Dimitar Berbatov blasted in from close range six minutes later. With critics blaming the hangover from their exploits in the Club World Cup just before Christmas, this win has surely rubbished it.
United now move seven points behind leaders Liverpool with two games in hand. The reigning champions now turn their attention to the domestic cup competitions with a trip to Southampton in the FA Cup on Sunday followed by the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final with Derby on 7 January.
Another away game for Man United and another draw. This time a 0-0 draw with Tottenham. Boy, this is really bad. United are missing so many chances to get to the top spot. Sometimes, I feel that United are just lacking the desire to win, but then some brilliant individual performances prove me wrong.
In yesterday's against Spurs, Heurelho Gomes left White Hart Lane as a hero. So often ridiculed for his error-prone presence in the Spurs goal this season, he had to come to form only against United! With first half dominated by the home team, United were strong in the second half with some real chances but again - failed to score. Ronaldo had the ball in the net from the corner but referee Mike Dean was very harsh in ruling it out for handball. Rio Ferdinand had a good chance to head in one from the corner, but he missed it by inches. And the when it seemed that Giggs had secured all three points, Gomes produced a fingertip save to turn away his free-kick that was going to creep in.
Dimitar Berbatov received a hostile reception as the Spurs fans obliged with a stream of boos and jeers that began when Berbatov emerged for the warm-up and continued throughout the game. Berbatov could not produce his fantastic performance and was looking ineffective every pass he received was snatched by the Spurs defense. Ji-Sung Park and Michael Carrick were only the ones to threaten the home team with some forceful shots.
It left the Red Devils rueing their failure to take advantage to challenge the toppers in the Premier League; after Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all had to be suffice with a point.
Dimitar Berbatov is set to miss Manchester United's trip to Aston Villa tomorrow after picking up a hamstring injury. Berbatov limped out of Bulgaria's encounter with Serbia, sparking fears United's record signing had suffered major damage. This injury to Berba means he will also miss Tuesday's Champions League clash with Villarreal and possibly next weekend's Manchester derby.
Wes Brown is also out for 4-5 weeks after an exploratory ankle operation.
And most importantly, United captain Ferdinand is extremely doubtful to face Villa as he is continuing to be troubled by the back injury which ruled him out of last Saturday's destruction of Stoke plus England's midweek win over Germany.
Newly-crowned FIFPro world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo offered an immediate reply to Sir Alex Ferguson's challenge to score 25 goals this season with a first-half double as West Ham were beaten 2-0.
Ronaldo took his tally for the campaign to five, first profiting from Nani's precise cross before tapping home from two yards, an effort that owed everything to the genius of Dimitar Berbatov. Patrice Evra did set up Ronaldo for a hat-trick but the winger's shot was disappointing.
Manchester United could have had more, with Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney both going close. Rooney's delicate chip and a thunderous shot from 30 yards were saved desperately by Robert Green. The best part was the United returned to winning ways and the game also saw the introduction of Michael Carrick who returned from injury to make his third appearance of the season.
With not so much a battle as a mild swat, Manchester United contemptuously dismissed in their all-British encounter against Celtic with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford.
Two suspiciously offside-looking goals from Dimitar Berbatov - taking his Champions League tally to four - and a customary strike from Wayne Rooney, who now has nine in seven games for club and country were enough for killing Celtic as did not even make a fight of it.
The first goal came from a corner that Nani floated to the near post. At the second attempt, John O'Shea forced it on, and Berbatov, with his back to goal, flicked it past Artur Boruc. Just six minutes into the second half, Berbatov tapped home his second, profiting from a blistering Ronaldo free-kick that Boruc could not hold. Yet again, it seemed Berbatov was offside, but i feel it was compensated as the ref's assistant had earlier missed out on Rooney's goal when the England man raced onto Ronaldo's through ball and beat Boruc.
Berbatov was substituted by Carlos Tevez as he received a standing ovation, indicating that the fans love him. In his more rampaging moods, Rooney looks as though he could knock down a few walls and after another near miss, stroked home a deserved goal 15 minutes from time. It took his personal tally to nine in seven games and left Celtic facing a tough fight to claim a UEFA Cup berth as United continued their relentless march towards becoming the first side to retain this competition.
Its a clash of the titans of English football tomorrow as champions Manchester United take on last year's runners-up Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
This match will be very crucial as United will try to close the gap on Chelsea to 3 points. It would be the first meeting of the two sides after Luiz Felipe Scolari took charge of the Blues. There have been a lot of injury worries for both the managers, as many of their star players are not 100% match fit. While United is worried about Ronaldo, Berbatov, Carrick and Foster; Scolari is worried about Essien, Ballack, Drogba.
Whatever might be the line up for today, i expect a great match for a great weekend.
Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-1 for the first time in Rafa Benitez's Anfield career. The Liverpool boss had never beaten United in nine previous league games.
A game that was looking very promising for United after Tevez put them ahead in 3 minutes, did not materialize as they conceded 2 goals and saw Vidic being sent off (meaning he will not play against Chelsea next Sunday). All eyes were on US$60 million striker Dimitar Berbatov on his first appearance for the Red Devils. He brought instant joy to the manager after his pass was netted by Tevez. United played well in the first 15-20 minutes of the game, but then succumbed to the relentless presure form Liverpool.
Sir Alex Ferguson said, "We were simply outplayed." He admitted that his side were simply outmuscled by Liverpool and not surprisingly, Ferguson was quick to vent his anger. He came down heavily on his defenders for both the goals, as first one was deflected by Wes Brown as an own goal and then Ryan Babel scored a winner after tricking his marksman.
