What a game it was! United were dominant right from the start of the game. And they kept on piling the pressure throughout, but the goal just was not coming. And finally, when Vidic scored after Carrick's shot hit the bar, Old Trafford erupted and United managed all three points against Sunderland.
With Roy Keane resigning mid-week, Sunderland were without a manager and came to Old Trafford with a series of defeats in the previous games. This game was completely one sided affair with United attacking and Sunderland defending the attack with all their 11 men. Berbatov, Rooney, Carrick had some opportunities but could not convert them. Also, with Ronaldo limping off to the tunnel meant more problems for United. Next week's trip to Tottenham would be without Evra and Rooney and may be Ronaldo as well.
Anyways, I am happy that ManU got all the 3 points to stay behind Liverpool and Chelsea by 6 and 5 points respectively, with one game in hand.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 100th goal made it a double cause for celebration at Old Trafford as Manchester United marked 50 years in the game for Sir Alex Ferguson with a comfortable 5-0 win over Stoke. Tony Pulis side which has attracted lot of awe from the football pundits, were crushed by the Red Devils.
Ronaldo took just three minutes to reach his personal milestone with a trademark free-kick and rounded off United's biggest win of the season in similar fashion at the end. And during the course of these 90 minutes Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov and debutant Danny Welback found the net. Sir Alex marked his own landmark day with a trio of Premier League debuts in the form of Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson and Manucho.
With Chelsea and Liverpool also capturing 3 points, United trail them by 8 points. A long way to go to catch the leaders. Ofcourse, I am happy with United's emphatic victory, but I just can stop watching and appreciating Welbeck's goal again and again. Boy, it was some shot. It was fabulous. I am sure the England Under-19 forward will be one the leading strikers in the coming years.
Cristiano Ronaldo feels Manchester United must go for the jugular to reinforce their title ambitions at Arsenal on Saturday.
United have dropped points against Newcastle and Everton this season and Portugal winger feels Sir Alex Ferguson's side have much to prove as they go for a title hat-trick. United had an excellent record at Highbury, but they have so far managed just one point from two visits to the Emirates, conceding late goals on both occasions. Wenger's reputation of promoting youth has back fired so far but still they are a strong side to face and defeating them is not an easy task on their turf.
Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner is confident Arsenal can beat Manchester United and prove their league title chase is back on track.
While United's Darren Fletcher expects a wounded Arsenal side to "come out fighting" at their own Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Whosoever says whatsoever, I am confident that United would thrash Arsenal and would definitely retain the title for a 3rd time.
Being a United fan, I know how difficult it was to get all 3 points against Hull. With united having a comfortable 4-1 lead, they threw away 2 goals to eventually win it 4-3. With Ronaldo netting 2 goals to take his tally to 7 for this season so far, Carrick and Vidic scored for the Red Devils.
But Hull's triumphant march continued in the league. Even after they were thrashed by Chelsea last week, and in a bad position at Old Trafford, they bounced back and forced United to cling on for maximum points. With victories at Newcastle, Tottenham and, more pertinently, Arsenal this season, Hull had every reason to travel across the M62 to Old Trafford for a league game and they played brilliant football. Hats off to Hull, as not many teams come and get 3 goals at United's home turf.
Manchester United grabbed a 1-0 win at Fratton Park to register their first Barclays Premier League victory of the season. The victory came after a scruffy goal in the 33rd minute, which Darren Fletcher claimed.
United were still missing some key injured players like Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves and the suspended Nani.
Now United will face a gap of nearly two weeks as they prepare to face Russia's Zenit St Petersburg for the European Super Cup in Monaco on Friday.
Manchester United took a huge step towards retaining their Premier League title, beating West Ham United 4-1 despite playing more than half the match with 10 men, with Nani sent off after a scuffle with West Ham's Lucas Neil. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice at Old Trafford and Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick netted against their old club as Manchester United moved to 84 points with one match to play. This means that if the leaders win at Wigan Athletic on May 11 they will be champions of England for the 17th time.
Second-placed Chelsea, who visit Newcastle United on Monday, have 81 points but a vastly inferior goal difference.
