Plenty of possession can’t hide Manchester
United’s striking woes; Manchester City put up a stubborn defence and grab a winner, 1-0
at the City of Manchester Stadium.
This Manchester
derby was different, two wins and a chance to top the fledgling Premier League
table saw a packed house with vociferous support from both the red and blue
halves of Manchester,
an overcast August day made conditions ideal for football.
Eriksson made some changes as he
tries to integrate all the new signings he’s made over the summer, Bianchi was
replaced up front by Bojinov, Elano was alongside; a midfield of Geovanni,
Johnson, Hamann and Petrov provided a touch of steel and a touch of guile, a
back four saw, Corluka and Garrido on the flanks with Richards and Dunne as centre
backs, son of Schmeichel remained the stand in for the injured Isaksson.
An injury hit United saw van den
Sar in goal, Brown, Ferdinand,, Vidic and Evra provided the back four, Nani
started on the left with Giggs occupying the right, Hargreaves and Carrick
occupied the midfield, one to sit the other to go forward, Scholes and Tevez
made up the front two with the expectation that the Englishman would be playing
behind the Argentinean.
The opening few moments were a
cagey affair, United started well, easily keeping the ball with fluid passing
and crisp delivery, they seemed concerned with possession more than attack. Brown fouls Petrov on the left as City gained
some rare possession.
Nani makes space on the left but
looses possession. When the opening
appears United pounce; Tevez finds Scholes on the edge of the area, the ball is
played into the path of Nani, he goes near post allowing Schmeichel to parry
the ball away, poor choice of shots for the Portuguese winger.
Tevez wins a corner kick off a
Scholes through ball but City clear their lines; Brown goes forward on the
right, City clear; Scholes finds only the ‘keeper with his through ball.
Bojinov is brought off for Mpenza,
his knee injured after an awkward landing.
Corluka and Geovanni combine on
the left, United clear easily and retain possession; Tevez works the ball with
Nani on the United left and finds Carrick with a deep ball, he looses
possession and City clear; Nani fires in a promising cross which goes behind
for a goal kick.
On the left Petrov makes a
touchline run, he dives as Brown challenges for the ball and earns the England man a
talking to; Richards delivers a ball forward into no one.
Giggs cuts inside and plays in
Scholes, Nani receives the ball but takes one touch before he shoots and is
closed down, he should have hit the ball first time; a beautifully crafted,
flowing, passing move covering both flanks and several United players comes to
nothing.
Scholes is sitting deeper in a
five man midfield and City are just sitting back, they can’t get more than a
sniff of the ball in the early going.
Scholes plays in Giggs who drops
a ball to Tevez and runs into space on the left, the Argentinean doesn’t see
the Welshman’s runs and gives the ball away, Giggs is furious; he does better
when running onto a through ball, his pace takes him past Dunne but Richards
times his tackle to perfection and takes the ball away for City to clear. Nani, creating lots of trouble on the left;
gets the ball from Scholes and wins a corner off Corluka, the first delivery is
cleared behind at the far post and the second is played short to Giggs to
Hargreaves who delivers an angled ball in, Scholes' header is too soft to take
advantage of the flailing Dane but City clear their lines and get the ball out
to Petrov who promptly wastes possession.
Nani and Evra work the left flank
and a delightful back heel from Nani puts Evra through on goal, a last minute
tackle as Evra is pulling the trigger forces the shot to be shanked
behind.
Hamann gets a foot on the ball
and passes to Mpenza, the Belgian is robbed by Carrick and United surge
forward, Tevez gets the ball but is pushed wide by Richards; retaining
possession United switch flanks, Evra and Nani combining to win a corner, City
clear the area and hand United back the ball, Scholes finds space on the edge
of the area after drifting around Hamann but he takes one too many touches and
is closed down.
City have their first shot when
Johnson fires high from 35 yards out.
Geovanni drifts past his marker
but has his run baulked, Richards flings himself at the ball to keep it in play
and City retain possession, they work the ball back in the centre; through
Hamann; back to Geovanni and he takes a shot as Ferdinand back off him, a
wicked deflection of the defender takes the ball past a diving van den Sar
inside his left hand post for a shock City opener.
Brown gets space and time on the
right but decides to foul his marker for a yellow card.
Evra works the ball inside to
Nani and it finds Scholes who gets a pass off to Tevez, the striker drops a
ball back out to Hargreaves who delivers a poor cross behind for a goal
kick.
City enjoy a brief spell of
possession; Hamann, Petrov, Garrido, Elano and finally Mpenza combine in a
fluid and resilient passing move which sees the Belgian’s shot blocked and
Tevez break up field only for Dunne to clear.
Corluka works the ball to Elano
but the flat cross is gathered up by van den Sar.
Giggs get on the end of a Nani
cross and stabs the ball goal bound, Schmeichel parries it, Richards clears it
as Scholes looks on in befuddlement.
Hamann is starting to get into
the game, he tracks Scholes and limits the influence of the United midfielder
and disrupts the United rhythm as well as steadying City.
Petrov gets the ball again on the
left and this time is fouled by Nani.
Brown combine with Nani on the
right flank but the play is snuffed out by Schmeichel’s smart pick up; Tevez
delivers a ball for Carrick which is too narrow; Scholes, Carrick and Evra
combine to fee the ball to Giggs, Corluka wins the ball and clears for City;
Dunne clears the next Giggs ball in for a corner, Evra uses his skills to find
space in the area and fires a pass to Nani but the shot is wide from 25 yards
out; Ferdinand gets forward and works the ball with Brown and Nani, Carrick
looses the ball and ends the promising move.
Both managers keep the sides the
same.
Hamann and Scholes continue their
tussle and the German gets the better of the Englishman with a free kick.
Garrido concedes a corner after
tracking back a long Nani run. The pacy
ball in is met well by Vidic but crashes against the bar; Schmeichel didn’t
clear his lines at all and merely flailed his arms at the shot, grateful for
the woodwork saving his bacon; Scholes fires the rebound wide from close in;
inexplicably.
Petrov gets to show his skills
with a great ball delivered into the heart of the United area from the right,
United manage to clear.
Dunne clears up an attack
involving Giggs, Tevez and Nani down the right; Tevez wins a corner off Dunne
and City clear; Tevez plays in a central Scholes who can’t find Giggs with his
pass to the flank; Hargreaves and Scholes combine to play in Nani City hold
firm and United retain possession, they come at their neighbors again with
Vidic, he delivers a great ball in for Giggs, the winger delivers the ball into
the box for two of his team mates, but Dunne’s reading of the situation was
lightning quick and he clears the ball between two red shirts.
Hamann gets a yellow for a cynical
trip on Giggs; Corluka gets a yellow soon after.
Carrick cuts through the middle
and flashes the ball wide to Nani, with space to work the winger can only send
a ball high and behind the three United players at the far post; Carrick works
the ball to Scholes, he play in Hargreaves, Brown gets the next ball and feeds
Nani and again Richards clears.
Giggs feeds Tevez on the edge of
the area, a neat back heel finds Scholes but his #### is poor, high and
wide.
Nani must be tired, he is taken
off for Eagles and was by far the most threatening of the United front
players.
Tevez finds Scholes who play in
Giggs out wide on the left, a signature Giggs ball is played in but Scholes and
Eagles can’t get the touch that would give them a goal and the ball goes
behind.
City continue to defend and
struggle to get any meaningful possession going forward.
Schmeichel claims a cross in from
Nani; just like his dad.
City bring out Elano; largely
superfluous and bring in Bianchi to act as the lone front man.
Giggs; having freedom to roam;
runs at City through the middle, he flashes a pass out to Eagles on the right
flank he continues to run in but the cross is put behind for a corner, Hamann
clears up field to Petrov and the Bulgarian holds the ball up then plays in the
German, Hamann finds Geovanni a poor touch allows Evra to clear.
Scholes puts in Hargreaves who
sees a shot blocked, the ball comes out for Tevez and he then has a shot
blocked.
Hargreaves needlessly fouls
Geovanni and City get a free kick 28 yards out.
The Brazilian gets the ball over the wall but it’s too soft to trouble van
den Sar.
Carrick works the ball to Giggs
then sends the return pass to Eagles whose early ball in is cleared for a
corner; Dunne clears the subsequent ball in despite the big three coming
forward again.
Ferdinand and Bianchi play
handbags in the byline and the referee is imminently sensible.
Carrick feeds Scholes who
delivers a great chip forward but Tevez is offside.
Hamann plays in Geovanni who
feeds Petrov who delivers a long ball to Mpenza, his cross is cleared and
United come away with the ball, it goes long to Eagles but Schmeichel is
quickly off his line to smother the ball.
Corluka holds up Giggs but the
winger recovers to deliver a cross which goes wide. United try to change things up with the
inclusion of O’Shea; in at right back and Campbell
on as a striker; Brown and Carrick come off.
Ball and Geovanni combine briefly
before the Brazilian loses the ball.
Campbell gets one wide to Giggs but the return
ball in is cleared by Richards, Tevez gets it and sees his shot go wide.
City are slowing up and showing
definite signs of tiring.
Carrick and Mpenza clash and the
balls pops loose, Corluka sees an opportunity and drives one in from range just
over van der Sar’s crossbar.
Hargreaves, Evra and Giggs
combine in right only to get a goal kick decision.
Mpenza gets onto a long ball on
the right and fires in a cross for Bianchi, Ferdinand steps in and clears;
Mpenza fouls Evra giving United a free kick in a dangerous area, City clear
their lines without the help of a flailing Schmeichel.
Giggs puts in an early ball for
Tevez which simply has too much pace for the Argentinean; Hargreaves wins the
ball from a dithering Petrov and launches United forward but Tevez is held up
by Hamann and Corluka; Evra feeds a ball to Eagles on the flank the cross comes
in and is cleared by Dunne; Tevez fires the clearance wide.
Petrov makes some time and space
and gets the ball out to Mpenza; he cuts inside and fires over from a tight
angle.
Evra puts in a ball which City
clear behind, Schmeichel flaps as the ball sails past him and a surprised Tevez
can only head wide from two yards out at the near post with the goal gaping and
open; van den Sar joins in the attack as United have a corner kick from Giggs’
deflected cross, Dunne clears.
Ferdinand gets a yellow for
gobbing off and Dunne clears the ball out from United’s final attack.
Grabbing a goal against the run
of play and holding off your local rivals for 90 minutes will please the Swede,
an Injury to Bojinov will cause concern but overall the endeavour of the
players was excellent, particularly Dunne and Richards who kept their heads and
handled everything that was thrown at them; Schmeichel showed his inexperience
but came up with a couple of key saves their wasn’t much to shout about going
forward but Hamann was good and the team was focused on defence. Tonight
City sit atop the Premier
League.
United are playing like Arsenal,
plenty of lovely possession and passing and movement but very little in the way
of an end product. Ferguson even had to use a young untried
striker in order to create something.
Dominance of possession and nothing to show for it will probably mean
some new hairdryers at Old Trafford. For
a team not to pepper the opposition goal when a ‘keeper has shown he’s
vulnerable is awful, Rooney and co. are so well needed. A pretty terrible start to the season; two
points from three games.
Clattenburg had another excellent
game, he kept things flowing, made correct; mostly; decisions and used common
sense when things went askew. If he keep
on like this he’ll be going deep into a Cup competition.
Stubborn Reading
thwart Champions, even going against ten men United can’t find a winner in a
thrilling nil-nil draw.
Old Trafford was packed and
expectant on a sunny Saturday. Great
atmosphere with plenty of noise ensured a great background for the season
opener.
Injuries forced changes to the
starters, van de Sar was in goal, a back four of Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic and
Silvestre was packed with experience and quality, a robust midfield of Scholes,
Carrick and Evra also had the running and creativity of Ronaldo, Rooney and
Giggs provided experience plus pace and power in attack.
Injury couldn’t keep Hahnemann
out of goal; he was suffering a broken hand; de la Cruz, Ingimarsson, Duberry
and Shorey provided solidity at the back, Murty protected the back four and
worked alongside Gunnarsson, Hunt and Harper, Seol and Doyle operated in
attack.
Reading started with attacking intent and won
a free kick on the right, Shorey delivered but Ingimarsson could only head
tamely at van de Sar.
Reading
started compact but looking to play football and Manchester United looked to
score early to force Reading
out of their defensive shell.
De la Cruz prevents a run at goal
from Evra, Giggs delivers a great ball in for Rooney but the finish is poor and
Hahnemann claims easily.
Ronaldo runs at Reading on the left and passes to Evra but
the defence clear.
Seol plays it long for Shorey and
he delivers a good cross into the area but van de Sar is quick off his line to
claim the ball.
Carrick drops a ball into the
area for Rooney but Hahnemann claims bravely, Ferdinand; spending time forward;
feeds Carrick who combines with Brown, the defender can find neither space to
shoot nor a teammate to pass to and is dispossessed.
Reading break with Seol who gets
the ball wide for Doyle, his cross is cut out by Ferdinand before it can reach
Shorey, United can only half clear the two subsequent corners and Reading have
a few moments of pressure before Hunt fouls Ronaldo.
Ronaldo and Rooney combine with a
neat interchange and Rooney’s ball; dropped in at the far post; isn’t well read
by Ronaldo or Carrick and the chance disappears.
Harper delivers a great long ball
for Shorey, he receives it but can’t beat Ronaldo and the Portuguese winger
shows his skills in the tackle as he strips Shorey and initiates another United
attack.
Ronaldo sees his shot well saved
by Hahnemann and his deep far post ball is fired into the upright and out.
Doyle gets a sniff of goal but is
well crowded off the ball.
Ronaldo cuts inside after good
United passing and de la Cruz show determination to force a corner kick, neat
work on the left; again from Ronaldo; see the ball crossed and Rooney head wastefully
wide. Brown crosses way too long after
he worked the ball forward with Ferdinand.
United start to apply more
pressure and to dominate possession, whilst Reading keep only Doyle as their lone striker
and seek to absorb Manchester United attacks.
Rooney delivers a poor cross
which Murty clears; the big striker goes down in the area after barely a touch
from the Reading
defender in the next attack.
Carrick fires a cross in for
Rooney but the shot is wide, Carrick finds Ronaldo but the winger is
dispossessed and the ball cleared.
Giggs get a late first half free
kick but his ball beats everyone.
Rooney fails to come out; he’s
got a fractured foot; and is replaced by Nani for his Premier League
debut.
Manchester United start the half
attacking strongly and Reading
look just to hang on.
Carrick delivers a great ball in
for Giggs but the Welshman shoots wide the he makes a good deep run and sees
his subsequent cross cleared behind for a corner kick, Nani gets his shot in
but Hahnemann claims the ball.
Scholes and Ronaldo combine in
attack but the number of bodies in the area prevents them from shooting. Nani has a cross cleared and Giggs has one
cleared by Duberry and then Evra flails the ball wide from a corner kick, the United
pressure is unrelenting.
O’Shea comes on for Silvestre and
Oster replaces Seol.
Ronaldo drops too easily to the
grass but Giggs can only fire the free kick wide of the goal, the winger turns
provider for O’Shea but the fierce shot is claimed by Hahnemann. Giggs and Nani both get open but both shots
are high and wide of the mark, Carrick feeds the ball to Nani but Hahnemann is
off his line quicker, Ronaldo and Scholes combine for a one two but the last
touch is too heavy and Hahnemann clears.
Kitson comes on for Doyle and
almost immediately he makes a rash challenge on Evra’ studs showing with leg
raised and is red carded; he’d only been on the pitch a moment.
Carrick takes a long range shot
but is denied by Hahnemann, Reading barely manage to scramble clear a corner
kick, Vidic hurls his marker to the turf in the area but escapes
punishment.
The United pressure is almost
continuous but a brief respite is given when Reading break; it’s two on two;
Hunt’s shot is poor.
Scholes has a shot from distance,
de la Cruz dispossesses Nani in the area, Ronaldo beats Shorey but Hahnemann
claims the shot, Gunnarsson stops another Ronaldo attack, Hahnemann saves from
Ronaldo, Scholes and Carrick, Ronaldo puts one high and wide, Giggs is beaten
to Nani’s through ball by Hahnemann.
A late corner sees Oster fire
high and wide for Reading.
Ferguson will be disappointed with his striker’s
foot injury and his team’s lack o####oal; particularly gains ten men, they did
create plenty of chances.
An away point at Old Trafford is
a dream start for the Royals. Playing
with unfamiliar tactics they held out for the full ninety. Good performances by Duberry, Murty, de la
Cruz and Gunnarsson will please the manager and of course don’t forget an
excellent display of goalkeeping from Hahnemann.
Styles was a touch erratic but
not too bad, he didn’t give any penalties but should have carded Vidic for a
blatant; unnecessary; push.
