10 Men Reading Holds Champions (Manchester United 0 - Reading 0)

I had a strange feeling this was going to happen and privately expressed my fears to Kentona but held my tongue/keyboard here instead of jinxing the team.

We did everything and batted relentlessly at the Reading goal but it simply refused to give. Maybe it was the late kick off that screwed us again (a running theme on this blog last season), or that Rooney was injured and we didn't have a recognised striker to take his place. Or even the fact that prior to our game, the only other draw game was Derby vs Portsmouth. The law of averages some how evened out the draw statistics, especially after both Chelsea and Arsenal won their games earlier.

We were heads and shoulders the better side today, spending a huge portion of the game literally camped inside Reading's half. We pelted their goal with shots but that big American, Hahnemann was equal to the task. Carrick, Ronaldo and Rooney all played brilliantly. Carrick in particular was exceptional with his passing.

It was a blow to us when Rooney was taken off at the half, presumably for an injury to his foot sustained in the first period. Let's hope it's nothing serious. Despite our attacking prowess on paper, we're actually paper thin when it comes to planting that important target man up front. If Rooney's injury is a long term one, we could rue losing both Smith and Rossi this summer, since Tevez would be the only fit one left standing.

Nani did well coming on to replace Rooney and I expect him to be a crowd favourite with his unselfishness and work rate. For that same reason, I'm sure Tevez will win the hearts of the Old Trafford faithful.

Reading was reduced to 10 men in the 72 minute, when substitute Dave Kitson lunged at Evra with his studs showing. It was a dangerous challenge and could have seriously hurt Evra. While I thought it might have been harsh to send him off at first glance, the replays had me agreeing with referee, Rob Styles....something that doesn't happen very often. And if anyone is wondering, I still think he's a crap referee.

And that statement was perfectly justified in the dying seconds of injury time when he firstly gave Reading a corner instead of a goalkick to us...and when he harshly gave a freekick to us right at the edge of the Reading penalty area. Both were piss poor decisions, but in the end they cancelled themselves out.

The draw's a disappointing result, given the way we had approached this game. And it's even more disappointing considering our perceived main rivals all scrapped to victory on the opening day. Well, as they say, the Premiership title is a marathon and not a sprint, let's just make that we recover well from this stumble off the blocks.