Ronaldo's Double Nails Hammers

Manchester United 2 - West Ham 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Ronaldo (13, 30)

Team: Kuszczak, Rio, Vidic, Rafael (Neville 80), Evra, Fletcher (Carrick 70) , Anderson, Nani (Rooney 70), Tevez, Berbatov

Feguson rung in the changes, bringing in Kuszczak (damn...that's one of the hardest names to spell), Rafael, Anderson, Nani and Tevez into the starting lineup. Notthat the previous lineup in the weekend was playing poorly, it's just part of the rotation process to keep the players on their toes and keep them involved.

Before the game started, Ronaldo and Rio received their awards for being in FifPro's team of the year. Ronaldo was honoured with a ridiculously gleaming trophy for being the player of the year. I have to admit it's really a sweet piece of silverware and I couldn't take my eyes off it. I wonder if there's any place selling a replica of it.....

Anyway the newly crowned FifPro player of the year struck twice in the first half to give United the win. This time there was no let down in the second half.

Right from the off, Nani was proving himself a constant threat down the left flank. Everything good that came in the first half was provided by him.

He provided the telling pass to Ronaldo to open the scoring in the 13th minute.

Berbatov then created the second with a piece of outrageous magic, turning his defender on the byline, then flicking the ball past the same defender, before squaring it for Ronaldo to add the second. The goal was a simple tap in but the build up was simply marvelous.

As the story goes, it could have been more. Tevez was rusty as hell from sitting on the bench for the past few games, and it showed. He could have added a couple but lacked the sharpness. It may take a few games to regain it, but with Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov in splendid form, he might not have the time.

We did somewhat take the foot off the pedal in the second half. Partly was due to West Ham playing much better and partly was from complacency on our part. I was particularly disappointed with Anderson. He was sloppy with possession and gave the ball away a few times trying to pick teammates with difficult passes.

Nani too had faded after he switched flanks with Ronaldo and Tevez continued trying without really shaking the rust off. Despite all that, we were mostly coping with what West Ham could throw at us.

In the end it was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested. We had already won the game in the first half.

I expect the rotations to continue at the weekend when we entertain the surprise package Hull City. I fully expect another victory to leapfrog them.