Rooney's Late Penalty Sees Off Stubborn Rangers

Rangers 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (pen 87)

Team: Van der Sar, Smalling, Evans, O'Shea, Fabio, Carrick, Scholes (Anderson 67), Giggs, Nani (Obertan 76), Berbatov (Hernandez 76), Rooney

Pretty good game considering the circumstances. Rangers parked the bus for most of the game and despite some quality chances spurned by our misfiring front pairing, we eventually prevailed when Fabio was caught by a high boot late in the game to earn a penalty. Rooney put it away to give us a well deserved victory and thru into the next round of the Champions League.

This game was particularly sweet in that practically everyone in a red jersey had an outstanding game. It's hard to find fault with anyone on the pitch today. Van der Sar had some nervy moments early in the game with his wayward kicks, but redeemed himself with a couple of good saves.

Berbatov brought his A game today and was rather unfortunate not to find his name on the scoresheet. Maybe all the rumours of him leaving are starting to get to him. He was running his socks off and his first touch was absolutely brilliant. Even the much maligned Carrick was outstanding besides Scholes.....a rarity, but much appreciated.

But the man of the moment has to be Fabio. Right from the kickoff, his boundless energy stood out. He was up and down the left flank, supporting Giggs. It's a pity the guy ahead of him in the squad is Evra. In my book, Fabio is heads and shoulders above his brother Rafael. He times his tackles well and whips in a wicked cross. I think he would make a good left winger should the need arises.