Giggs Wins It Right At The Death

Norwich 1 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Norwich: Holt (83)
Manchester United: Scholes (6), Giggs (90)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Jones, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs (Smalling 90), Nani, Welbeck, Hernandez (Young 63)

Gotta say we barely deserved this win. That was just about as underwhelming a performance as the lads can muster. At the same time, credit must be given to Norwich for giving a good go. They did it at Old Trafford and again on the return fixture at Carrow Road.

We had a dream start with Scholes scoring from close range. Given the way we started, you couldn't help but expect good things to happen. But this is no longer the United we know. We are unable to put our foot down the opponent's throats anymore.

Maybe it's because the spine of the team have gotten old, or maybe the team just isn't interested anymore. Whatever the case is, we allowed Norwich to comeback into the game. Pound for pound, player for player on the pitch, we were probably better in every department, yet we allowed Norwich to dictate the pace and the pattern, as a result nearly digging ourselves a hole in the title race.

As I mentioned to Kentona midway into the first half, what exactly is the point of having Evra in the team? As a captain, he doesn't absolutely nothing to inspire the team and as a left back, he's allowed Pilkington to practically rape his ass everything he comes down the flanks. Without Saurez to light a fire under his little coloured ass (not saying which colour in case I get mistaken for being a rascist, afterall there are many sensitive pussies out there), what exactly is the point of Evra?

The second half wasn't any better. It got boring, and luckily the north London derby was on, and my word, what an exciting game. I tuned back in time to see Holt score a wonderous goal to level the scores. Welbeck missed a boatload of chances and the piece were eventually left to the other really ancient player, Giggs, to pick up. He scored with literally seconds left in the game to save our collective blushes.

Overall, there was nothing impressive in the way we won this one, except that we did. It will keep Shitty honest in the title race and nothing more. The longer this charade goes on, the less likely it seems we will overtake the noisy neighbours. Too bad the 'title decider' will only be played at the end of April, prolonging what really seems like the inevitable. Until then, we will continue to give the impression of chipping away at Shitty.

Bilbao Must Be Licking Their Lips

Manchester United 1 - Ajax 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Hernandez (6)
Ajax: Ozbiliz (37), Alderweireld (87)


Team: De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Rafael, Fabio, Park, Cleverley (Scholes 61), Young (Evans 61), Nani, Berbatov (Welbeck 71), Hernandez

How the hell did we lose this one is beyond me. But gotta give full credit to the youngsters from Amsterdam. They gave it a go, and really made things difficult for us, had it not been for De Gea, we would have been beaten soundly and out of the competition. Instead, we barely scrapped thru to the next round to face Athletic Bilbao, who must be relishing the scalp of the once mighty Manchester United, in the world renowned competition of the Europa League.

We couldn't have asked for a better start. Berbatov and Hernandez combined to put us ahead in the 6th minute with some precise passing from the former and an outstanding finish from the latter. It was richly deserved. Captain of the day, Park, was everywhere from the, pardon the pun, park, and it was looking ominous for the youngster from Ajax. Their defending was naive and porous and it looked a matter of time before the flood gates would open. Bervatov and Hernandez looked like they would have a field day. They were having their way with the Ajax defenders.

As the story goes, we didn't take advantage of our chances and Ajax slowly gain confidence, taking hold of the game and started to make chances of their own. Our midfield faded into the background as Ajax tried to salvage some pride in the tie.

Eventually they found the breakthru and drew level. It was everything they deserved. It's not to say we were poor in anyway either. We were devastating in the counter but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. It was an incredibly entertaining first half, and for most parts, I was secretly wishing we could play this Ajax team every week just for the sake of entertainment. That's right, for those of you who missed it, both teams played their part in a spectacle.

The second half wasn't as enjoyable as a United fan. Right from the whistle, Ajax gave it a go. We simply couldn't cope with their energy, endeavour and enthusiasm. Had it not been for De Gea with a brilliant point blank save early in the half, we would have had to sweat it out for 40 minutes instead of the mere 4 minutes.

Ferguson tried to stem the Ajax charge by introducing Evans and Scholes into the fray. It stopped the dam from bursting, but it was still leaking in large quantities. Eventually Ajax found the winner in the 87th minute from a freekick swung in from the left. It seems that we have problems coping with freekicks coming in from the left. No one followed the runners and Ajax scored, despite a valiant effort from De Gea to keep it out.

We then had to endure a nervy 4-5 minutes for the final whistle. When it finally came, you could feel the collective sigh of relief from Old Trafford.

How the hell did we come from an exciting first half to holding our breathes in the final minutes is honestly beyond me. At the end of the day, I suppose I'm just glad to have lived to fight another day.

United Does Just Enough

Ajax 0 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Young (59), Hernandez (85)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Jones, Fabio, Carrick, Cleverly (Scholes 60), Young (Valencia 76 (Welbeck 86)), Nani, Rooney, Hernandez

Gotta admit we were terrible unimpressive, but that was understandable as we had a number of players returning from lengthy injuries. The chemistry was lacking and for a long time out there, the whole lot of them were dancing to their own tune.

The first half was so poor that I practically fell asleep during the halftime show. Good thing it wasn't a deep one. Whenever the exacitable commentators raised the volume and pitch of their voices, I managed to get an eye open.

Ashley Young's goal was a fine individual effort. He had a terrible game till then and it will certainly boost his confidence in the weeks to come.

Hernandez added a second after some really good work from Valencia and Rooney. Valencia's injury woes continued as he reportedly pulled a hamstring and looks likely to be out for an extended period of time.

We didn't really exact our influence against a very youthful Ajax team, yet after sleepwalking thru a putrid first half, we managed to do just enough to return to Old Trafford with a comfortable scoreline in a week's time.

Rooney Exacts Sweet Vengence

Manchester United 2 - Liverpool 1
Scorers
Manchester United: Rooney (47, 50)
Liverpool: Suarez (80)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Scholes, Valencia, Rooney, Welbeck

Did he shake or didn't he shake Evra's hand? At the end of the day it didn't matter what Suarez did. All that mattered was the scoreline. We won. We climbed to the top of the table, albeit for 24hrs. The whole handshake-gate shouldn't even have mattered, cause it really didn't.

I'm going with Gary Neville here. If players hate one another, all the better for the game and the spectators. Everyone needs heroes and villians, especially in a long standing intense rivalry like ours and Liverpool. Just look at the Real Madrid and Barcelona fans, there is no love between them. Bringing that intensity down to the level of the players is just a natural progression. I, for one, am glad Evra and Suarez have taken it to the next level. Ferguson and Dalglish have too.

Which reminds me why I love Tony Adams even though he played for Arsenal. There was an advertisement I caught when the Premiership was in it's infancy, and players were giving their take on what it meant to them. Adams came on declaring that it was all about beating Spurs, with a pumping of the fists. That's what a rivalry should be about. Screw the niceties. I just wanna rip your balls off. To take a quote off MacDonald's...I'm lovin' it!

That said, it helps that we beat Liverpool. Two quick fire goals from Rooney at the start of the second half sealed the game. A blunder at the back allowed Liverpool to pull one back, and we had to endure a nervious 10 minutes. It could have been worse had De Gea not made an amazing save from Glen Johnson.

Still, we were the better team throughout the game and really should have had a much easier time than scrambling towards the finish line again.

Of course the end of the game brought on more silliness with Evra baring his soul and celebrating wildly in front of Suarez, that could bring on some serious reprecussions, but given all the shenanigans that have gone on right from handshake-gate, who could blame him?

As for me, I'm just going to enjoy this moment.

United Claws Back From The Dead

Chelsea 3 Manchester United 3
Scorers
Chelsea: Evans (og 36), Mata (46), Luiz (50)
Manchester United: Rooney (pen 58, pen 69), Hernandez (84)


Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Rafael (Scholes 64), Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Young (Hernandez 53), Valencia, Rooney, Welbeck (Park 84)

My word, what a game. Kinda still living the moment. After falling 3-0 down, against a motivated Chelsea team, we had no right to come back into the game, yet we did. Our lads never know what defeat is and we clawed our back to level the game.

Against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was not my idea of a walk in the park. They came in with their pride wounded and a squad decimated by suspensions and injuries and really showed us up by going 3-0 by the 50th minute.

The first came before half time when Sturridge squirmed his way past Evra and his cross was deflected into the net by Evans.

The next two came in quick succession in the second half. Mata fired an unstoppable shot and Luiz added a third when his goal-bound header was deflected in by Rio. Before we even knew what hit us, we were staring down the abyss of a 3 goal deficit. The match should have been dead and buried.

Yet, credit to the team for not hanging their shoulders. They fought and forced the issue. Evra was bundled over in the box  and referee, Howard Webb, pointed to the spot. It looked abit dubious, but we were grasping for straw and would take anything coming our way.

Rooney stepped up, despite missing his last two spot kicks, and put it away. The unlikely comback had started.

Next, it was Welbeck who was felled by Ivanovic in the box and Webb again pointed to the spot despite the protestations of the Chelsea players. This time Rooney sent the ball the other way to close the gap to a single goal.

Cech was in fine form and kept the visitors at bay, but the champions were not to be denied. When Giggs' cross came in on the 84th minute, Hernandez rose the highest to pull the teams level. The comeback was complete.

We had to endure a rather rough patch as Chelsea steamed forward to find the winner but De Gea acquitted himself well with a flurry of fine saves to preserve his tattered reputation.

The game ended with the spoils shared, but it was definitely a case of a point won and not two lost.

We may have dropped some points in the title race, but it was a performance to keep our noisy neighbours in sight and in mind.

United Strolls Against Stoke

Manchester United 2 - Stoke City 0
Scorers
Manchester United: Hernandez (pen 38), Berbatov (pen 53)


Team: Amos, Evans, Rio, Smalling, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Park, Valencia, Berbatov, Hernandez (Progba 73)

First off, I was down with a terrible viral infection the past couple of weeks and although I caught the Arsenal and Liverpool games, I was way too sick to put pen to thoughts. Thankfully the viral infection is not season damaging, unlike Fletcher's, but it's still taking a huge dose of energy just to stay concentrated for 2 hrs to catch the game last night.

The good thing was that United made it easy to watch, or rather Stoke made it so one sided that it was easy to watch. Whatever Tony Pulis was thinking, it certainly wasn't working. We were given time and space throughout the game to cut, curve and slice the defence apart. There was very little harrying and Stoke's counter-attacking game was practically non-existant. It really should've been a walk in the park.

Yet, strangely enough, the statistics showed that it wasn't. We only managed a miserly two shots on goal, and both resulted in goals. Both shots came from the two penalties awarded in our favour. It should have been three but Mike Jones refused to blow the whistle on the third when Evra was fouled. The two penalties decided the game.

Scholes returning to midfield, seems to have temporarily solved the creative problems in midfield. His industry and flair was the foundation stone that allowed us to build on our attacks. Coupled with Carrick fine form, they have formed a formidable duo in the centre of the park. Progba was given a 20 minute cameo after replacing Hernandez, and did incredibly well. In fact his injection of youth and enthusiasm showed so much promise, I'm secretly wishing Fergie would give him more play time. While I thnk he's underperformed in the reserves, he's looks like he fits in with the first-teamers.

And while I was oohing and aahing over Progba, Everton did the unlikely in beating Shitty. Gibson who was sold earlier in the transfer window to Everton did the damage. And just like that, we're level on points with Shitty again.

Our next few fixtures will indicate just how far we can push Shitty. Games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs will determine if we can end the season with the title.