Oops, We Did It Again

Birmingham 1 - Manchester United 1
Scorers
Birmingham: Bowyer (90)
Manchester United: Berbatov (58)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Anderson (Fletcher 73), Gibson (Hernandez 90), Giggs, Rooney, Berbatov

We still can't keep leads away from home. This game was a huge downer, especially how we got the lead then proceeded to give it away at the last minute of regulation time.

It wasn't a pretty game. Birmingham, mired at the bottom of the table, set up shop to frustrate the living hell outta us. We never got our passing game going, and barely 48hrs after the last game, we faced up to a fresh Birmingham team that was determined to spoil the festivities. And if that wasn't bad enough, we came in with a reputation of giving games away late when we're not at our favourite hunting ground. Everything pointed to a draw and we didn't help by living up to our reputation.

With the exception of an fabulous strike by Berbatov, there really weren't many bright spots in the game. Instead of pressing on for the kill, we sat back too deep and invited Birmingham to come forward and by doing that, the inevitable happened. Although it was a blantant handball by Zigic and a hint of offside by Bowyer, the bulk of the blame had to fall on ourselves. Spoilt by the pretty play of the past few games, we let ourselves down by not doing enough.

I suppose that on the bright side, we're still top of the heap come 2011, but barely. Our noisy neighbours have crept up and are sitting pretty alongside us, as the top gets uncomfortably crowded as a bunch of teams are within striking distance. Yet given how we're started our campaign, I suppose this is still a good position to be in. Looks like we have to pull up our socks and do what we traditionally do, and that is to finish strong into the second half of the season.

Strolling Past Sunderland

Manchester United 2 - Sunderland 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Berbatov (5, 57)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Anderson (Gibson 64), Park, Giggs (Macheda 64), Berbatov (Hernandez 82), Rooney

Firstly, I'm absolutely gushing over Anderson. He's been the outstanding player for me in the last four games. Maybe it's because he's playing along side Carrick, or maybe he's finally gotten it at long last. Whichever the case is, he's passing, tenacity and powerful runs forward are exactly what we've been missing at United for quite sometime. If he carries on in this fine form, it's just a matter of time before the goals come as well. Then we'd be talking about him along side some of the great midfielders currently playing for Barcelona.

Today Berbatov stepped up to the plate with a fine brace. Steve Bruce's side found it hard to cope with the power and pace at Old Trafford today. Our play was so good that after the first 15 or so minutes, you just have the feeling another Blackburn-type scoreline was on the cards. In that brief opening sequence, Berbatov scored, we hit the woodwork twice and Rooney had an exqusite chip narrowly miss the target. In short, we were all over Sunderland. It unfortunately fettered away. Although we only scored two, the defense was never really threatened.

It's just quite astonishing just how much we've accomplished with this team. On paper we look terribly average, yet on Boxing Day, we're leading the pack by two points with two games in hand. I think it's a combination of both the league being super competitive this season and all the title challengers not playing up to par. The fact we top the table by not playing up to par is a superb achievement.

As of right now, we're just beginning to play the kind of football the fans have come to recognise all these years. Alot of the credit has to go to Ferguson. He has somehow brought out the best from these players, managing the expectations, stroking the egos and nurturing the youth. There is still a long long way to go, but things looking up despite the hectic schedule that Mother Nature has thrown up.

Park Takes United Back To The Top

Manchester United 1 - Arsenal 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Park (41)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson (Giggs 85), Park, Nani, Rooney

Mesmerizing game, brilliant result. Going to do a really short one here. It's 6am in the morning and I haven't slept a wink for quite sometime.

- We completely dominated the first half. Arsenal were chasing shadows for most part of the game.

- The five men midfield total controlled the ball and kept Arsenal from playing their usual game. Park, Anderson and Nani were particularly effective. The downside with 5 in midfield was that besides Rooney, no one else was in the box when the crosses came in.

- On the occasion where Park got into the box, we scored. Good goal, highly difficult to direct the deflected cross into the box.

- The defense was immense. The Rio and Vidic partnership kept the Gunners firing blanks. Evra was at the end of some poor challenges, probably due to his unfriendly comments in midweek. Rafael is slowly but surely making his mark. Defensively, this is probably Rafael's best game.

- Rooney missed a penalty around the 70th odd minute. He could have sealed the game but blasted the spot kick way over the bar. Personally I'm glad he missed and we still won. His body language was very Berbatovish. While he did run his socks off, he was also guilty of berating his teammates frequently for not finding him.

- Particularly impressed with the bench and Berbatov. Berbatov should have felt hard done by, especially after the kind of form he's showed, but instead of sulking on the bench, he was intensely following the team on the pitch and focusing. In fact all the bench players were intensely concentrating on the game which is a good sign. It shows that everyone is ready and focused when called upon by the manager.

- I've already mentioned Anderson, but am going to do it again. He was just absolutely brilliant once again. He ran so hard up and down the pitch that by the time Giggs came on to replace him, he barely had the strength to walk off. His fitness still needs abit of work, but my word, he's been the best player on the pitch the last 3 times he's on it.

- 3 points clear at the top of the table and the team is coming together and playing some really good football. Next week we face a back-against-the-wall Chelsea, who is rapidly going in the opposite direction after an incredible start to the season. Potentially this one could get really ugly for us. Chelsea needs a win in the worst way possible and they are finally getting their best players back in the shape of Lampard, Terry and Essien. As always, let's enjoy the win and let next week worry about itself