Carling Cup: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur 01/03/2009: FIRST TROPHY FOR UNITED!

CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS!

It was a long and tiring match this one. 90 minutes of normal time wasn't enough too see the Carling Cup winner, so was the extra 30 minutes in extra time.

Manchester United had so many decent chances however no one managed to take that extra step in scoring. Ronaldo had the biggest chance in normal time but his left foot ended up hitting Gomez's right post.

So it went down to the goalkeepers to stop the shooters and Ben Foster took his first penalty shoot out by making a fantastic save giving United that early leading edge during the shoot out. David Bentley took Spurs' third penalty and manages to misses the rectangular goal post. It was all left to Anderson, after perfect goals by Giggs, Tevez and Ronaldo, and Ando did us proud by slotting in an easy low right shot.

Final Score:
Manchester United (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (0)
Manchester United win 4-1 on penalty shoot out

UCL: Inter Milan vs Manchester United - 25th Feb 2009: UNITED COULD NOT FIND THE GOAL AT ITALY

It was a very fast paced football played at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Possession was pretty much balanced put but it was United who had the best chances of the game during the first 20 minutes of the encounter.

Ronaldo's header following a corner kick almost gave the champions the lead but Julio Cesar was up to the task at that time. So did Giggs' chance on the 26th minute after beating the last man of Inter's defence but his shot just went straight towards Cesar. Cristiano Ronaldo's second free kick attempt also almost gave United the away goal that they desperately needed but the super drive of Roanldo's right foot was saved brilliantly by Cesar yet again.

It was all United from 20 minutes onwards winning every free kick, making every passes count, but they just could not muster that one goal needed.

The second half started very differently from how the first half ended for United. The Red Devils just wasn't that much with pace, probably due to the extremely fast tempo during the first half. Other than that, there's pretty much nothing to report. Rooney came in on the 80th minute, but other than getting an unfair yellow card, that was all he could do for United.

Final Score:
Inter Milan (0) vs Manchester United (0)

EPL: 21st February 2009 - Manchester United vs Blackburn Rovers: UNITED WITH ANOTHER WIN!

United started the match against Blackburn strongly. As expected, Wayne Rooney made the starting lineup and Fergie's choice proved to be incisively spot on when Rooney scored his 4th goal in 4 games in between his injury. A lovely pass from Nani from the right flank was the key factor for Rooney's goal on the 23rd minute.

After 22 hours of not conceding a single goal, United had to accept the fact that an opposition goal was coming sooner or later. In this case, it was in this game (32nd minute) when Santa Cruz scored a beautiful right footer towards a pretty much open goal mouth after Kuszczak and Rio Ferdinand could not stop the big Striker from producing Blackburn's leveller.

The English champions could have gone 2-1 up on the 44th minute after a corner from Nani arrives on Evans' head and it went into Blackburn's goal mouth however, the referee disallowed that goal blowing the whistle for a foul against the United young defender instead. Replay suggested the goal was legitimate. Oh well.

A fierce free kick goal from Cristiano Ronaldo gave United a massive boost 60 minutes in. A foul by Andrews on Evra right on the left side of the penalty box gave the Portuguese the opportunity to take United 1 goal ahead and that he did. Ronaldo exhibited the skill which made him adored by United fans all over the world.

Manchester United really have the superiority in possession and shots on goal on each and every games they played this season. With a superb team like this and a perfect team understanding, it wouldn't be surprising if Man Utd wins 4 trophies this season.

Final Score
Manchester United (2) v Blackburn Rovers (1)

Goals Video Highlights for United

Rooney 23"


Ronaldo 60"

LATEST NEWS - AS OF 21st FEB 2009

1. Wayne Rooney will start the game against Blackburn tonight - Fergie.
2. Gary Neville has signed a new contract which will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2010.
3. Anderson is back on the training ground. He may be available to play in the Carling Cup final.

EPL: 18th Feb 2009 - Manchester United vs Fulham: UNITED WIN BIG AGAIN

United was on a quest to be way clear ahead of the pack with this one against Fulham. As well, with Van der Sar's clean sheet quest to be Europe's longest clean sheet holder record was on course.

Having left out Berbatov and Tevez few days back against Derby in the FA Cup, both the strikers starts up front and Ronaldo is back where he belongs. The English champs started the first 10 minutes with pace but nothing serious really came out of it.

Not until the 11th minute that is, when a typical United corner kick reaches Scholes' right foot outside the centre of the penalty box and squashes his drive towards Schwarzer goal. The Fulham goalie manages to get a hand to the shot but somehow the ball rolls in the line amazingly. 1-nil to United thanks to a Carrick corner kick plus some classic Scholes right footer. Manchester United dominated the whole pitch from then onwards and managed to get their second through Dimitar Berbatov's easy tap in. The build up for that goal was beautifully crafted as the passing technique of United could really be seen prior to the goal.

The first half ended with strings of chances for United, including a second disallowed goal for offside.

The second half started rather slowly for United during the first 10 minutes, giving away cheap possession, though nothing serious was done. Wayne Rooney was introduced on the 60th minute mark as he made his comeback from a rather long injury haul. Berbatov gave way. Not long following his entrance, Rooney scored a goal and made United even more comfortable. Credit goes to Park for his shot-cum-pass.

Another win for United, which seals their superiority on the top of the league table and another clean sheet for Van der Sar.

Final Score: Manchester United (3) v Fulham (0)

Video Highlights

Scholes 11"


Berbatov 30"


Rooney 63"

UNITED WILL FACE EITHER SWANSEA OR FULHAM FOR THE FA CUP QUARTERFINAL

Manchester United has been drawn against either Swansea or Fulham on the weekend of 7th March 2009. The only bad news about this is that Manchester United will be away against any of these two teams.

UNITED THROUGH TO FA CUP QUARTER FINALS WITH EASY WIN - FA CUP 15th February 2009: Derby County vs Manchester United

The third meeting between Derby County and Manchester United in the last 6 weeks took place at their 5th round FA Cup encounter. Evans, Ferdinand and Evra was expected to start after having injuries and start they did. The weird thing for United this time around was that I could not tell who was playing up front. Berbatov, Rooney and Tevez were not on the starting lineup so it was pretty much a guess between Ronaldo, Park and Giggs.

Fletcher had a decent chance twelve minutes in when a slick passing play between Fletch, Ronaldo and Giggs ended back on Fletch's right foot. But his drive went straight towards Bywater. United's finest effort came on the 29th minute, when Nani striked a right footed unstoppable shot. 1-nil for the red devils. It was not the end for United then, when Ronaldo's free kick ricochets off the wall and gave Gibson the opportunity to score, which he did sublimely with a low right foot drive.

3 minutes inside the second half, it could not get any better than a Ronaldo goal. A typical Ronaldo goal who connected a corner kick with his big head of his. 3- nil up and United were cruising to the 6th round with more than 40 minutes to go. Derby Counnty did get one goal back on the 56th minute with an Addison header. The action packed game did not end there and Welbeck's introduction to the game provided him with the opportunity to score United's fourth goal.

A comfortable win and United gets through to the last 8 without any problems whatsoever.

Final Score
Derby County (1) vs Manchester United (4)

Nani's Goal - 29th Minute




Gibson's Goal - 44th Minute




Ronaldo's Goal - 48th Minute




Welbeck's Goal - 81st Minute