Villa 2 United 2

United staged a late fightback at Villa Park to earn a point after going two goals down to a relatively inexperienced Aston Villa side.

Gerard Houllier’s young men had taken the lead through Ashley Young and Marc Albrighton, but Reds substitute Federico Macheda gave an out-of-sorts United hope on 81 minutes before Nemanja Vidic headed home a vital equaliser with five minutes to go.

Much had been made of United’s selection problems in the build-up to the game, but Villa were equally hampered by injury and illness with as many as 10 regular first-teamers unavailable. Sir Alex made two changes to the side that earned a point at Eastlands, with Wes Brown coming in for the injured Rafael and Javier Hernandez adding weight to United’s attack, which was without the services of the suspended Paul Scholes.

Gerard Houllier, meanwhile, was forced to call upon a number of his burgeoning, yet inexperienced, youngsters to fill the squad - four of whom had played in the Reserves’ play-off final against United last May at Old Trafford. The Midlanders still posed a big threat up front, though, with Ashley Young alongside the fit-again Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was back in the starting line-up for the first time in almost two months.

Despite having not lost a league game for 15 years at Villa Park, the Reds had been forced to settle for a point on the last two visits. With Chelsea already holding a mini advantage at the top of the table, Sir Alex’s men knew only victory would do this time round and the visitors set about the task with real eagerness.

Source : Man Utd

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Man City 0 United 0

You didn't really think we were going to get another classic, did you?

The four Manchester derbies last season served up enough drama to last a lifetime; the first instalment for 2010/11 was tepid in comparison and finished goalless.

A cagey first-half gave way to more entertainment in the second, but only just. In the end, neither side took enough risks to win the game. City, in particular, were devoid of attacking ambition in front of their home crowd and Reds goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar later revealed he thought Roberto Mancini's men had played for a draw.

Despite the stalemate, Sir Alex's men remain unbeaten and in second place on the Barclays Premier League table, now four points behind leaders Chelsea. The Londoners beat Fulham 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The Reds had been rocked by illness in the days preceding the game, yet many of those hit hardest started at Eastlands. This was a Manchester derby, after all: nobody was going to surrender easily.

One man who failed to pass a late fitness test, though, was Ryan Giggs. The 36-year-old has been nursing a hamstring strain recently and was conspicuous in his absence on Tuesday night: until now, Giggs had played in every single Manchester derby – 33 of them – since making his United debut in 1991.

The Reds' width at Eastlands came from Ji-sung Park, fresh from two goals against Wolves on Saturday, and Nani, sufficiently recovered from the groin strain he picked up in Bursaspor.

Source : Man Utd

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United 2 Wolves 1

Stack the odds however high you want, United will overcome them.

Shorn of several key players through illness and fronted by a well-drilled Wolverhampton Wanderers side, the Reds negated a disjointed display to take the spoils through Ji-sung Park's injury-time winner.

The Korean, whose first-half opener had been cancelled out by ex-Red Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, slotted inside Marcus Hahnemann's near post in the third of four added minutes to send Old Trafford wild and extend United's winning run to six games.

That sequence included a similarly dramatic Carling Cup victory over Mick McCarthy's side, and the Midlanders can once again feel hard done-by after more than matching the Reds for long periods. Had substitute Steven Fletcher not blasted over from 10 yards late on, they might have been celebrating a famous victory.

Instead, United negated a display devoid of fluency to take the spoils when Park wound infield, shimmied and slipped a shot past Hahnemann. For long periods it seemed that the virus which had swept through Carrington would prove costly, while the mood inside Old Trafford was further dampened when surprise recall Owen Hargreaves was substituted with an early hamstring injury.

Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov, almost certain starters, were claimed by the Carrington illness and joined a long list of absentees, while Paul Scholes was demoted to the bench - almost certainly because a booking would rule him out of the looming Manchester derby.

Source : Man Utd

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Bursaspor 0 United 3

United edged a step closer to qualification for the Champions League knock-out stages with a hard-fought 3-0 victory over Bursaspor in Turkey.

After surviving a couple of minor scares in a tepid first half, the Reds were, in the end, just too good for the Turkish champions who could not be faulted for effort on the night. Effort can only get you so far, however, with quality more often than not winning out and so it proved. Darren Fletcher put the visitors ahead three minutes after the break, with Gabriel Obertan and an Ali Tandogan own goal (although at first glance it looked to be a Bebe strike) sealing the win late on with a pair of fine finishes to put United on 10 points at the top of Group C.

Sir Alex, who was missing a host of players through injury and illness, made three changes to the side that started against Tottenham, with Chris Smalling replacing the rested Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the defence, Paul Scholes returning in central midfield and Gabriel Obertan coming in for only his second start of the campaign. Javier Hernandez and Ji-sung Park dropped to the bench with Dimitar Berbatov leading the line on his own up front. Bursaspor manager Ertugrul Saglam, meanwhile, had the luxury of fielding a full-strength team, although he opted to leave defender Milan Stepanov, fit again after suffering a knee injury at Old Trafford, on the bench.

Source : Man Utd

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United 2 Tottenham 0

Goals of contrasting simplicity from Nemanja Vidic and Nani gave United a crucial, hard-fought victory over Tottenham at Old Trafford.

Skipper Vidic flashed home a header from Nani's superb free-kick just after the half-hour mark, before the winger slotted in a bizarre clincher; tapping home after Heurelho Gomes had surrendered possession to take a free-kick which Mark Clattenburg and his officials had failed to award.

The Portuguese had clearly handled the ball as he appealed for an apparent penalty, but Clattenburg's decision not to stop play and Gomes' attempts to line up a set-piece married in bizarre circumstances. Nani looked to the referee to see the state of play, was encouraged to play on and slotted home a simple finish.

Old Trafford cannot have witnessed a goal of such absurdity often in its century, but fortunately Vidic's earlier goal should negate the majority of the inevitable controversy which will follow. The goal and its slapstick circumstances detracted from an otherwise compelling game between two fine sides.

In the continued absence of Wayne Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson once again paired Dimitar Berbatov with on-song Mexican newcomer Javier Hernandez upfront, against a Spurs backline deprived by injury of mainstays Ledley King and Michael Dawson. In their stead, William Gallas and Younes Kaboul paired in the heart of the visitors’ defence.

Source : Man Utd

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