Manchester United's 2009/2010 Season

[hedger_14]

English Premier League Matchday 5 - Man Utd Vs Portsmouth​

Fixture Details:

Competition: English Premier Division

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Rules: No player restrictions, 7 subs named, maximum 3 used

Referee: Peter Walton

Weather Forecast: Dry 26?C

Man Utd News: Jesus Navas out (twisted knee)
Edwin van der Sar doubtful (broken finger)

Portsmouth News: Antti Neimi doubtful (damaged elbow)

Odds (Sky Bet): Man Utd: 1-2(Fav), Draw: 13-5, Portsmouth: 9-2



Lineups:

Man Utd: Foster, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand (C), Brown, Silva, Scholes, Fletcher, Valencia, Rooney, Rossi

Subs: Kuszczak, Evans, Neville, Anderson, Nani, Berbatov, Owen


Portsmouth: James, O'Hara, Wilson, Kaboul, Primus, Hughes, Mokoena (C), Belhadj, Boateng, Smith, Piquionne

Subs: Ashdown, Ben-Haim, Finnan, Bouba Diop, Utaka, Hreioarsson, Vanden Borre



Match Analysis:

Key Man (Man Utd): Wayne Rooney

Key Man (Portsmouth): Younes Kaboul

Sky Sports News' Prediction: "I think Man Utd will have too much quality for Portsmouth and it should be a comfortable win for them."


Man Utd Milestones:

David Silva needs two more goals to reach 25 career league goals
Paul Scholes needs two more goals to reach 100 career league goals
Paul Scholes needs two more goals to reach 100 league goals for Man Utd
Michael Owen will make his 325th career league appearance if brought on



Man Utd recorded a 2-1 win over Portsmouth thanks to goals from Rossi and Rooney despite the team playing poorly. Rooney opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Rossi played a superb pass penetrating the defence and Rooney did the rest. Portstmouth equalized 3 minutes later when Piquionne hammered one in the top right corner from outside the 18 yard box leaving no chance for the keeper. Vidic was booked for persistent fouling just before half time and the scores were level going into the break.

David Silva who was playing poorly was taken off for Nani shortly into the second half but he didn't get very involved over the next ten minutes. Man Utd took back their lead though a corner which Rossi got his head to, Rooney taking the corner and they were on track to a fifth consecutive league win. Scholes came off for Anderson and Owen came on for Rooney to make his 325th career league appearance. Portsmouth couldn't level it again and Man Utd recorded a 2-1 win over Portsmouth.



Post Match Analysis:

Post-Match Analysis: "Man Utd got the victory they wanted over Portsmouth today but I'm sure they would have like to have won by a bigger margin."

Key Man Watch (Man Utd)/Man Of The Match: "Wayne Rooney had a fine game before being substituted in the 68th minute during Man Utd's 2-1 English Premier Division victory over Portsmouth. I was impressed with Rooney today. The striker was in exceptional form and capped the performance with a goal."

Key Man Watch (Portsmouth): "Younes Kaboul played fairly well during Portsmouth's 1-2 English Premier Division defeat againts Man Utd. He had a decent game and made several key headers from the back."

Referee: Peter Walton had a good game

Att: 76212



My Comments: "I was pretty disappointed with the performance by the team today. We definately aren't at our best and we're going to have to lift our game if we want to get results against the bigger teams like Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea."

 

[MaD]

Meh, atleast you won the match

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Well even after playing badly you are winning, then thats the sign of Champions. When you are on song I am sure you would be destroying any side.

 

[hedger_14]

European Champions Cup - Man Utd Vs Shakhtar​

Fixture Details:

Competition: European Champions Cup Group B

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Rules: No player restrictions within current squad selection, 7 subs named, maximum 3 used

Referee: Jochen Drees

Weather Forecast: Gusty, Drizzle 10?C

Man Utd News: Zoran Tosic ineligible
Antonio Valencia ineligible
Jesus Navas out (twisted knee)
Edwin van der Sar doubtful (broken finger)

Shakhtar News: Marek Sapara ineligible
Darijo Srna suspended
Three players out injured

Odds (Sky Bet): Man Utd: 4-5(Fav), Draw: 2-1, Shakhtar: 3-1



Lineups:

Man Utd: Kuszczak, Evra, Vidic (C), Evans, O'Shea, Silva, Owen Hargreaves, Fletcher, Nani, Owen, Rossi

Subs: Foster, Ferdinand, Neville, Anderson, Giggs, Berbatov, Rooney


Shakhtar: Pyatov, Aurelio, Villalta, Lewandowski (C), Ivanchuk, Kucher, Duljaj, Fernandinho, Jadson, Ilsinho, Adriano

Subs: Timmer, Rat, Mora, Shatalov, Polischuk, Yanchuk, Tkachenko



Match Analysis:

Key Man (Man Utd): Nemanja Vidic

Key Man (Shakhtar): Jadson - The flamboyant midfielder has created 6 goals in 8 games so far this season

Sporting Life's Prediction: "Man Utd have enough about themselves to see off the threat of Shakhtar".


Man Utd Milestones:

There are currently no milestones available for Man Utd.



David Silva was the hero as Man Utd scraped a 2-1 victory over Shakhtar as he scored a late winner through a sensational free kick. The first half was pretty even, both goalkeepers making some good saves and Hargreaves recieving a yellow card but Shakhtar slacked off a bit towards the end of the half which cost them, Owen scoring a goal, 2 minutes into stoppage time after a great pass from John O'Shea.

Man Utd played well in the second half keeping possession most of the time but a goal for Shakhtar through Kucher in the 79th minute brought them level. We needed a goal quickly to win the match and that goal came 3 minutes later through Spanish midfielder, David Silva who scored through a sensational free kick beating the wall and giving the keeper no chance. They held on to win 2-1 and that was a good result for them in their first European Cup match.



Post Match Analysis:

Post-Match Analysis: "I predicted a home win today and Man Utd duly delivered. Their fans will undoubtedly be pleased with this victory and the performance to go with it".

Key Man Watch (Man Utd): "Nemanja Vidic played fairly well during Man Utd's 2-1 European Champions Cup Group B victory over Shakhtar. He dominated aerially and put in a number of quality headers over the course of the game to help his team".

Key Man Watch (Shakhtar): "Jadson played fairly well during Shakhtar's 1-2 European Champions Cup Group B defeat against Man Utd. He did OK, he got one or two shots on target to worry the opposition".

Man Of The Match: "Olexandr Kucher had a fine game during Shakhtar's 1-2 European Champions Cup Group Bdefeat against Man Utd. I was impressed with Kucher today. The central defender was in exceptional form and capped the performance with a goal."

Referee: Jochen Drees had an average game today, not making any major errors and the decisions he had to make were pretty straight forward.

Att: 74,508



My Comments: "A very good performance from the side. We looked strong in midfield who got forward whenever they could and got a fair few shots on goal. The defence wasn't too bad and Kuszczak made some good saves in goal. We probably should have had a few more goals but their keeper was in good form."

 

[hedger_14]

English Premier League Matchday 6 - Liverpool Vs Man Utd​

Lineups:

Man Utd: Foster, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville (C), Silva, Anderson, Fletcher, Nani, Rooney Berbatov

Subs: Kuszczak, Evans, Brown, Scholes, Valencia, Rossi, Scholes


Liverpool: Reina, Dossena, Skrtel, Carragher, Johnson, Mascherano, Plessis, Babel, Gerrard (C), Kuyt, Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, Riera, Benayoun, van Nistelrooy, Kyrgiakos, Castaignos, El Zhar

Poor finishing from Man Utd proved the differences after a devastating 1-0 loss over Liverpool. Man Utd had 3 Clear Cut Chances to score but couldn't put the ball into the back of the net, including a 96th minute strike from Anderson inside the 6 yard box going wide.

Chances came early for both sides but neither side could capitilize. It was Torres who got things underway though, with a 25th minute goal. Berbatov could have equalized just before half time but the ball went sailing over the crossbar and it was 1-0 at half-time. Foster continued to goalkeep well, making another good save, early on in the second half to deny Babel a goal. Nani had probably the best chance of the match to make it 1-1 after 51 minutes but he missed a sitter from inside the 6 yard box and that caused his substitutions a minute later, him and Rooney coming off for Rossi and Valencia. Liverpool recieved a big blow, Torres having to come off with injury, van Nistelrooy coming on. It was getting late but there was still a chance so Man Utd substituted Fletcher who made way for Michael Owen, giving an extra forward option. It didn't work as the goal didn't come although Man Utd should have had a 96th minute equalizer if Anderson could have put the header on target. A 1-0 win for Liverpool and Man Utd's undefeated streak comes to an end.

My Comments: A poor performance from the forwards today, having a few great chances to score. Foster kept well, making some crucial saves but I guess that's how the game works sometimes. We will want to regroup and come back strongly in our next match.

 

[MaD]

Oh man
Damn those Liverpoolians!
Don't worry Brendon, you'll be back

 

[m_vaughan]

Shame about the defeat. Especially with the undefeated streak coming to an end against the arch-rival. Still early days and it was good to see Van Nistelrooy getting to play against his former side!