Man United 4 – 3 Tevez
Manchester derby has always been more than just the points. It’s about the bragging rights. And this time it’s even more than just bragging rights. Especially when Tevez has openly insulted Gary Neville by calling him a suck-up. His in-your-face celebrations just makes United want to silence him so much so much more. When we lost to City 2-1 in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-finals, I felt that we did not deserve to lose, clearly we were the better team. Clearly, we needed to attack at Old Trafford, despite the fact the away goal rule does not apply in the first 90 mins.
Starting Lineups
4-5-1. I bet no one was expecting this. Really? At Old Trafford?
Really? 4-5-1 when we are a goal down? I understand that City is dangerous on the break, but if we can’t score a goal, how on earth do we even force a tie? I bet many of us was probably expecting us to play 4-4-2 right from the start, with Berbatov starting up front. I probably can count with my five finger the amount of times 4-5-1 has worked for us this season. But one bright spark is probably the fact that Nani is playing right from the start, after his impressive display at Hull City. And yes, he is playing down the right again, which seems to a position that he can be so much more of a threat from than the left. Rafael seems to be a good choice to counter Bellamy, afterall Bellamy is known for his pace and Rafael is probably a quicker right back compared to Wes Brown, and so much more dangerous on the attack. I bet when United fans got to know the lineup that was a little worry in the air because, Scholes and Giggs might be a little too old to play in such a competitive game like this, and there were times when Scholes and Giggs underperformed in games. But let’s just hope their experience from the past 10 years could prove useful in a crunch match like this. Red-hot Rooney starts as a lone-strike up front.
People we really really want to beat
Nothing too special here. Tevez leads the charge, although they probably will be just contented with not conceding. God, I hate those Berties.
Subs Bench
Subs Bench
Tevez. Proud, Arrogant and one irritating neighbour.
Manchester Derbies. Time for a beer and some chips.
First Half
Right from the start, Nani shows one or two good touches, and I am sure I was not the only one wishing that he can replicate his rich vein of form from the Hull City thrashing. Rafael also seemed to be able to keep up with Bellamy down the left, but United still seemed to lack support going forward in the early stages of the game. I felt they were still really cautious about the game, and were unwilling to go out all guns blazing just yet. Nani did look like a bright spark though, but in fairness to the midfield, Scholes, Carrick and paticularly Fletcher, were doing a great job in stifling the midfield. I hardly saw De Jong or Zabaleta on the ball.
Ferdinand 1. Tevez 0. Great Facepalm.
Bellamy wrestles Bellamy to the ground
Scholes earns a yellow card with a bad tacke
Nani delivers a nice free-kick at the 37 mins, and Richards had to be at full stretch to get the ball away. City will be pleased with their performance so far, as United has not created any glorious chances yet, and City still leads by aggregate at half-time. United has to step up their game in the second half and blitz the City defence.
2nd Half
There were no changes from either side, SAF seems farely confidence his 4-5-1 will work out in the second half. Things did not get off to the best of start, when Micah Richards found himself in the United half and unleashed a long shot on goal. The ball was head for the top right corner and it demanded another top-class safe from Van der Saar to keep it out.
Van der Saar at full stretch to deny Richards
![Second Half - CC - Man Utd v. Man City - 27-01-10.avi_snapshot_04.06_[2010.01.31_15.26.02]](http://x0dus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Second-Half-CC-Man-Utd-v.-Man-City-27-01-10.avi_snapshot_04.06_2010.01.31_15.26.02.jpg "Second Half - CC - Man Utd v. Man City - 27-01-10.avi_snapshot_04.06_[2010.01.31_15.26.02]")
Hall of Shame
Bellamy after being hit by a coin.
Bellamy considers a career in acting
51 min GOAL. Man United ARE LEVEL! 2-2 the aggregate score now. You could feel the noise level go up another notch at Old Trafford. Beautiful pass from Rooney that sets Giggs through, who draws Given off his line before passing it to Nani. Nani runs into Man City players at the ball falls to Carrick who sets Scholes up for the shot.
Giggs through on goal after Rooney’s wonderful pass
Scholes pulls the trigger
The moment we've been waiting for in this match.
Ah, the joy of silencing Tevez.
Man United continue to threaten in the following minutes, and Rooney almost makes it 2-0 in the 61 min after Nani puts the ball in the area, if not for Boyata managing to scrape the ball away.
63 min, Garrido makes way for Ireland as Zabaleta moves to left back. City are looking for more attacking options now, and Ireland hopes to provide them.
At the 68 min, things get violent as Fletcher and Richards wrestle near the sideline, Webb shows neither the card and calms them down. This is why I think Fletcher has won over the United fan this season. He truly feels for the club and has the drive to fight for what he believes. Something that Roy Keane always demanded from old United players. Fletcher has been an unsung hero in this match, ensuring De Jong and Zabaleta barely anytime on the ball. A match in which he demonstrates that hard work and stamina can cover up for lack of technical skils on the ball.
70 min GOAL, Michael Carrick makes it 2-0 with a calmly placed shot from a tight angle that goes past three pairs of leg and Shay Given. Credit to Nani for the pass into the penalty box that is controlled well by Fletcher who lays it off to Carrick for the shot. Nani continues his good form here. At this rate he is playing, Valencia will have real competition down that right flank. Fletcher shows why he is more than just a hardworking defensive midfielder as he shows great control of the ball under pressure.
Michael Carrick celebrates his goal that puts United ahead in aggregate
And, Old Trafford erupts. We are on our way to Wembley.
Rooney misses a glorious chance in the 72 min to make it 3-0 and send City home. Giggs puts Evra through on the left from an over-lapping front and Evra delivers a ball to Rooney’s feet. Rooney has the entire goal in front of him and is totally unmarked, only to miss the goal. Rooney shows he is human too.
Rafael is replaced by Brown in the 74 min. Rafael has done brilliantly for his age in such a competitive derby. I feel Rafael has the potential to develop into a great right-back given the time. Every time he plays, you can see the hunger in his eyes to win the ball, and he is a really aggressive right back who is not shy to deliver sliding tackle. Not to mention he is a great threat going forward and his crosses are decent. Between Rafael and Brown, Rafael could probably cross so much better than Brown. However, I felt SAF brought Brown on for his experience in the closing stages of the game where mistakes could prove costly.
You gotta be kidding.
Carrick misses a chance to deliver the fatal blow to City.
In the 80th min, Michael Carrick has a good chance of restoring the lead after receiving a pass from Giggs, however, his shot goes wide of goal.
United sieges the City goal to no avail, and Nani makes way for Valencia in the 89th min. Nani runs off the pitch to applause from the United fans, I am sure everyone appreciated his recent revival in form, and some were wrong to judge him too quickly.
Extra time creeps nearer and nearer. 3 mins of extra time is announced. Can United score? They always score. No Michael Owen to do it this time for us.
91 min – GOAALLLL. NAME ON THE TROPHY! Rooney puts a header past Shay Given as Giggs crosses from the right. Old Trafford erupts with joy. Man United have done it again! One slip from Man City and it was all over. Another classic win carved out during injury time. Tevez must be desperate to conceal himself now. For all the thrash talking that he did, United shows City why Man City is still far from the best side in Manchester. Money can buy you good players, but money cannot buy teamwork and belief.
Rooney with the header that won the game
Rooney. Already a legend.
Estacy vs Dismay. The face of a loser, Carlos Tevez.
Tevez continues his walk of shame as United celebrate. Eat all your insults and go back home to the Eastlands.
Overview
A monster performance from United in the 2nd half, and if you watched it LIVE, you probably would suddenly feel hopeful again that United might have a decent chance at the title this year afterall. What a breathtaking 2nd half from United. They surged forward in search of goals and they did. We probably had a glimpse of how the 4-5-1 was really suppose to work. Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher played huge rolls in the first two goals, and Rooney was never found up alone in the 2nd half. Carrick Scholes and Fletcher took turns to make runs into the penalty box, and they did an incredible job in denying City space in the middle of the pitch. The introduction of Ireland hardly changed anything as he was rarely found on the ball. Fletcher was all over the pitch today and truely deserved the man-of-the match award.
Giggs and Scholes show why they age like fine wine, and while form is temporary, class is permanent. Nani continues his good form, and seems to be playing with confidence at the moment. We can only wonder what Alex Ferguson must have said to him that has resulted in this 180 degrees change in the boy. A while ago he was heavily critisized for being a selfish player and suddenly he shows us what he is capable of. SAF was right this boy does have talent, and as long as he keeps playing with this level of confidence, Valencia will find it very hard to stake a claim on the right wing position. Is it possible to play Valencia and Nani in the same game, this is something that United fans probably are all wondering. The pace of Valencia on the right and Nani on the left will be blistering, but question is Nani might not be able to replicate the way he is playing on the left. He had previously played on the left for United but not to great success. Another alternative would be to play Valencia in the center of the pitch like how he does for his country.
The defence hardly made a mistake the whole night, although one can argue Ferdinand could have done more to prevent Tevez from scoring, but Evans shows lots of class from a youngster so does Rafael. Evra’s overlapping runs were done responsibly and he was never caught leaving a huge gap behind him for City to exploit.
Rooney, continues his unstoppable form with yet another great performance. Absolutely brilliant performance from the England striker.
Bye Carlos Tevez, take your ball-licker comments, your insults, your in-your-face celebrations and head home. Your ego might be too big to allow you to admit this, but deep down inside, I am sure you regret leaving the winning team tonight. And for all the talk that Man City can challenge the big 4, we have showed City that their squad still lacks the heart to accomplish big things.
United always puts on a good run after Christmas and I am sure most United fan are hopeful that this brilliant victory can be the start of good things to come, starting with Arsenal away, a game they must absolutely win to chase league-leaders Chelsea.
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