This is deceptive. He didn't flip, but he did score. Officially.
The BreakdownThe game was frenetic in the first half, both United and Spurs creating chances and the game was played at an incredibly free-flowing pace. A matter of seconds in, and Park was 20-25 yards out? Smashes it against the foot of Gomes' right-hand post.
It didn't take long for Spurs to fashion a similar chance—similar only in that it was a shot that hit Edwin's right-hand post. Absolutely thrashed into the woodwork by their dangerman, Rafael van der Vaart. Game on, chaps.
Luka Modric had a fantastic shot, picked out from a van der Vaart corner, saved by the now 40-year-old Edwin van der Sar, rolling back the years, playing like... well... maybe a 37 year old.
The first half saw slick passing moves effected by both teams, often going through the centre, with few forays down the wing. All 4 wingers on both teams, except maybe Lennon, have found more joy cutting in and playing it to feet to someone central.
It was congested at times in the centre, but the ball still squirmed around enough for Chicharito to blaze one high over the bar in the middle of this frantic first half.
As Amer has predicted, Nani really made some serious impacts for us. I wouldn't call him beautiful... but, you can't deny that it was he who crossed at around the half-hour mark for our team captain, Nemanja Vidic, to head home. And it was he who put the ball in the net at 85 minutes to make it 2-0. More on that later.
The balance of the second half seemed to tip to Tottenham's favour, they had more of the possession in the attacking third and I may be right in assuming that the chances they got were more numerous and more 'accurate', ie. they hit the target.
Rafael van der Vaart went down at around 70-75 minutes with a hamstring injury and that took the sting out of Spurs' play completely. And yet, I still couldn't help having that feeling in the back of my mind that the result still wasn't safe.
In fact, Pavlyuchenko had a really really good chance after van der Fart was subbed off - a real heart in mouth moment. The net rippled after he shot. Fortunately, he hit the side netting.
But in the end, it was a penalty claim which Nani didn't get, which Gomes thought was a free-kick so he put it down on the ground, the ref clearly was like "wtf are you doing, play on" and Nani just... puts it into the goal. Sorry I couldn't report something spectacular from the half-way line, or a freekick, or a bicycle - or even better, a free-kick from the half-way line which was teed up to Nani which he bicycled into the net. In the end, it was a bit farcical and probably will be analysed to bits BUT! 2-0. IT'S A WIN. And a clean sheet!
Reaction
This is what Man United's all about!
Key men: Park Ji-Sung, Rafael da Silva, Nani, Michael Carrick
1. Park creates trouble, popping up everywhere, literally running down everyone, everything and sometimes just running 'cause he's bored. We love our workers, you can't deny when Tevez played for us we loved his enterprise. Park's showing us how much being a United player means to him, and it's paying off.
2. Gareth who? Rafael's kept their Welsh Wizard quiet. I thought he was unlucky to have been subbed off on the hour mark, to be replaced by Wes Brown (who, to be fair, also did the job on Bale), but still he played very well tonight.
3. Nani, well... he was always creating trouble. I thought he was brilliant tonight. Not quite at Ronaldo's standard, which I'm sure he yearns for, but he still made the plays and dictates the games. And he got an assist and a goal. Pretty good going.
4. Michael Carrick, quite an under-rated player at times, and I remember once, someone (who'll probably be chuffed that I'm referencing them) remarked that Carrick's at his best when you don't notice him. I think he played solidly today. His distribution of the ball from the middle was pretty good, considering he's fallen behind the likes of Fletcher, Scholes and even Anderson sometimes. But yeah, he played well tonight too.
There was the attacking threat, the solid-ness and a bit of surity at the back which was very encouraging. It's 16 matches unbeaten on the trot, now, and it's two wins in the league on the bounce, 4 in all competitions. I sense that we're starting to click into gear. It's not vintage United, but if it's enough to get three-points, it's good enough for me.
Best Player: I'm really tempted to give it to Nani, for his contribution, but I think Rafael deserves it more. The amount of times the ball was funneled to Gareth Bale on the Spurs wing, only to be stopped by Rafael was a real factor in the win tonight. If it weren't for Rafa, we may have had more trouble trying to handle Bale, and because of Rafa, I can't think of any meaningful contributions by Bale. Good effort, Rafa!
Where We Stood, Where We Stand
Chelsea managed to get a win from a losing position, and Arsenal were unconvincing, but still put their opponents away. (Chelsea 2-1 Blackburn; Arsenal 1-0 West Ham)
Big news, City lost to Wolves 2-1, from a winning position. 'AV IT!
1|Chelsea|10P|24GD|25PTS
2|Arsenal|10P|12GD|20PTS
3|UNITED|10P|9GD|20PTS
4|Man City|10P|3GD|17PTS
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5|Tottenham|10P|1GD|15PTS
3 points, the gap at the top is still 5, but the top three are now seemingly beginning to move away from the pack. Fortunately, we're part of this top 3. COME ON!
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