The Breakdown
Rangers 0-1 United
Rooney scores on his first start since Bolton last month, a penalty towards the end of the match, to seal qualification into the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Sources tell me that the first half was more subdued than the second half. A penalty claim from Berbatov as early as the second minute would've promised a lot for the match, but as action went for the first half, that seemed to be as exciting as it got.
There was a chance for Kenny Miller at the end of the half for Rangers, but van der Sar saved comfortably. 0-0 HT.
Cue the second half (this is where I come in!) and the first thing I caught was a free-kick which was about to be taken from about 30 yards out with Nani, Rooney and Scholes having a look-see. Rooney took it on and was about a foot away from scoring, it seemed. McGregor's despairing dive took him nowhere near the ball, but it went wide in any case.
Martin Tyler's commentary, talking about how it was a much more open second half, was great, just saying.
A ball through from the back skipped past Kirk Broadfoot and found its way to Giggs on the left and he clipped a ball to the penalty spot for Berbatov. But, as is his form as of late, he didn't connect at all well and made a hash of what was a pretty good chance.
There were a few long-range efforts by the likes of Carrick, Rooney and Scholes—which was all we could manage thanks to the stubborn-ness of the Rangers defensive set-up.
Fergie brings on Anderson for Scholes (WHAT?!) with around 20 minutes to go and a few minutes later, Chicharito and Obertan for Berbatov and Nani respectively.
It didn't change the complexion of the match too much, but it made a difference to the way we played. Anderson didn't make me feel like he wasn't a United player, but he didn't make a case to say that he should be there either. A bit of a nothing display from him.
Instead, Carrick was more instrumental—taking up the reins from Scholes—and attempted to pull the strings from his position in the "quarterback" role, as Martin Tyler put it.
And eventually, a cross deep into the box was met by Fabio, who ghosted in unbeknownst to Mr Naismith, whose attempted clearance caught Fabio high in the chest/face region, the ref had no option but to point to the spot. Controversial? Maybe...
But all eyes were then fixed on Rooney. Boy, oh boy, did he need this. And deliver he did. (Funny thing, he went to celebrate and did that like... slide on his backside, and lay on his back with his arms outstretched... and instead of his teammates mobbing him, this one fan kinda climbed over him... which made it one of the most hilariously awkward situations I've ever seen in a football match.)
Three points! Top of the Group with a dead rubber against Valencia next in Europe. It's the result we needed.
Reaction
It was another stubborn performance by the Rangers defence/midfield/bus-wall. Playing on the break, it made for an open second half. Scholes and Carrick, alternating between them as to who would play deeper while the other added to the number of bodies up front, controlled everything.
And when they weren't in possession of the ball, and Rangers broke, either on the left with on-loan Man City winger Vladimir Weiss or on the right with Steven Naismith, our back-line, consisting of O'Shea at right back, Smalling and Evans in the middle and Fabio on the left, defended well, not allowing Kenny Miller any time on the ball to get a shot on van der Sar's goal.
So, no problems at the back. Smalling and Evans showing that they're made of some stern stuff, definitely Manchester United material.
I felt that Scholes and Giggs, from what I saw in the second half, played well. Often devoid of creativity this season, the two veterans knew exactly how to play the ball when they got it, wherever they were. It seemed the only thing that would let them down was the performance of the other players.
Best Player: tempted to give it to Rooney, but without Fabio, Rooney may never have gotten his goal. Fab played fab tonight. With Naismith basically nullfied down the right, playing as more of a right-wing-back than a right-winger, partly down to the way Rangers set out their stall but also partly down to Fabio's marauding raids down the left, and with the undoubted contribution of getting up there to win that penalty, Fabio shows us that he's just as good as his twin bro-tato. If it weren't for Evra, man, this guy would definitely be in the starting line-up for every match of the season for me.
"Hey dude, next time, can I just wear your shirt and say I'm you?"
I'll be honest, if this finished 0-0, I wouldn't be as happy to be generous. It was really an average match and you'd hope for something better in the next few weeks. But, as we always like to point out, a win is a win, however it is the win is procured. You can't take those three points away.
Where We Stood, Where We Stand
Valencia absolutely slaughter Bursaspor, 6-1. But you'll notice that the Turkish champs scored their first ever goal in the Champions League. So, fair play to them and better luck next time? Yeah, that should do well.
Anyway, that means that Valencia are also through to the next round, and with their superior goal difference, a win against us in the next game would mean they finish top.
1|United|5P|6GD|13PTS
2|Valencia|5P|11GD|10PTS
3|Rangers|5P|-3GD|5PTS
4|Bursaspor|5P|-14GD|0PTS
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