Hmm, not really that much to say about this game. It wasn’t the most exciting to watch although it did mark the long awaited return of the Rooney/Berba partnership. Giggs in our starting 11 was also a welcome sight. As expected, Vidic and Rio were given the night off and we had Smalling and Evans at the back.
Due to its less than pulsating nature, I’ll try to summarize everything in a couple of points:
1.Rooney looked rusty. Not surprisingly, he misplaced some passes and whiffed at balls in the box that he might normally connect on and test the keeper. It’ll take some time for him to get back to the form he was in last year, but based on what we know about him, it’ll be well worth the wait.
2.Evans still looked uneasy at the back. A miscommunication between him and VDS in the 57th minute almost gifted Rangers a goal. He doesn’t seem to project the calmness that we would like to see in our defenders. Smalling on the other hand, looked far more assured on the ball.
3.Nani played a little better than he had in his prior 2 outings. There was less dwelling on the ball and he was constantly looking to play the early ball into the middle. Unfortunately, with Rangers playing deep, anything that he put in was immediately cleared out.
4. Carrick looks more comfortable with each game that he gets to start. He sat comfortably in midfield playing the ball around in an effort to unlock the Rangers deep lying defense. He even had a great chance to score when being put through after some good play between Berba and Rooney. Unforunately, his shot was too close to McGregor and it was well pushed away.
5.Rangers defended deep leaving Kenny Miller isolated up front. Their game plan was to threaten on counters and set pieces. But despite his best efforts and getting into some space, he never really had the support he needed to really threaten VDS.
6.It looked like the match was headed down the exact same path as when the teams met a few weeks ago at OT. It was a mirror image with United dominating the ball, but finding no way past the Rangers wall. That is until…
7.Fabio drifted into the box from the left and was picked out perfectly only to be fouled by Naismith with an accidental kick to the chest/face. There was clearly no malice intended as Naismith didn’t see Fabio and was merely trying to clear it, but instead, connected with Fabio.
8.Rooney stepped up for the penalty and clinically slotted it into the bottom left corner. As he ran toward the corner flag to celebrate, it felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A fan from the stands joined in the celebration and piled on top of Rooney. No one seemed to mind.
We got the point we needed for qualification. Rooney grabbed a goal (albeit another penalty). We’re slowly getting everyone back from injury. We’re grinding out wins like this when we don’t play particularly well.
Things could be a lot worse…Happy Thanksgiving all!
Some Related Man United Posts:The return of Rooney (vs Wigan)Good win in Turkey (vs Bursaspor)Perfect ending to a tumultuous week (vs Stoke)Not again?!?! (v West Brom)Another 2 points dropped (v Sunderland)
Category: Champions League, Manchester United, Match Reports, Wayne Rooney
Tags: Champions League, English Premier League, Manchester United, Match Reports, Michael Carrick, Nani, Rooney, Wayne Rooney« Giving thanks | Home | The Return of Paul Pogba »ahmad_hhopefully rooney's return will make things a lot easier for us, we need the old rooney back before the chelsea game.elvidoEvans has gone backwards, needs to get his mojo back. Carrick thankfully seems to have found his. Berba had a good game but needs to stop stropping. Fabio was good and Giggs should not play too many games from now on.blog comments powered by Disqus
Follow Us
England vs France liveblog! Previewing England Vs France, and Where We Stand England Squad Announced for the Friendly more news... 
Search The Offside
Related LinksManchester United TicketsManchester United JerseysManchester United BettingHotels near Old TraffordChicharitoFantasy Premier LeagueStretty Ender BlogMore Man United Links
Categories Carling CupCarlos TevezChampions LeagueChicharitoCL PreviewCristiano RonaldoEnglandEnglish Premier LeagueFA CupFC UnitedFlashbacksinjuriesinjuryInternationalsLeague CupLoan DealsMan Utd RamblingsManchester Unitedmatch previewMatch ReportsNaniNews OpinionOld TraffordPlayers CommentsPremiershippreviewRio FerdinandRyan GiggsSir Alex FergusonTeam NewsTransfer SpeculationUnited BusinessUnited FansUnited FutureUnited ImagesUnited LegendsUnited YoungstersVideo BitsWayne Rooney
Send Your Tips! Found a great story, photo or video that's perfect for The Offside?
Email manutd[at]theoffside[dot]com
LATEST COMMENTS
ahmad_h: hopefully rooney's return will make things a lot easier for us, we need the old rooney back befo ... [read more]
elvido: Evans has gone backwards, needs to get his mojo back. Carrick thankfully seems to have found his. Be ... [read more] Giving thanks
Shaun Lim: no. gonna be evans and smalling probably The return of Rooney (vs Wigan)
ahmad_h: i agree with every word you say, but the fact that we haven't lost any game so far is really rai ... [read more] Giving thanks
Thunderstruck66: I would also be thankful for a re-energized Dimitar Berbatov. Although he slowed down a bit recentl ... [read more] Giving thanks
barcadonia: is vidic starting against rangers? The Return of Davide Petrucci
loveunited: welcome back kids... Giving thanks
Evan: I'd like to give thanks to Sir Alex, and all the things he has done for this wonderful football ... [read more] The return of Rooney (vs Wigan)
Shaun: winning matters more than anything else at the end of the day. i think as fans though, we do care to ... [read more] Giving thanks
Omeid: I would also like to give thanks to Danny Welbeck having 3 goals and 1 assist while on loan at Sunde ... [read more]
Archives Select Archive Month November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006
About The Offside | Advertise on The Offside | Privacy Policy
Top Content: England National Team Blog | Bebe at Man United | Chicharito Signs for United | Federico Macheda | Manchester United 2011 Home Shirt
Related information: Premier League Kits | England Shirts | Chelsea FC | Man City Blog | Liverpool FC | England Travel Guide | International Flights to London | Guide to Manchester's Chinatown | Champions League Prize Money
© BootsnAll Travel Network - All rights reserved
EuropeEngland: PremiershipEngland: ChampionshipEngland: League One England: League Two FranceGermanyGreeceHollandItalyPolandPortugalRussiaScotlandSpainTurkeyAfricaEgyptTunisiaAustraliaSouth AmericaArgentinaBrazilColombia North AmericaMexicoMLSNPSLUSLWomen's SoccerCup CompetitionsChampions LeagueEuropa LeagueCopa LibertadoresCopa SudamericanaPlayersDidier DrogbaLionel MessiMesut OzilArjen RobbenCristiano RonaldoLigue 1 ProspectsSoccer Betting | World Cup 2010
Plan Your Soccer Travels | Soccer TicketsClose X
Home 
World 
Europe English Premier League 
Manchester United 
StoreTravelScores 
England: PremiershipEngland: ChampionshipEngland: League OneEngland: League TwoEngland: ConferenceFranceGermanyGreeceHollandItaly PolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaScotlandSpainTurkeyUkraineChampions League | Europa LeagueClose X Podcast Powered by podPress (v8.8)
No comments:
Post a Comment