22 Minutes, 5 Goals: Only Manchester United
Por Ulrik Fredrik

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ulrik Fredrik also tries and mostly succeeds at blogging daily at
Man Utd Musings (http://www.newmanutd.com)
                                                                                                                                                                                                    

What a remarkable game it was last night.

At half time, we looked dead and hope was drying up fast. Two goals down against a resilient Tottenham.

It’s anybody’s guess at what sort of a hairdryer treatment the lads got from the boss after heading back into the tunnel at half-time.

And what a half-time chat it was.

The Red Devils came out guns ablazing. 5 goals in 22 minutes. Only United.

Ronaldo provided the catalyst, the goal that said “We’re only one back now. All to play for.” A perfect ball from Rooney enabled Carrick to make his run and as he touched his ball to the left, Gomez made contact and a penalty was given.

Whilst the award of the penalty was deemed controversial by many quarters, the execution of the spot kick itself was class. You could clearly see the immense pressure visible on Cristiano’s face. The matchwinner against Porto definitely felt the heat. He takes a deep breath, eyes closed, gets into in his stride and calmly places the ball right down the middle. One behind, bring it.

About 10 minuts later on 67 minutes, the yet another equalizer came courtesy of United’s heart and soul. The build-up to the goal in midfield was simply exquisite. Ronaldo got hold of the ball in the middle of the park, slides it to Tevez. The Argentinian then links up with Berbatov and plays a neat one two, the Bulgarian releasing his team-mate further upfield. Tevez with the ball at his feet, senses an umarked Wayne Rooney making his run down his left and threads the ball into the path of the Englishman.

The job was far from done. Rooney still had Corluka and Gomez standing between him and glory. Then again, it IS Wazza on the ball. Four quick touches and a strike later, United’s equalizer materialized.

Only a minute later, United managed to complete a dream comeback not witnessed before in a very, very long time. Brilliant play by Evra on the left as he feeds Rooney the ball. Wazza neatly creates some space for himself by using this outside foot to halt the ball and sends in a tantalizing cross into the box for Ronaldo to head the ball home on the stretch. Whoa. You can’t script events like this. It just overwhelms beyond belief.

3 minutes after leading for the first time in the match, it was Ronaldo returning the favour to Rooney, with a floated ball from the right to the latter, completely unmarked. Rooney’s trademark first touch did him well although he could’ve have placed his shot much better as Woodgate managed to get something on the ball as it headed for goal. Power was, however, on Wazza’s side as Woodgate failed to keep it out, gifting a comfortable lead for the home side.

I read that Berbatov was boo-ed as he entered the pitch at the start of the match against Portsmouth in midweek. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of his work, I strongly condemn this stupid act by the foolish fans.

The Bulgarian today fortunately managed to leave a mark on this match a further two minutes after Roon’s second. The boy wonder ONCE AGAIN turned provider and floated in another perfert cross straight to Berbatov’s head. The initial head also could’ve been more clinical but the No.9 still somehow managed to bundle the ball across the goal line.

And….. scene. It’s a wrap. 3 points. A boosted morale and momentum back at Old Trafford.

Photos from Yahoo! News Iimages and Manchester United Official Website.

19  Comentários
26.04.2009 08:01
wow. A team that can afford to buy players actually pots the amount of goals they should be potting on a regular basis. How pathetic. On the flipside, its shameful they ever gave up the 2 goals to begin with! Is there any consistency to Englands version of the New York Yankees???
26.04.2009 08:01
PS - Go LIVERPOOL ;)
Por  dank
26.04.2009 11:24
@Ulrik - A good post, good photos, but how do you try to get away with "Whilst the award of the penalty was deemed controversial by many quarters"??? The penalty was not a penalty. Full stop. I will make no excuses for the way that Tottenham collapsed but yet again, a crucial decision has gone in the favour of Manchester United at Old Trafford which has provided them with the momentum that they had been unable to find up until that point. Over the years, I have seen Utd get too many decisions like this go their way. The result was devastating and shows just how good a team Utd are, but at the end of the day, it needs to be remembered that Tottenham were heading for 3 points until the referee opened the door for a Utd comeback.
26.04.2009 13:52
@ pistolfac - I can understand your bitterness. Anti-United supporters must've popped the champagne bottle about 45 minutes too early. :)
26.04.2009 13:54
@ Dan K - My "unbiased" opinion is that it was a penalty. Your "unbiased" opinion is that it wasn't a penalty. Then again, how much credibility does our "unbiasness" carry when our opinions tilt towards a conclusion that benefits the teams we support? And I'd also like to say how I respect the way you handle your team's defeat. Honestly. Very graciously indeed unlike some other people. Not many football fans like you. Keep it up Dan.
26.04.2009 19:10
I dont know if we would have won this gme without the penalty, and if we are honest this was not really a penalty...however thats football, and thats why we will win the league luck is also a part of it!
Por  dank
26.04.2009 19:32
@Ulrik - Thanks! Oh, and we both know it wasn't a penalty! ;-)
26.04.2009 21:20
@Ulrik - that champagne comment had me cracking up! LOL!
Por  CCCPPlus
26.04.2009 21:44
if it should not be penalty, then the goal against Germany should not win England the world cup in 66. or that USSR shoulda gone past Belgium in 86. this is useless. players oughta know sometimes referees will play against you. i think Roy Keane always gets on the pitch knowing the ref is gonna call every decision against him. or was it Vinny Jones? its part of football, and what MU did tonight reminds me of what Andy Cole did to Spurs many seasons back. i wont brand this MU a great team, but i'd call SAF a great manager, and they definitely performed up to standard that day. plenty of pre-bedtime pondering for for Spurs players, though. 2-0 up is a big advantage.
27.04.2009 01:56
@ Hi Jonathan. Penalties are a very subjective matter. I have no doubt it was a penalty but with the hypothesis that it wasn't a penalty", what I can say is that you get some and you dont. Remember when Welbeck was denied a clear penalty at the FA Cup semis?
27.04.2009 01:56
@ Dan K - Yes it was! LOL.
27.04.2009 01:57
@ pistolfac - haha. At least you had a good laugh mate.
27.04.2009 02:22
@ Dmitri - I agree. Decisions will always be against one team simply because a football match consists of two teams. One side will always be subject to the stinkier side of a deal. The ref can't please both teams and has to give what he thinks is the MOST correct decision. The referree at MU-SPURS could not NOT give the penalty. Why? Because it was a penalty. Gomes made clear contact with Carrick. Penalty, no questions asked. P.S Can't believe USSR didn't seep through.Belanov netted thrice for crying out loud. Unlucky.
27.04.2009 06:02
das was manutd -all about the come back kings....remined us of da 2001 come back of 5-3 vs spurs.....
27.04.2009 07:32
@ moid siddiqui - Haha. I guess we're making it into a bit of habit.
Por  DannyF
27.04.2009 11:18
Was a great game, and an the way it was done was even better - showed everyone just what we are capable of. Are the gunners ready for a mauling? They wont be scoring 4 against us like they did against the scousers! Great post Ulrik. @Dan - sorry mate, i do sympathise on the penalty call, but from that point on, we steam-rolled you!
27.04.2009 12:27
@ Danny - Thanks mate. Glad you liked it. Confidence sky high for midweek CL clash huh. lol. Heard arshavin won't be part of it but cesc can be a problem. But after their blunder against spurs, I'm pretty sure Vida and Rio would've trained their asses off to prepare for this one.
Por  CCCPPlus
28.04.2009 20:34
@Ulrik: if only the referee wasnt biased against USSR... ;-) lol
29.04.2009 01:02
@ dmitri - lol. yeah if only. a lot of people too thought that that match was littered with controversy.
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