Analysis explained that a victory for the Red Champions would not only see them go back to third in the table, but also reduce the margin off the leaders Liverpool to only five points with two games in hand.

Traditionally, Manchester United are exceptionally ‘unplayable’ in the second part of the season. That is when they put the foot on the pedal and pick more points to claim their authority.
Therefore, Sunday’s game to Chelsea came as a huge test to check out if tradition is on Manchester United’s side this year again. And the Mancunians had the chance to do so in their own fortress – the Theatre of Dreams.

Going into the game, United had not lost a single home match this season, and they were keen to extend their record of six consecutive home wins out of seven. The Reds – who had not conceded a goal in the league since their defeat to Arsenal – were defensively boosted by the return of Patrice Evra who missed United’s four previous games through suspension.

On the other side, the pressure was on Drogba to find the key to unlock the Reds’ defence; the Ivorian striker was back in the starting line up at the expense of the French man Nicolas Anelka who was on the bench. Chelsea’s team spirit also received a boost with the return of skipper John Terry after serving a three-match ban; Joe Cole and Ballack were also fit to start but Malouda was out.

Coach Scolari understood how badly his side needed to put an end to their sluggish late form and his line up explained how much Chelsea was going into the game with the intention of preventing a loss.

The performances of both teams were of high quality; United looked more threatening though the visitors kept a lot of possession.
With more than half an hour gone down the clock, the score line was still goalless. Ronaldo tought he had put United in front when he headed home the ball from a Giggs cross, only to learn that his goal had been ruled out for offside. Berbatov missed a great chance to put United in front after the Reds had launched a wonderful attack. At a point, there were fears that Fergie’s boys will once again be wasteful in front of goal.

Man United continued to knock at the door in search of an opener; their thrilling football spiced up by Ronaldo’s flicks and crosses came very much at Chelsea’s anxiety.

With only seconds to go in the first half, Serbian Star Nemanja Vidic headed Manchester United in front from a corner. It was the defender’s fifth goal of the season, meaning that the Reds could go into the dressing rooms with their noses in front.

Ferguson knew that a second goal would kill the game off, and his belief in the pair of strikers upfront composed of Rooney and Berbatov did not failed him.

The England forward doubled Man United’s lead on 63 minutes, finishing off Evra’s accurate cross with a shot from six yards out to leave the home fans ecstatic.

However, even with the score line being at 2-0, United could not afford to seat back and relax. Park and Ronaldo continued to worry the likes of Ashley Cole and Bosingwa and their resilience and game plan paid off when Berbatov rounded up the match with a third goal for Manchester United.
The Bulgarian connected Cristiano Ronaldo’s excellent shot out of a free kick with a header on 86 minutes to emphasize United’s win.

This historic victory witnessed live by millions around the world means that Chelsea have been handed their heaviest defeat in the Abrahamovic era, and their second away loss since December 07.

Manchester United play Wigan on Wednesday, then Bolton this weekend. If United manage to win both games, they’ll be seating at the top of the table – one point clear of Liverpool who only play next Monday.

Written by: Angela Asante

The Mancunians will have the chance to be just one point behind second placed Chelsea if they clinch all three points.
United have been wasteful in front of goal this season, managing only three goals in their last four games in the league.

Their 3-0 FA Cup win earlier last week gave some kind of relief to Ferguson who thought that his team had found back their killing instinct, but Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat away to Derby proved that the Reds have some work to do if they want to get things right against the Blues this weekend.

Manchester United have an excellent home record this season though, and after enduring tough trips in the first part of the season, they kick off the second half of the league at home against Scolari’s Blue Devils.

The Londoners dropped precious points in their last two matches; their run of 11 consecutive away wins finally ended up with a disappointing goalless draw at Goodison Park last month, followed by a painful 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

With owner Roman Abrahamovic negatively displaced in the list of Football’s richest personality and reportedly said to be tired of his club Chelsea, the Blues will definitely want to overturn their fortunes around.

The clash promises to be a cracker which is not worth missing.

Written by: Angela Asante

With Ronaldo back in the squad and Tevez starting upfront instead of the injured Berbatov, predictions were that Derby County will suffer from a flurry of goals.

However, if United could boast of a 3-0 FA Cup win four days before, Derby’s confidence was also lifted by their miraculous 4-3 victory which thus took them through to the last 32 of the FA Cup.

Last year, the former Premier League club lost narrowly by a 75th minute Cristiano Ronaldo volley to nil, which inflicted more worries to their poor record in the EPL.

Since 1962, Derby County have never ever reached the final of a major tournament, and their hunger to be a step closer to qualifying for the final of the Carling was certainly bigger than ever.

Steve Davies missed two great opportunities to break the deadlock for the home side but Kris Commons did not miss moments later. His shot 25 yards from goal stunned the visitors; the Championship club were then 1-0 up against the recently crowned World Champions on 30 minutes.

Ronaldo came very close to equalize 15 minutes from time with a long range free-kick. But it was never enough to overcome the nightmare of loosing away to Derby.

The referee’s blow at the end of the 90 minutes came at the relief of the home supporters; their club have recorded arguably the greatest Giant killing of the year so far.

Manchester United will have some work to do later on when they host opponents Derby for the second leg of the semi-final clash.

Written by: Angela Asante.

The Mancunians suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat against them 32 years ago in the 1976 FA Cup final at Wembley to record one of the biggest upsets in the history of club football.

The home side from the Championship were expected to emulate Nottingham Forest’s success who trounced the other Mancunian side Manchester City a day before, but it was the visitors who had the better of the game.

With Cristiano Ronaldo absent from the squad after being sent to Portugal by Ferguson, and Wayne Rooney left on the bench, youngsters like Nani, Danny Welbeck or Rodrigo Possebon were given a place in the squad.

After twenty minutes gone down the clock, Manchester United found themselves up through Danny Welbeck’s close range goal. The promising English striker of Ghanaian origin could relish his second goal for the club at professional level.

Things got even worse for Southampton when Scottish striker Paterson was given a straight red card after fouling Nemanja Vidic on 36 minutes. The underdogs had to surmount the challenge of playing the rest of the match with ten men, and they failed to do so.

Ronaldo’s compatriot Luis Nani doubled United’s lead with a penalty, thenyoung player Gibson sealed the victory ten minutes from time to rub Southampton’s wounds with more salt.

The atmosphere at St Mary’s was filled with the upset mood of the home crowd. But chants of joy and happiness from Manchester United’s travelling crowd could be heard on the background.

The Champions of the World have kick-started 2009 on a good note with a 3-0 victory away to Southampton; the Reds haven’t succumbed to defeat at this stage since 25 years now.
They are through to the fourth round of the competition where they’ll meet the Londoners Tottenham Hotspurs at Old Trafford later this month.

Written by: Angela Asante

After securing a crucial win away to Stoke City three days earlier, the Champions of England became favorite once again to clinch this year’s EPL title.
While Middlesbrough were desperate to end their miserable spell of 7 matches without a win, Manchester United were determined to keep their hopes of winning the Premiership alive.

How the game unfolded

With Patrice Evra serving his controversial four match ban and skipper Rio Ferdinand sidelined with a back injury, youngsters Johnny Evans and Rafael Da Silva were given the chance to play in replacement.

Both sides started on a good note but Manchester United had the better of the possession.
Rooney’s aggressive performance was eye-catching; the Fifa World Club Cup Player of the tournament was at the centre of United’s numerous attacks.
Once again, creating chances wasn’t Manchester’s problem. However, converting them into goals remained the issue. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a handful of opportunities to put his side in front, but he also came very close at times to break the deadlock through a number of well-taking free-kicks.

A question of justice

Boro’s keeper was outstanding in his post, making several saves to rescue his team – one of which was an impressive punch to tip Rooney’s hot ball over the crossbar.
So 0-0 was the scoreline at the end of the 45 minutes, but would it have been the case if the referee had performed a lot better?

Manchester United were denied a clear penalty after Middlesbrough’s O’Neil handled the ball inside the area at the 42nd minute. Ronaldo’s complaint was even more obvious some moments later; the visitors’ skipper Pogatetz was spotted by cameras crushing Ronaldo down to the ground to prevent his side from conceding a goal out the corner.
The so-called ‘bad boy’ had some words to say to the referees at half time, and as it looked that nothing really would be done, Ronaldo went to Pogatetz to make his points. An argument broke out all the way down to the tunnel.

In the second period, Boro’s Bates harshly fouled Wayne Rooney on the edge of the penalty area; one more time, the Middlesbrough player went away unpunished and Manchester United were denied a clear free-kick.

A wasteful but lucky United

Manchester United created at least 25 chances in the whole of the game but could only score a single goal to clinch all three points.

Turkish international Tuncay came inches away to give the visitor a shocking lead one minute after the hour mark with a powerful header that went just wide.

Manchester United understood the alert and did not wait to respond by pressuring their opponents with attacks. Ji Sung Park’s fired a long range effort only to see his shot punched away by Boro’s outstanding keeper. United had to wait four more minutes to find the breakthrough when Berbatov volleyed in a shot from inside the box to inscribe his side’s only goal on 69 minutes.

Park again then missed a wonderful opportunity to double Manchester United’s lead three minutes later as he awfully drove the ball over the bar from close range.

Ronaldo then had to come off at the 84th minute after being the subject of reckless tackles on a frustrating night for him. Middlesbrough seemed completely broken since Berbatov’s super goal but in the dying minutes of the game, it looked like they could turn the fortunes around.

Manchester United hanged on well though, saving themselves from the horror of conceding a late goal out of a Boro corner.

Manchester United have closed the gap to 7 points now against Liverpool. They’ll face an intriguing task on January 11th at Old Trafford against second placed Chelsea.

Written by: Angela Asante

The Red Devils came out victorious from an eventful battle, which took place in Yokohama, against South American champions LDU Quito of Ecuador. The fight was tough and only one goal separated the two camps.
Manchester United were the dominant force on the field and did not stop attacking the South American’s defensive fortress.
Tevez and Rooney took charge of firing shots upfront but Jose Cevallo’s outstanding performance helped him defend Quito’s goal line. Michael Carrick, Ji-Sung Park and the crowd’s favourite Cristiano Ronaldo, of course. were also all involved in keeping Cevallo very busy.

Neither sides were able to break the deadlock after at the end of the 45 minutes. Fate meant that the main part of this game’s history had to be played in the second period.
After only 4 minutes gone down the clock in the second half, Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic saw red. A nasty elbow challenge cost him the end of his first ever Fifa World Club Cup adventure. His dismissal came as a big blow to the rest of his team-mates. The European champions knew that there should be no room for fears; the weakness of the Devils in terms of numbers rather strengthened their desire to win the night.

Patrice Evra was influential in defence while English knight Wayne Rooney led the attack at the other end of the battle field. The striker finally broke the deadlock on 73 minutes as he drove the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Ten men Manchester United were hanging from the thread right until the end of the fight. Thanks to Edwin Van der Sar’s late save, the Red Champions were able to maintain their 1-0 lead and eventually seal their victory.

This historic night means that Manchester United are the first British club to win the World Cup.
The Red Champions close this memorable year on a wonderful note, with this Fifa World Club Cup trophy which adds to their EPL and Champions League titles.

The kings of the worlds resume their Premiership campaign on the 26th with a game against Stoke City. They currently lie 4th behind Aston Villa with only 7 points behind the leaders Liverpool with two games in hand.
Manchester United are therefore analytically on course to emulate the success they enjoyed in 2008. Strength, mental power, and luckiness may help them achieve that.

Written by: Angela Asante

As Manchester United aim to retain their European title, the road is getting tougher than ever. The Reds, who qualified top of Group E with only two wins in six games, now face Italian Giants Inter Milan.

The main attraction of the fixture is about the rivalry between the two managers, Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Inter Milan’s Jose Mourinho.

The former Chelsea boss has quite good memories against the old Scot and he might want to repeat something of the 3-0 win he had at Stamford Bridge back in 2006, this time with the Nerazzuri.

Manchester United will have to face their opponent away at the San Siro in the first leg which takes place on February 24th , before welcoming Jose Mourinho back to England for the second leg on May 11th at the Theatre of Dreams.

The Red Devils are well aware of Jose Mourinho’s threat as the Portuguese knew how to embarrass them in disappointing adventures whenever Chelsea clashed against Manchester United.

Phil Townsend, the communication manager of Manchester United, expects Alex to revenge himself on his opposite number Jose Mourinho:

“We’ll be trying to put one over on José this time and get the result that the fans want, and the club wants,” he revealed.

If facing Jose Mourinho is a tough mission, coming up against Inter Milan is rather a good sign in terms of history. Phil Townsend explains:

“It’s a very exciting draw. We’ve only met Inter once before in the Champions League and we got through then, and maybe it’s a good omen because it was in 1999 and we ended up winning the tournament.”

Ten years after memorably lifting the Champions League trophy in 1999, Manchester United will once again meet Internazionale and a repeat of history will come much at the club’s delight.

In the meantime, Milan’s director Ernesto Paolillo also knows the importance of clashing against the defending champions. And he is full of confidence that his side can beat the Reds and eventually go on to win the title with the help of their Portuguese Champions League winning coach:

“I’m sure Mourinho will be happy with the draw, he wanted Manchester United and now he has them,” Paolillo told Sky Sport Italia.

“I think the motivations will be there for everyone to beat United. They are the European Champions and so motivations will not be short.

“This can give the team a massive shock in terms of getting ready for the game.

“It will be a great game for us and if we beat them then I think we can go on to lift the trophy.

“We know how to get past big obstacles as we have a team full of great players.”

The suspense has just started…

Written by: Angela Asante

The Reds had the better of the ball, with Golden Boy Cristiano Ronaldo capturing the attention of the crowd with a delightful pacy performance.

The winger came close to break the deadlock with after only five minutes gone down the clock. Ronaldo also tested Osaka’s keeper Yosuke Fujigawa with a weak free-kick that was eventually saved.

Manchester United’s first goal came on 28 minutes through Nemanja Vidic. The defender headed in his second goal in three matches for the Reds, finishing Giggs’ cross out of a corner.
Ronaldo doubled the lead at the last serious kick of the first half in the same manner.
Ryan Giggs again kicked the ball out of a corner which was headed low into the net by prolific goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Masato Yamazati pulled one back for Osaka on 74 minutes, thinking he had raised his side’s hopes for a come back. But substitute Wayne Rooney saved Manchester United from any fears as he widened the gap a minute later with an easy one on one goal.

Fletcher flashed in Manchester United’s third header and fourth goal of the game after Nani and Evra exchanged few passes.

Rooney clinched his double of the night on 80 minutes, leaving Gamba Osaka with realistically no chance of coming back into the game.

But the samurais defeated humility by controlling the last ten minutes.
Gary Neville was harshly penalized for handballing the ball inside the box; Yasuhito Endo converted the spot kick in total confidence to reduce Osaka’s deficit.

Hideo Hashimoto added a third for his side at the 90th minute to let the score line be 5-3.

At least, the Asian Champions had something to give for their continent: Pride and resilience.

Manchester United’s reward for surviving an eight-goal thriller is a place in the final against LDU Quito of South America on Sunday.

Written by: Angela Asante

They will be the first British team to do so and the feeling of glory is something that has seized every Man U player.

From Rooney to Fletcher, from Carrick to Giggs, the feeling of becoming a World Champion is none less than dominant.

Ferguson has promised to put his strongest line up, which includes the likes of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferdinand and Neville amongst others.

“It’s a competition we want to win and I’ll be playing a strong team,” the coach revealed.
One player who has been ruled out due fitness problems is Berbatov.

“Dimitar won’t play,” confirmed the boss at his pre-match press conference. “He’s been in bed virtually since we arrived with a virus. We’re not sure where it’s come from, he may have picked it up on the plane.

“Wayne was injured in training on Tuesday, but I’m hopeful he’ll be okay.”

Ferguson has also ordered his players to put an eye on Gamba’s star Endo.
While the Reds are relishing the opportunity of playing in this competition of champions, England coach Fabio Capello has warned the club saying that the World Cup will make them tired.

However, Ferguson is well aware of the situation as a whole and is already looking ahead for Manchester United’s next Premiership game against Stoke City.

Written by: Angela Asante

The Bulgarian was given a very bad reception from the home fans; quite an expected reaction from them given the way and manner Berbatov used to behave before leaving the club.

The 27 year old, often criticised for his so-called lazy performance, did not play any better on Saturday. He wasted a couple of good chances, especially in the first period, to put the Reds ahead.
Ronaldo slid in a great ball into the penalty box but Berbatov couldn’t connect with it; Spurs’ goalkeeper Gomes was the quickest to react.

While Manchester United’s back four – which included O’Shea as a replacement for the suspended Evra – dealt with the pressure caused by Aaron Lennon, Park and Tevez were dynamic upfront.

Cristiano Ronaldo fired in a shot into the net out of a corner, thinking he had broken the deadlock. However, the referee wrongly disallowed his goal for handball.

Manchester United did not have too many chances after that; credits should well be given to the Brazilian keeper Gomes, though.

So 0-0, the score line remained after 90 minutes, meaning that both sides had to leave the pitch sharing a point each.

Manchester United once again failed to close within four points of Liverpool who could only draw 2-2 at Anfield against Hull City. Obviously, it would have been a different story if the referee had a better judgement on Ronaldo’s clean goal.

The Reds are now already in Japan for their Fifa World Club Cup semi-final game against Gamba Osaka which takes place on Thursday.

Written by: Angela Asante