The Reds were denied 3 points by what seemed to be a refereeing error, as ten-man Newcastle held on to claim a dramatic point at Old Trafford.
United took a deserved lead early on in the second half, when Wayne Rooney's shot deflected off Javier Hernandez to break the deadlock, after a lacklustre first half display. The Reds thought they had it in the bag having taken the lead, but didn't capitalise on a couple of decent chances to increase the lead.
They were then made to pay for those missed opportunities, as Newcastle were awarded a controversial penalty. Hatem Ben Arfa was challenged by Rio Ferdinand, who seemingly won the ball as cleanly as can be, but after discussion with his linesman, referee Mike Jones gave the spot kick. Demba Ba calmly converted from 12 yards, to level the scoring.
However, United reacted quickly, and had complete domination for the last 15 or 20 minutes, creating multiple clear-cut chances, but just couldn't put them away. Hernandez, Young, Rooney, Macheda, Fabio, Vidic, Giggs, all spurned openings, as the Reds just couldn't claim a winner. Even after Jonas Gutierrez's sending off, and Fergie's side creating 8 or 9 unbelievable chances, United couldn't get through Newcastle's sensational defence. Tim Krul stood firm with a man of the match performance, and centre halves Stephen Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini were rocks.
The Geordies also had opportunities, with David de Gea producing an outstanding stop just prior to the penalty, and was tested on numerous occasions, especially in the first half.
The ex-Reds Danny Simpson and Gabriel Obertan starred, with Obertan fading after a promising start, and Simpson keeping Young reasonably quiet, with the right back also clearing off the line late on to prevent Hernandez a winner. But despite the considerable efforts of the Newcastle backline, United thought they'd finally broke their resistance, when Hernandez tapped home from 2 yards, only to be correctly judged offside. The final whistle blew with United in dis-belief, having squandered so many openings, with Newcastle leaving the Theatre of dreams with a defiant point, with Sir Alex fuming.
United will now hope that Liverpool can force Manchester City to drop points, as the Reds' slip up leaves them 4 points adrift having played a game more.
United Team
De Gea, 7, Evra, 5 (Macheda), Ferdinand, 6, Vidic, 7, Fabio, 7 (Smalling), Giggs, 7, Carrick, 8, Nani, 6, Young, 5, Rooney, 7, Hernandez, 7.
RDI's Man of the Match
Michael Carrick - Kept the champions ticking over with minimal fuss against his hometown club. Maintained possession and slowed the pace down when Newcastle looked threatening on the counter-attack. A classy, understated showing.
RDI's Flop of the Match
Patrice Evra - Had another unconvincing performance against the pace of Gabriel Obertan, and almost let the winger in early on after mis-judging a diving header.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Monday, 21 November 2011
Hernandez the Hero
Javier Hernandez proved his striking abilities once again, scoring the only goal in United's 1-0 win over Swansea.
The Reds scraped past the Welsh side with an unconvincing performance. Swansea controlled large amounts of the game, but were undone when Ryan Giggs stole possession deep in Swansea territory, before playing a pinpoint ball across for Javier Hernandez to slot home from 6 yards.
The newly-promoted Swans were classy on the ball, but created very little clearcut openings. They did have one golden opportunity, which fell to the flying Scott Sinclair. The classy winger had Phil Jones struggling all evening with his pace and trickery, and was left with an open net, when Jones was caught ball-watching, but the former Chelsea man scuffed the shot, and the chance was wasted.
United came close late on, with Jones clipping the post from a tight angle, and Nani's shot flashing narrowly wide, but had to settle with their third 1-0 victory in a row, and their fifth clean sheet on the trot in all competitions. Next week the Devils face the visit of Newcastle, who suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign, losing 3-1 at the hands of Manchester City. Despite City's relatively comfortable win in the end, they were troubled at times, meaning United should expect a tough test.
United Team
De Gea, 7, Jones, 6, Ferdinand, 7, Vidic, 7, Evra, 5 (Fabio), Nani, 4, Carrick, 6, Park, 5, Giggs, 6 (Fletcher), Rooney, 7, Hernandez, 7 (Valencia).
RDI's Man of the Match
David de Gea - Was a rock when called upon, making a couple of smart saves, most notably springing to his right to prevent Sinclair levelling the scoring.
RDI's Flop of the Match
Nani - Never looked interested and was a passenger for nearly the whole 90 minutes. Attempted a few flicks and tricks that failed to come off, and wasted a good chance late on, missing the target.
The Reds scraped past the Welsh side with an unconvincing performance. Swansea controlled large amounts of the game, but were undone when Ryan Giggs stole possession deep in Swansea territory, before playing a pinpoint ball across for Javier Hernandez to slot home from 6 yards.
The newly-promoted Swans were classy on the ball, but created very little clearcut openings. They did have one golden opportunity, which fell to the flying Scott Sinclair. The classy winger had Phil Jones struggling all evening with his pace and trickery, and was left with an open net, when Jones was caught ball-watching, but the former Chelsea man scuffed the shot, and the chance was wasted.
United came close late on, with Jones clipping the post from a tight angle, and Nani's shot flashing narrowly wide, but had to settle with their third 1-0 victory in a row, and their fifth clean sheet on the trot in all competitions. Next week the Devils face the visit of Newcastle, who suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign, losing 3-1 at the hands of Manchester City. Despite City's relatively comfortable win in the end, they were troubled at times, meaning United should expect a tough test.
United Team
De Gea, 7, Jones, 6, Ferdinand, 7, Vidic, 7, Evra, 5 (Fabio), Nani, 4, Carrick, 6, Park, 5, Giggs, 6 (Fletcher), Rooney, 7, Hernandez, 7 (Valencia).
RDI's Man of the Match
David de Gea - Was a rock when called upon, making a couple of smart saves, most notably springing to his right to prevent Sinclair levelling the scoring.
RDI's Flop of the Match
Nani - Never looked interested and was a passenger for nearly the whole 90 minutes. Attempted a few flicks and tricks that failed to come off, and wasted a good chance late on, missing the target.
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