Zenit St. Petersburg Defeat A Disinterested Manchester United 2-1 to Win UEFA Super Cup
August 31st 2008 01:04
In the days preceding the UEFA Super Cup final, Sir Alex Ferguson stated that his team was going there to win. It's hard to see how he would've accomplished that by starting two players who haven't seen any action since pre-season, namely defender Gary Neville and winger Nani.
Yesterday, both players had an horrible match. Neville was often too slow in his runs, whether going forward or when defending, and his crosses were atrocious. He didn't look match-fit at all. I can't understand why he got the nod over Wes Brown who finally came on at the 75th minute. If SAF really wanted Neville to play, he could've assigned the veteran as a substitute to come in later during the match.
On United's other wing, Nani didn't fare any better. Though in his case, Ferguson had no choice but to start him since both Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs are on the injured list. I've never seen a player screw up so many plays and/or set-pieces as Nani did yesterday. It seemed like every time he touched the ball, something wrong was going to happen – free-kicks too high or in the wall, bad corners, blocked crosses, wasted shots, and just wrong decisions all around Zenit's 18-yard box. Passing always seemed to be the last option on his mind. By the time he decided that he should maybe cross the ball, it would get either blocked, intercepted or taken away from him 99.5% of the time. His poor performance led the commentators to go on and on about how the Red Devils missed Ronaldo. Personnally, I just missed Giggs on that left wing. With Giggs, United could've at least get decent chances on corners.
That left side caused a lot of problems for Manchester during the first half. With Nani slow to come back to defend and Evra always playing slightly higher than the line of defense, Zenit's right-winger and right-back had a field day up there, playing one-twos that always Nani and Evra flat-footed. Fortunately for them, Ferdinand and/or Vidic were always there to cover them. Though United dominated the field in terms of possession, their attacks had no bite in them due to some poor crossing and their inability to find Rooney up front. Zenit, on the other hand, were dangerous on the break, especially on the right side (United's left). That weakness in the English club's armor would be their downfall at the end of the first half when Zenit took the lead to everyone's surprise. It was supposed to be a harmless play. Zenit flew past Nani and Evra like they did during the whole half, then, the player crossed the ball to the far post where there was no one but Neville. Under no pressure whatsoever, Manchester's right-back sent the ball into corner for no reason other than the fact that he was facing his goal line. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored on the subsequent corner after Igor Denisov – at the near post - flicked the ball past Van der Sar to the far post.
Sir Alex's troops came back more motivated for the second half. Both Tevez and Rooney signaled their presence with powerful shots that, unfortunately, went wide. However, at the 58th minute, Zenit took a two-goal lead when Danny made a 35-yards run, twisting Ferdinand inside out, and nicely finishing by beating Van der Sar to the near post. Ferguson immediately reacted by making two substitutions, taking out Fletcher (who looked completely lost during the game) and Anderson for O'Shea and Park. Though both substitutes aren't the most menacing player you've ever seen, they immediately brought a spark to United's attack, creating several chances for themselves and their teammates. However the European champions still couldn't break down goalkeeper Malafeev. Finally, at the 72nd minute, Vidic scored his team's only goal after an unselfish pass by Tevez who had received Rooney's cross. At that point, United finally woke up, inching closer and closer to the equalizer mainly through Park and Rooney who seemed to telepathically understand each other's runs. Manchester's hope would fade fast at the 88th minute when Paul Scholes received his second yellow card for trying to reenact Maradona's mano de Dios by blatantly scoring with his hand. The foul was an uncharacteristic action from the combative ginger-haired midfielder but it symbolized well United's frustration that night.
All in all, there was no passion in United's game last night, just players going through the motions. The one good thing to take out of their performance yesterday is the return of Park Ji-Sung. The Korean locomotive seems as fit as ever; that must be some good news for Ferguson. The manager is probably disappointed by not getting the win, but United now have a two-week break to get most of their injured players back (Giggs, Hargreaves, and possibly Carrick), and will look to climb in the EPL's standings.
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Gary Neville (Wes Brown, 75th), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Darren Fletcher (Park Ji-Sung, 59th), Paul Scholes, Anderson (O'Shea, 59th), Nani; Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney
Yesterday, both players had an horrible match. Neville was often too slow in his runs, whether going forward or when defending, and his crosses were atrocious. He didn't look match-fit at all. I can't understand why he got the nod over Wes Brown who finally came on at the 75th minute. If SAF really wanted Neville to play, he could've assigned the veteran as a substitute to come in later during the match.
On United's other wing, Nani didn't fare any better. Though in his case, Ferguson had no choice but to start him since both Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs are on the injured list. I've never seen a player screw up so many plays and/or set-pieces as Nani did yesterday. It seemed like every time he touched the ball, something wrong was going to happen – free-kicks too high or in the wall, bad corners, blocked crosses, wasted shots, and just wrong decisions all around Zenit's 18-yard box. Passing always seemed to be the last option on his mind. By the time he decided that he should maybe cross the ball, it would get either blocked, intercepted or taken away from him 99.5% of the time. His poor performance led the commentators to go on and on about how the Red Devils missed Ronaldo. Personnally, I just missed Giggs on that left wing. With Giggs, United could've at least get decent chances on corners.
That left side caused a lot of problems for Manchester during the first half. With Nani slow to come back to defend and Evra always playing slightly higher than the line of defense, Zenit's right-winger and right-back had a field day up there, playing one-twos that always Nani and Evra flat-footed. Fortunately for them, Ferdinand and/or Vidic were always there to cover them. Though United dominated the field in terms of possession, their attacks had no bite in them due to some poor crossing and their inability to find Rooney up front. Zenit, on the other hand, were dangerous on the break, especially on the right side (United's left). That weakness in the English club's armor would be their downfall at the end of the first half when Zenit took the lead to everyone's surprise. It was supposed to be a harmless play. Zenit flew past Nani and Evra like they did during the whole half, then, the player crossed the ball to the far post where there was no one but Neville. Under no pressure whatsoever, Manchester's right-back sent the ball into corner for no reason other than the fact that he was facing his goal line. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored on the subsequent corner after Igor Denisov – at the near post - flicked the ball past Van der Sar to the far post.
Sir Alex's troops came back more motivated for the second half. Both Tevez and Rooney signaled their presence with powerful shots that, unfortunately, went wide. However, at the 58th minute, Zenit took a two-goal lead when Danny made a 35-yards run, twisting Ferdinand inside out, and nicely finishing by beating Van der Sar to the near post. Ferguson immediately reacted by making two substitutions, taking out Fletcher (who looked completely lost during the game) and Anderson for O'Shea and Park. Though both substitutes aren't the most menacing player you've ever seen, they immediately brought a spark to United's attack, creating several chances for themselves and their teammates. However the European champions still couldn't break down goalkeeper Malafeev. Finally, at the 72nd minute, Vidic scored his team's only goal after an unselfish pass by Tevez who had received Rooney's cross. At that point, United finally woke up, inching closer and closer to the equalizer mainly through Park and Rooney who seemed to telepathically understand each other's runs. Manchester's hope would fade fast at the 88th minute when Paul Scholes received his second yellow card for trying to reenact Maradona's mano de Dios by blatantly scoring with his hand. The foul was an uncharacteristic action from the combative ginger-haired midfielder but it symbolized well United's frustration that night.
All in all, there was no passion in United's game last night, just players going through the motions. The one good thing to take out of their performance yesterday is the return of Park Ji-Sung. The Korean locomotive seems as fit as ever; that must be some good news for Ferguson. The manager is probably disappointed by not getting the win, but United now have a two-week break to get most of their injured players back (Giggs, Hargreaves, and possibly Carrick), and will look to climb in the EPL's standings.
UEFA Super Cup Goals
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Gary Neville (Wes Brown, 75th), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Darren Fletcher (Park Ji-Sung, 59th), Paul Scholes, Anderson (O'Shea, 59th), Nani; Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney
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