EPL Week 23: Manchester United Crush West Brom 5-0, Break Record For Consecutive Clean Sheets
January 30th 2009 05:42
Two weeks after taking the top spot from Liverpool, Manchester United added to their lead with a majestic 5-0 win over West Brom.
Although the Red Devils dominated most of the game, the first fifteen minutes proved to be difficult for their defense as striker Jay Simpson pressured United's back-four with his incredible pace. Sir Alex Ferguson's men adjusted by preventing the forward from making deep runs when he had possession of the ball. As soon as the ball made its way to him, a defender or midfielder would stick on his back and stop him from going towards Van der Sar's goal.
The defending champions opened the score at the 21st minute when Berbatov completed a superb one-two with Carrick. Though most clubs would have already folded at 1-0, West Brom continued to pressure United until the 41st minute when the visitors were reduced to ten men. Two minutes later, Tevez scored an easy goal after a mistake by goalkeeper Carson. Down 2-0 and missing one player, West Brom were surely out, and it was only a matter of stopping the scoreline from becoming worse.
Unfortunately, as relentless West Brom were in midfield and attack, their defense had holes all over the place, but mostly on the sides. At the 59th minute, Vidic scored after a corner-kick. Five minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo got his first of the night with a superb pass by Giggs who was quietly effective during the game. Ronaldo later scored his second with another great pass, this time from Berbatov. The score could have been worse if it wasn't for Scott Carson's performance. As hard as it is to believe, the goalkeeper came up with some pretty saves both in the early stages of the game and towards the end. It's too bad his defense couldn't step up.
At the other end, Edwin Van der Sar broke Petr Cech's record for consecutive clean sheets. It's an impressive feat considering the fact that United hasn't had a stable back-four since the end of November if not earlier. Ferdinand, Vidic, and Evra have all been out at some point – Evra is still out – while Gary Neville, Wes Brown, and Rafael have been sharing the right-back position. Jonny Evans has proved to be an adequate replacement in center defense while O'Shea keeps plugging the holes every time a player goes down.
Although the Red Devils dominated most of the game, the first fifteen minutes proved to be difficult for their defense as striker Jay Simpson pressured United's back-four with his incredible pace. Sir Alex Ferguson's men adjusted by preventing the forward from making deep runs when he had possession of the ball. As soon as the ball made its way to him, a defender or midfielder would stick on his back and stop him from going towards Van der Sar's goal.
The defending champions opened the score at the 21st minute when Berbatov completed a superb one-two with Carrick. Though most clubs would have already folded at 1-0, West Brom continued to pressure United until the 41st minute when the visitors were reduced to ten men. Two minutes later, Tevez scored an easy goal after a mistake by goalkeeper Carson. Down 2-0 and missing one player, West Brom were surely out, and it was only a matter of stopping the scoreline from becoming worse.
Unfortunately, as relentless West Brom were in midfield and attack, their defense had holes all over the place, but mostly on the sides. At the 59th minute, Vidic scored after a corner-kick. Five minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo got his first of the night with a superb pass by Giggs who was quietly effective during the game. Ronaldo later scored his second with another great pass, this time from Berbatov. The score could have been worse if it wasn't for Scott Carson's performance. As hard as it is to believe, the goalkeeper came up with some pretty saves both in the early stages of the game and towards the end. It's too bad his defense couldn't step up.
At the other end, Edwin Van der Sar broke Petr Cech's record for consecutive clean sheets. It's an impressive feat considering the fact that United hasn't had a stable back-four since the end of November if not earlier. Ferdinand, Vidic, and Evra have all been out at some point – Evra is still out – while Gary Neville, Wes Brown, and Rafael have been sharing the right-back position. Jonny Evans has proved to be an adequate replacement in center defense while O'Shea keeps plugging the holes every time a player goes down.
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Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Gary Neville (Richard Eckersley, 70th), Rio Ferdinand (Wes Brown, 70th), Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea; Park Ji-Sung, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo; Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov (Zoran Tosic, 76th).
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Gary Neville (Richard Eckersley, 70th), Rio Ferdinand (Wes Brown, 70th), Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea; Park Ji-Sung, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo; Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov (Zoran Tosic, 76th).
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