EPL Week 33: Rooney & Ronaldo Lead United To 5-2 Win Over Tottenham
April 28th 2009 04:57
It's funny how a penalty can change an entire game. When Michael Carrick was brought down inside the box by Gomes, you just knew that a penalty would completely shift the momentum depending on its outcome. Tottenham were leading 2-0 at half-time and Gomes was on fire stopping every United threat before that fateful call was made.
For a minute, I actually thought that Cristiano Ronaldo would choke on the shot. It turns out I was partly right. He scored the penalty but that was a terrible – some might call it bold – attempt on net, just shooting it right down the middle at chest height. The Red Machine really kicked into high gear from that point on. Ten minutes after the penalty, United would go on to score three goals in the span of five minutes. It sounds crazy when you think about it, but in five minutes the score went from 2-1 Tottenham to 4-2 United. Rooney and Ronaldo both got a double and assisted on each other's goals as Gomes' performance started to go south in a hurry. Berbatov's goal at the 78th minute exposed the Spurs' nervous and panicky defense who had been pretty good in the first half.
Looking at the game as a whole, some may say it was a story of two halves and statistically it is, but I think that Manchester United were simply lazy in the first half, worrying more about making fancy moves and beautiful passes instead of taking care of business straight away. Tottenham's two goals showed that the Red Devils' defense isn't completely in top shape, all it takes is one mistake and it all comes tumbling down like a house of cards. One the first goal, Ferdinand missed the ball and Bent was free to strike it past Van der Sar; the second goal was purely bad positionning since Rafael wasn't where he was supposed to be, leaving Modric alone at the far post.
United's level of play went up a notch in the second half. Carlos Tevez's entrance at half-time had a lot to do with that shift. By replacing a useless Nani (seriously, I don't know why this guy even gets a start), Tevez brought a much needed energy and passion to the match, even taking a yellow card a couple of minutes after coming on. With the Champions League's semi-finals coming up, I'd love to see Sir Alex Ferguson lining up Tevez, Berbatov, Ronaldo and Rooney on the starting eleven. Rooney has shown that he can be defensively responsible, and they'll need someone to take care of Walcott on the left flank. It's a perfect opportunity to keep Tevez happy in his reduced role at the club.
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Rafael da Silva (John O'Shea, 70th), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Paul Scholes, 61st), Nani (Carlos Tevez, h-t); Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
For a minute, I actually thought that Cristiano Ronaldo would choke on the shot. It turns out I was partly right. He scored the penalty but that was a terrible – some might call it bold – attempt on net, just shooting it right down the middle at chest height. The Red Machine really kicked into high gear from that point on. Ten minutes after the penalty, United would go on to score three goals in the span of five minutes. It sounds crazy when you think about it, but in five minutes the score went from 2-1 Tottenham to 4-2 United. Rooney and Ronaldo both got a double and assisted on each other's goals as Gomes' performance started to go south in a hurry. Berbatov's goal at the 78th minute exposed the Spurs' nervous and panicky defense who had been pretty good in the first half.
Looking at the game as a whole, some may say it was a story of two halves and statistically it is, but I think that Manchester United were simply lazy in the first half, worrying more about making fancy moves and beautiful passes instead of taking care of business straight away. Tottenham's two goals showed that the Red Devils' defense isn't completely in top shape, all it takes is one mistake and it all comes tumbling down like a house of cards. One the first goal, Ferdinand missed the ball and Bent was free to strike it past Van der Sar; the second goal was purely bad positionning since Rafael wasn't where he was supposed to be, leaving Modric alone at the far post.
United's level of play went up a notch in the second half. Carlos Tevez's entrance at half-time had a lot to do with that shift. By replacing a useless Nani (seriously, I don't know why this guy even gets a start), Tevez brought a much needed energy and passion to the match, even taking a yellow card a couple of minutes after coming on. With the Champions League's semi-finals coming up, I'd love to see Sir Alex Ferguson lining up Tevez, Berbatov, Ronaldo and Rooney on the starting eleven. Rooney has shown that he can be defensively responsible, and they'll need someone to take care of Walcott on the left flank. It's a perfect opportunity to keep Tevez happy in his reduced role at the club.
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Rafael da Silva (John O'Shea, 70th), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Paul Scholes, 61st), Nani (Carlos Tevez, h-t); Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
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