EPL Week 6: Owen Puts United On Top In Thrilling Manchester Derby
September 22nd 2009 03:49
After Manchester City took care of Arsenal the week before, fans around the world were waiting to see how they would fare against city rivals and defending champions Manchester United. The result was a thrilling match made even more dramatic by United's uncharacteristic error-prone defense and Shay Given's incredible performance at the other end.
The Red Devils didn't wait to put their stamp into the game to show City who's the boss. Wayne Rooney scored the first goal of match just inside two minutes of play to give United a quick lead over their visitors.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Gareth Barry put both sides level after Carlos Tevez stole the ball from a daring Foster who tried to dribble around the Argentine striker instead of clearing the ball into the stands. The goal was the result of a foolish mistake by Foster because it wasn't the first time that Tevez had tried to take the ball away from him in the game's early stages. As the half went on, City became stronger and stronger, realizing – perhaps for the first time – that they could actually rival with United if only they took a calm and collected approach to the game. As a result, the first half ended with the visitors on a high as Tevez hit the post shortly before halftime.
As promising as City looked in the final minutes of the first half, they got brought back to Earth early in the second half when Fletcher – of all people – scored a header off of a superb cross by Ryan Giggs to put United back in the lead. Less than five minutes later, Craig Bellamy canceled Fletcher's goal with a superb strike from the edge of the box on which Foster had no chance. Although City once again came back from behind, their actions didn't have the same effect as it did in the first half. Where City had taken complete control after their first goal, United put an even tighter grip on the game this time around, pinning Manchester City inside their own half for the next thirty minutes. The fact that the visitors didn't concede any goal during that span had a lot do with Shay Given's performance as he denied Berbatov and Giggs twice each. The hosts finally grabbed the lead in the 80th minute when Fletcher – him again! - connected with Giggs' free-kick.
Yet when it seemed that United had finally scored the goal that mattered the most, another mishap at the back-end came to cost them dearly. Rio Ferdinand, not fully fit for duty, made the audacious move of trying a chip pass at the halfway line. His pass was easily cut off by Petrov who quickly passed the ball to a sprinting Bellamy. In a foot-race opposing a fully-fit Bellamy against a one-legged Ferdinand, it was clear that the City striker had the upper-hand. The result was another goal for City who had capitalized on every United mistake during the game.
But as it is known in Old Trafford, it ain't over 'til it's over. And in the 95th minute of the most entertaining game of the season so far, Michael Owen received a brilliant pass from Giggs and finished it off with his first goal of the season. And just like that, City's perfect record evaporated in thin air as Manchester United won the first derby of the season by the score of 4-3.
Although Owen got all the press after that victory, the two heroes of the match for me are definitely Giggs and Fletcher. Once again, in a game that mattered, the veteran winger came up big with great crosses and energized runs, leading his team by example. The one bit that I found just brilliant was when he took both Richards and Ireland on ones-on-ones and came out the winner despite the fact that he isn't a quick or agile as he used to be. As for Fletcher, what more can be said of a hard-working midfielder who scores two goals in a huge derby. I used to hate Fletcher with a passion. Call me a snob but I didn't think he had enough talent to be on the United first-team (I was spoiled by the “Golden Generation”). But last year, he proved that he was as essential to the team as the guys who were putting the ball in the back of the net. And on Sunday, he was the one who scored in United's quest for victory.
Manchester United line-up: Ben Foster; John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Park Ji-Sung (Antonio Valencia, 61st), Darren Fletcher, Anderson (Michael Carrick, 92nd), Ryan Giggs; Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov (Michael Owen, 77th).
I'm sorry I posted this recap so late. I'm currently studying for an exam so I'm pretty busy. Things should be back to normal after next week (exam's this weekend). See y'all later.
The Red Devils didn't wait to put their stamp into the game to show City who's the boss. Wayne Rooney scored the first goal of match just inside two minutes of play to give United a quick lead over their visitors.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Gareth Barry put both sides level after Carlos Tevez stole the ball from a daring Foster who tried to dribble around the Argentine striker instead of clearing the ball into the stands. The goal was the result of a foolish mistake by Foster because it wasn't the first time that Tevez had tried to take the ball away from him in the game's early stages. As the half went on, City became stronger and stronger, realizing – perhaps for the first time – that they could actually rival with United if only they took a calm and collected approach to the game. As a result, the first half ended with the visitors on a high as Tevez hit the post shortly before halftime.
As promising as City looked in the final minutes of the first half, they got brought back to Earth early in the second half when Fletcher – of all people – scored a header off of a superb cross by Ryan Giggs to put United back in the lead. Less than five minutes later, Craig Bellamy canceled Fletcher's goal with a superb strike from the edge of the box on which Foster had no chance. Although City once again came back from behind, their actions didn't have the same effect as it did in the first half. Where City had taken complete control after their first goal, United put an even tighter grip on the game this time around, pinning Manchester City inside their own half for the next thirty minutes. The fact that the visitors didn't concede any goal during that span had a lot do with Shay Given's performance as he denied Berbatov and Giggs twice each. The hosts finally grabbed the lead in the 80th minute when Fletcher – him again! - connected with Giggs' free-kick.
Yet when it seemed that United had finally scored the goal that mattered the most, another mishap at the back-end came to cost them dearly. Rio Ferdinand, not fully fit for duty, made the audacious move of trying a chip pass at the halfway line. His pass was easily cut off by Petrov who quickly passed the ball to a sprinting Bellamy. In a foot-race opposing a fully-fit Bellamy against a one-legged Ferdinand, it was clear that the City striker had the upper-hand. The result was another goal for City who had capitalized on every United mistake during the game.
But as it is known in Old Trafford, it ain't over 'til it's over. And in the 95th minute of the most entertaining game of the season so far, Michael Owen received a brilliant pass from Giggs and finished it off with his first goal of the season. And just like that, City's perfect record evaporated in thin air as Manchester United won the first derby of the season by the score of 4-3.
Although Owen got all the press after that victory, the two heroes of the match for me are definitely Giggs and Fletcher. Once again, in a game that mattered, the veteran winger came up big with great crosses and energized runs, leading his team by example. The one bit that I found just brilliant was when he took both Richards and Ireland on ones-on-ones and came out the winner despite the fact that he isn't a quick or agile as he used to be. As for Fletcher, what more can be said of a hard-working midfielder who scores two goals in a huge derby. I used to hate Fletcher with a passion. Call me a snob but I didn't think he had enough talent to be on the United first-team (I was spoiled by the “Golden Generation”). But last year, he proved that he was as essential to the team as the guys who were putting the ball in the back of the net. And on Sunday, he was the one who scored in United's quest for victory.
Manchester United line-up: Ben Foster; John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Park Ji-Sung (Antonio Valencia, 61st), Darren Fletcher, Anderson (Michael Carrick, 92nd), Ryan Giggs; Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov (Michael Owen, 77th).
I'm sorry I posted this recap so late. I'm currently studying for an exam so I'm pretty busy. Things should be back to normal after next week (exam's this weekend). See y'all later.
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