EPL Week 8: Manchester United Draw Against Sunderland By The Skin Of Their Teeth
October 4th 2009 17:00
The season is only eight weeks old and I'm already contemplating getting a defibrillator. For the third time this season, Manchester United was saved from embarrassment by a last-minute goal at home, this time against Sunderland.
In a copy-paste of their game against Tottenham, United conceded the first goal early in the match as Darren Bent fired a precise low shot to beat Ben Foster at the near post. From that point on, United's play deteriorated to the point where the Red Devils were completely unrecognizable. Their inability to string more than two passes together was primarily a consequence of Sunderland's pressure in midfield. Paul Scholes' awful performance didn't help matters at all. It's rare to see Scholes play so poorly in a Premier League and his outing on Saturday deprived United of a much needed link between defense and attack. It was so bad that I could imagine Sir Alex Ferguson whipping out the infamous “hairdryer” treatment at halftime.
Since Ryan Giggs was given a rest for this game, it was Anderson who stepped in in Scholes' place at the start of the second half. Despite his inexperience, Anderson couldn't be much worse than Scholes.
The Red Devils were quick to respond to their manager's demands as Berbatov put both teams level in the 50th minute with a superb scissor kick. Seven minutes later, Kenwyne Jones put the visitors ahead by beating Foster to an aerial ball. The goal came froma turnover by Fletcher inside the center circle. In an attempt to get the ball back, Fletcher tried to tackle the Sunderland mifielder. His failure to do so resulted in a wide open lane to United's box for the Sunderland midfielders, leaving them all the time in world to set up and deliver a precise cross to Jones. Foster was also weak on the play as he tried to catch the ball off of Jones' head instead of punching it away.
United's play went up a notch after Jones' goal. They finally decided to shoot more on net instead of finding the perfect play but that strategy also played against them as sometimes one more pass could have given them a better opportunity. Their task was made easier when Kieran Richardson was sent off in the 85th minute after picking up his second yellow card. Steve Bruce had no other option than to take out one of his midfielders or strikers to replace the defender. The switch left more space for United in midfield and they could finally attack at will.
Still, Sunderland's compact defense made life difficult for the home side who seemed unable to penetrate the Black Cats' 18-yard box. It was Evra who finally delivered the hosts in the 92nd minute as he fired a hopeful shot into the crowd of players lining up near the six-yard box's line. The strike was miraculously deflected by Anton Ferdinand in the back of the net to put both teams level at 2-2.
Once again, Manchester United escaped from a bad result but it could have consequences this time around as the draw leaves the top of the table wide open for Chelsea who are meeting Liverpool today (as I write this, Chelsea just scored their second goal and lead Liverpool 2-0 after 90 minutes). I still question Sir Alex's decision to start Welbeck on Saturday. Sure, the kid needs to start playing in the big league but he was completely ineffective and didn't really help the team.
Manchester United line-up: Ben Foster; John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Nani, Darren Fletcher (Michael Carrick, 71st), Paul Scholes (Anderson, h-t), Danny Welbeck (Antonio Valencia, 71st); Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
In a copy-paste of their game against Tottenham, United conceded the first goal early in the match as Darren Bent fired a precise low shot to beat Ben Foster at the near post. From that point on, United's play deteriorated to the point where the Red Devils were completely unrecognizable. Their inability to string more than two passes together was primarily a consequence of Sunderland's pressure in midfield. Paul Scholes' awful performance didn't help matters at all. It's rare to see Scholes play so poorly in a Premier League and his outing on Saturday deprived United of a much needed link between defense and attack. It was so bad that I could imagine Sir Alex Ferguson whipping out the infamous “hairdryer” treatment at halftime.
Since Ryan Giggs was given a rest for this game, it was Anderson who stepped in in Scholes' place at the start of the second half. Despite his inexperience, Anderson couldn't be much worse than Scholes.
The Red Devils were quick to respond to their manager's demands as Berbatov put both teams level in the 50th minute with a superb scissor kick. Seven minutes later, Kenwyne Jones put the visitors ahead by beating Foster to an aerial ball. The goal came froma turnover by Fletcher inside the center circle. In an attempt to get the ball back, Fletcher tried to tackle the Sunderland mifielder. His failure to do so resulted in a wide open lane to United's box for the Sunderland midfielders, leaving them all the time in world to set up and deliver a precise cross to Jones. Foster was also weak on the play as he tried to catch the ball off of Jones' head instead of punching it away.
United's play went up a notch after Jones' goal. They finally decided to shoot more on net instead of finding the perfect play but that strategy also played against them as sometimes one more pass could have given them a better opportunity. Their task was made easier when Kieran Richardson was sent off in the 85th minute after picking up his second yellow card. Steve Bruce had no other option than to take out one of his midfielders or strikers to replace the defender. The switch left more space for United in midfield and they could finally attack at will.
Still, Sunderland's compact defense made life difficult for the home side who seemed unable to penetrate the Black Cats' 18-yard box. It was Evra who finally delivered the hosts in the 92nd minute as he fired a hopeful shot into the crowd of players lining up near the six-yard box's line. The strike was miraculously deflected by Anton Ferdinand in the back of the net to put both teams level at 2-2.
Once again, Manchester United escaped from a bad result but it could have consequences this time around as the draw leaves the top of the table wide open for Chelsea who are meeting Liverpool today (as I write this, Chelsea just scored their second goal and lead Liverpool 2-0 after 90 minutes). I still question Sir Alex's decision to start Welbeck on Saturday. Sure, the kid needs to start playing in the big league but he was completely ineffective and didn't really help the team.
Manchester United line-up: Ben Foster; John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Nani, Darren Fletcher (Michael Carrick, 71st), Paul Scholes (Anderson, h-t), Danny Welbeck (Antonio Valencia, 71st); Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
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