The visitors started the game poorly and it was a theme that was set to continue throughout the 90 minutes. Sunderland pressed the ball high up the pitch, not allowing United to build any rhythm and probably should have won the game.

Bolo Zenden came closest in the first half after striking Edwin Van der Sar’s post. United barely got near the Sunderland goal, let alone test the goalkeeper.

United were on the back foot for the majority of the first half with Sunderland chasing down every loose ball, getting there first to every 50/50 and generally having more drive and determination than a United side that’s possibly still suffering from a tiring European away game in Spain.

Sir Alex Ferguson will have been delighted to take his side in at half time having not conceded.

Berbatov replaced Owen for the second half after the former England striker failed to make an impact on the game, though in his defence he got no service from midfield or out wide.

United were improved for small periods but Sunderland remained the better team and carved out clearer opportunities, which thankfully they spurned.

The introduction of Hernandez late on triggered a minor United fightback and some good interchanges with Berbatov, but United were soon retreating once again as the home side continued to dominate.

The closest United came to scoring was a late strike from Berbatov that went just past the left post, but in truth we were lucky to come away with a point, never mind three.

Credit to Steve Bruce and his Sunderland team who were the much better side on the day. Now it’s time for Sir Alex to address the issue of our away form and the problems in midfield.

What first looked like an exciting tie failed to deliver as both teams struggled to get their passing game going in the early stages.

United’s midfield was struggling to keep possession with the absence of key players Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Antonio Valencia, but the unusually leaky defence looked to have been sured up with the return of Rio Ferdinand in central defence and Rafael to replace O’Shea.

The commentator likened it to a chess game on the television and it was just about as dull as that in the first half, with neither team having a meaningful shot on target.

United’s only threat on Valencia’s goal was a speculative effort from 30 yards by Dimitar Berbatov, but it didn’t trouble Cesar.

Valencia upped the pace in the second half and started to get more joy from the wings. Miguel and Pablo Hernandez both caused problems and created opportunities for Roberto Soldado with excellent crosses that United’s defender struggled to deal with.

United were on the back foot when Sir Alex sent on first Hernandez and then Macheda, and it was the former who almost opened the scoring when he met Nani‘s exquisitely chipped cross at the back post. He was unfortunate to see his effort bounce off the post and out for a goal kick.

The substitutes combined moments later to win the game. A great run by Nani down the right wing saw him able to play Macheda through, who in turn pulled it back for Hernandez who controlled it well and fired a low shot past the helpless goalkeeper.

It was possession football from then on as United sought to run down the clock and get their first win in this seasons Champions league on the board.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be pleased with the result but concerned about the performances of some of his key players. With Rooney and Scholes out injured for 3 weeks and 10 days respectively, and Valencia possibly out for the season, he will be hoping for the rest of his squad to step up their performances and compensate for their loss. On today’s evidence, he’s got some work to do to motivate the players to get back to their best.

Still, an away win in the Champions League against the La Liga leaders who have an excellent home record is not to be sniffed at, and there are certainly some promising signs from Hernandez to signal that he has a bright future at the club.

Nani‘s brilliant solo goal and substitute Michael Owen‘s headed effort saw United come from behind twice in a game they dominated.

United dominated from the opening moments of the game but were behind after 6 minutes after poor defending from Jonny Evans allowed Zat Knight to nip in front of him and steer Martin Petrov’s corner past Edwin Van der Sar.

United replied with constant pressure on the Bolton goal and Nani equalised for the away side in the 23rd minute. The Portuguese winger dribbled form his own half and as the bolton defence backed off him he drove through them and fired a low shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Rooney was cutting a frustrated figure up front, but his team mates have right to feel equally frustrated with his performance as the troubled striker continued his poor run of form.

The sides went in level at half time with Manchester United in the ascendancy but not really troubling Bolton’s defensive setup.

Federico Macheda came on for Rooney in the 60th minute and the England striker immediately applied an ice pack to his left ankle.

The young Italian made an immediate impact on proceedings, laying a clever one – two with Dimitar Berbatov whose shot was saved by the Bolton goalkeeper.

Despite United’s dominance, it was Bolton who took the lead again after Martin Petrov started and finished a brilliant counter attack. The Bulgarian played a cross field pass to Lee Chung-Yong and then made up the ground to get on the end of Johan Elmander’s pass and fire Bolton into the lead via a deflection off Darren Fletcher.

Sir Alex Ferguson responded by bringing on Michael Owen, who scored with his first touch to bring United level. Nani’s curling free kick was glanced in off the post by the former Liverpool player, which prompted chants of “michael Owen is a red, he hates scousers” from the travelling United fans.

United pressed for the winner but struggled to penetrate Bolton’s tight defence. And as they time wasted their way to a point they scarcely deserved, Sir Alex will be disappointed not to have capitalised on yesterday’s shock results in which both Chelsea and Arsenal were beaten.

Scunthorpe took a deserved lead in the first half with a beautiful strike from Josh Wright. Darron Gibson levelled shortly after with a delicious lob after getting on the end of a long ball from Chris Smalling. Smalling went from provider to finisher minutes later to put United into the lead. And further strikes from Michael Owen and Park Ji Sung gave united breathing room before Martyn Woolford’s late consolation goal.

The hosts dominated the early exchanges and had United on the ropes for much of the first half. A combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Tomasz Kuszczac kept Scunthorpe out, until Wright’s screamer into the top corner which the polish ‘keeper could no nothing about. The lead didn’t last long though as Gibson’s perfectly executed lob showed that he can be graceful as well as powerful.

The half time score was 2-1 to the visitors and Scunthorpe will consider themselves unlucky to be behind after a less than convincing first half performance from United, saved only by their clinical finishing.

It was Scunthorpe again who started the second half brightest, putting United on the back foot with some good pressure, but a rapid counter attack from United saw Michael Owen slot the ball past goalkeeper Murphy and sink Scunthorpe hearts.

The hosts never gave up though, pressing for a goal to get them back in the game, with United seemingly content to soak up the pressure and play on the counter. Park ji Sung was next to get on the score sheet after a scramble in the penalty area, leaving Scunthorpe with no chance of clawing themselves back into the game.

Owen rounded of the scoring for United after a penetrative run and shot from Park bounced back off the ‘keeper. The scoreline said United were strolling but in truth they’d ridden their luck and taken their chances very well.

New signing Bebe made an appearance with 15 minutes to go and the early signs were promising. Full of energy, direct running and well balanced, this Portuguese youngster could prove his critics wrong given the chance.

Elsewhere, Chelsea were knocked out by Newcastle at Stamford Bridge (4-3) and Manchester City lost 2-1 to West Brom at The Hawthornes. So all in all a good night for United whose youngsters gave Sir Alex some food for thought ahead of this weekend’s visit to the Reebok Stadium where United take on Bolton Wanderers.

Manchester United fans have been quick to remind people that the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick weren’t a part of the action but Alex Ferdinand certainly didn’t pick a reserve team for the game. With the level of talent on the field, simply put, Manchester United should have won the game. Although the North American tour is essentially a warm-up, loosing to a mid-table MLS team isn’t ideal preparation for the upcoming season.

In the opening minutes, it became clear that the Wizards were full of confidence and weren’t going to allow United to dictate the pace of the game. The starting midfield of Giggs, Scholes, Gibson and Nani shared more experience between them than the entire Wizards squad but they were never allowed to fully control the flow of the game.

Sitting deep in midfield, Paul Scholes aimed to control Manchester United’s play but along with others he was careless in possession and the attack was broken up by the resilient Wizards. The controversial penalty and second Kansas City goal provided plenty of talking points for the record-breaking crowd. The majority cheered for both teams whenever they produced something out of the ordinary; providing a really positive atmosphere.

The second half saw the 10-man Wizards side sit back and soak up some of the Manchester United pressure. An equalizer seemed inevitable but despite the fresh legs of Obertan, Fabio and Wellbeck it never came. The crowd were well aware that Manchester United have a habit of leaving it late so few dared to try and beat the traffic by slipping out a few minutes early.

By the end of the game, the Kansas City Wizards had definitely captured the adulation of soccer fans that had yet to get behind their home town team; fans that the club owners will be hoping help fill their new stadium in 2011. Despite not getting the result, Alex Ferguson will be able to take a lot from the game. Question marks will be raised over some players. Ritchie De Laet did little to convince fans he’s worthy of the Manchester United jersey and Rafael struggled to keep the impressive Ryan Smith at bay.

Furthermore, Arrowhead Stadium proved that it’s a real contender for World Cup soccer; the exceptional playing surface and recent renovations combined to provide the perfect setting for the match. Overall the game will go down as a historic day for soccer in the Mid West and the Kansas City Wizards. Luckily for them, Manchester United will soon be able to forget about it.

Written by Olly: He watched the game wearing the new Manchester United Jersey from SoccerPro.com

A Paul Scholes header with just 10 seconds left on the clock was the decisive goal that sealed the win and kept the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the league.

It was the away side that started brightly, forcing City to retreat into their own third for the opening exchanges, with City not entering United’s half until the 6th minute.

United’s pressure wasn’t paying off though, with numerous spurned chances threatening to haunt them later in the game.

City’s first and only attempt in the first half came from a Carlos Tevez free kick that the Argentine striker had dive to win. His effort was headed for the top corner, when Edwin Van der Sar expertly plucked it from the air.

When the half time whistle blew it was United who had dominated.

The second half started with almost total domination by United who didn’t allow City’s home advantage to affect their obvious superiority. Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney both missed guilt edged chances after good wing play by Antonio Valencia.

Gareth Barry attempted to win the game late on by shamefully diving inside the United area. Martin Atkinson waved away his claims and Barry was fortunate to escape a booking.

The game looked like it was heading for a draw as the final whistle approached, when up stepped Paul Scholes to win the game for the visitors. Patrice Evra‘s cross into the box was met by the unmarked midfielder who headed calmly into the bottom right hand corner past a helpless Shay given.

The final score is a lesson to City that money can’t buy you class, it can’t buy you results and it definitely can’t buy you the winning mentality that flows through Manchester United. The same mentality that enables the team to drive forward looking for a winning goal until the final whistle. The same mentality that means United have beaten their bitter rivals in the dying seconds not once, not twice, but three times this season. And the same mentality that allows United to still dominate City on their own turf even after they’ve spend a quarter of a billion on new players.

Not only did we do that, we did far more. And if not for Nani’s deflected cross dropping perfectly for Rooney in the first minute the situation we find ourselves in could have been much worse.

I first raised an eyebrow when I saw the starting line up. The back four picks itself and so does the goalkeeper. And in important away games the midfield trio of Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes has proven itself on numerous occasions. It was on the wings where I found myself questioning Sir Alex Ferguson‘s tactics.

Nani was played on the right wing up against the inexperienced Holger Badstuber, a centre back by trade, playing at left back. He was also tasked with tracking back to help Gary Neville deal with Franck Ribery.

On the opposite wing Park was asked to keep tabs on marauding full back Phillip Lahm, also playing out of position.

Admittedly I don’t have a legitimate claim at being the best manager in the world as Sir Alex does, but in my mind it would have made more sense to switch our wingers around.

Park’s defensive qualities would have been much better serve on the right wing to contain Ribery, while Nani on the left could have exploited the space left as Lahm inevitably pushed forward and left gaps.

As it happened, Park was rather ineffective and Nani, while being one of our better players, didn’t get too many opportunities to put balls into the box.

That’s not my only gripe though. After scoring so early we wee second best for the majority of the game. Our tried and tested midfield trio were chasing shadows as Van Bommel and Pranjic dominated the centre of the pitch.

Sir Alex’s answer to this? Take a midfielder off and replace him with a striker. If it wasn’t bad enough that one striker wasn’t getting any service due to the lack of possession in midfield, we now had two strikers not getting any service, added to the fact that we were even more lightweight in midfield and forced even further onto the back foot.

In the end we got what we deserved. Bayern will consider themselves fortunate at the way they equalized. Ribery’s free kick would most likely not have troubled the excellent Edwin van der Sar had it not took a wicked deflection, but in truth it was no more than they deserved. And when Patrice Evra abandoned all sense to allow Olic to stroll through our defence and score the winner, it was symptomatic of the lackadaisical, walk along the beach attitude that flowed through the team for the entire 90 minutes.

Fergie was tactically outplayed by Louis van Gaal, and the players were outplayed and outclassed on the pitch.

All is not lost though. There’s still at least another 90 minutes to play to turn the result around, and with an all important away goal there’s every chance we’ll do just that. But the tactics and the performance need to dramatically improve if stand any chance of getting to the semi finals.

Bayern will be a much stronger team for the second leg, with Arjen Robben expected to return from injury, along with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mario Gomez – who was only fit to play 20 minutes tonight. United are also expected to be considerably weaker too. Wayne Rooney limped of at the end, apparently with an ankle strain that will rule him out of the Chelsea match at the weekend and possibly the return leg with Bayern next week.

After conceding the first goal, United came back well and thoroughly deserved the 3 points after outplaying Liverpool for much of the game.

Liverpool had opened the scoring through Fernando Torres, but goals from Wayne Rooney and Ji Sung Park sealed the win for United.

Liverpool started the game well and were in front inside 6 minutes as Dirk Kuyt’s cross was headed in by the unmarked Torres.

it looked like it might be another one of those days, but United fought back well and earned a penalty when Antonio Valencia charged into the Liverpool penalty area and was hauled down by Javier Mascherano. He was lucky to stay non the pitch.

For any lurking Liverpool fans who want to claim the foul started outside the box, have a read of this from FIFA:

“If a defender starts holding an attacker outside the penalty area and continues
holding him inside the penalty area, the referee must award a penalty kick.”

Fernando Torres was then lucky to escape punishment after scuffing away all of the grass on the penalty spot in an attempt to unsettle Wayne Rooney. Rooney took the penalty to Reina’s right and it was saved well, but Rooney reacted well and tapped in the rebound to level the score.

Torres was booked 10 minutes later for a lunge on Darren Fletcher. Had the referee seen his early unsporting behaviour he may well have been sent off too.

United continued to press for the second goal and it was Nani who tested Reina next. He cut inside from the left wing and fired a low shot, but Reina tipped it wide.

Valencia then burst forward past Insua and put the ball on plate for Park Ji Sung, but the Korean could only put his header wide.

Carragher was next to go into the book after a foul on the edge of the area on Darren Fletcher. Rooney took the free kick on the stroke of half time, but Reina again saved it comfortably.

United started the brighter of the two teams in the second half as Darren Fletcher didn’t allow Liverpool’s midfield time on the ball. Nani and Valencia were dropping back to defend when we lost the ball and Steven Gerrard – the man who Liverpool often look to for inspiration – was invisible throughout the game.

Park continued to be a threat to Reina’s goal, but his tame shot was caught with ease by the Spanish ‘keeper – Liverpool\s best player on the day.

The winning goal finally came after good work by Fletcher down the right wing. He passed Insua and put in a dangerous ball between the defence and goalkeeper; which Park managed to get his head on and divert past Reina.

Liverpool didn’t put up much of a fight after going behind. A couple of fluffed chances from Fernando Torres produced a few heart in mouth moments, but United were comfortable and deserved winners in the end.

It feels good to finally do a match report about us winning after the last 3 horror shows against the game raising scousers. But more importantly it’s a very tough game out of the way and 3 points closer to winning the title. There’s still a long way to go, but with Chelsea still to visit Old Trafford we have our destiny in our own hands. As for Liverpool, they’ll struggle to finish 4th which will mean more Europe League football for them next season. Can they keep hold of Gerrard and Torres? Who knows.

The visitors opened the scoring through Dimitar Berbatov early on, but Diniyar Bilayetdinov equalized minutes later and second half goals from substitutes Dan Gosling and Jack Rodell put the match beyond United.

The United fans started in good voice, before being drowned out by Everton fans claiming for every decision (presumably perfecting this technique at the dole office) and booing every decision that went against them. That’s my only criticism of Everton today though as on the pitch they were fantastic and were good value for their win.

Buoyed by the form of American loanee Landon Donovan and the recent return  of midfield maestro Mikel Arteta, the Merseyside team showed desire and determination to take the game to United from the start. They challenged for every loose ball and won the majority of them as United’s midfield looked sluggish and at times disinterested.

The opener came after Antonio Valencia drilled the ball into the Everton box and Dimitar Berbatov’s instant control and shot left goalkeeper Tim Howard with no chance. No sooner had United taken the lead as Everton fired back. A long ball was badly dealt with by Jonny Evans and Bilyaletdinov brought it down, used Wes Brown to block Edwin Van Der Sar’s sight and rifled a brilliant shot into the bottom corner.

This is usually when United pick up the pace and turn the screw, but it was the home side that finished the half stronger and the United defence welcomed the half time whistle when referee Howard Webb obliged.

The second half started in much the same vein as the first had ended. Everton were not content with a point and pressed for the equalizer. Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick struggled to get anything going in midfield, meaning Wayne Rooney and strike partner Berbatov looked increasingly isolated up front.

Paul Scholes and Gabriel Obertan were introduced after 65 minutes for Dimitar Berbatov and the ineffective (again) Park Ji Sung. Everton manager David Moyes also made a change with Dan Gosling coming on for goalscorer Bilyaletdinov.

It was the Everton sub who made the biggest impact though, getting on the end of Steven Pienaar’s cross to give Everton the lead on 76 minutes.

United launched a fightback but still couldn’t force their way through the impressive Everton defence. Rooney’s free kick late on could have set up a nervy finish if not for the deflection that took it narrowly wide, but Everton’s other substitute Rodwell put the game beyond doubt after waltzing unchallenged to the edge of the area and firing a low shot past Van Der Sar to make it 3-1.

It’s a big opportunity lost for Manchester United, and 3 points for Everton whose hard work and determination means they walk away from the game as worthy winners.

Goals from Nani (or was it an Almunia OG?), Wayne Rooney and Park Ji Sung silenced Arsenal until Thomas Vermaelen’s deflected shot forced a late flurry of pressure on United’s back line, but by then it was too late.

United started brightest, led mainly by in form winger Nani. Arsenal were quick on the counter attack, but Arshavin was disappointing in front of goal and failed to test Van der Sar once.

Good defending from William Gallas kept United out until Nani’s piece of brilliance in the 33rd minute. He appeared to be stuck near the corner flag with two Arsenal players for company, but a flick of the boot and he was in between both and into the box. He then did a quick dummy past the defender and crossed the ball to the back post where Almunia turned it into his own net. Whether the ball was already going in remains to be seen, but Nani’s part in the goal is not to be underestimated.

It was Nani again tormenting the Arsenal defence and creating United’s second goal. Wayne Rooney collected the ball just outside the united penalty area, saw Nani galloping up the right flank and sent him through. Rooney then sprinted forward to get on the end of the move and when Nani saw him making a run into the box he supplied an inch perfect pass which the in form striker rifled past the helpless Almunia.

The second half was very much the same as the first. Manchester United were dominating the ball and Arsenal could only resort to long shots from outside the box.

Park settled the points 7 minutes into the second half when he ran half the length of the pitch unchallenged before sliding the ball neatly past Almunia for United’s third.

It wasn’t until around the 70th minute mark when Arsenal actually had a shot on target, but even then it didn’t trouble Van der Sar.

They fluked one back in the 80th minute after Vermaelen’s shot deflected past he united ‘keeper.

So the final score was 3-0 but even that didn’t reflect United’s dominance and superiority in a game where they could have scored 5 or 6.

City played nothing like a side that’s capable of coming to Old Trafford and beating us or even leaving with a draw. They were camped in their own half for much of the game, while United dominated possession and mounted attack after attack. One of those attacks paid off when Ryan Giggs tapped in the deflection after a good save from Rooney’s near post effort and united were looking very much in control of the game. City had nothing to offer.

Things changed however, when the shambolic referee decided to award City a penalty for a foul that was clearly outside the box. It begs the question, what prompted Merseyside born Mike Dean to make one of the worst decisions of his error laden career?

However undeserved, it gave City some momentum and some confidence to actually play a little bit. They created one or two more chances after that and were more adventurous in their attacks. United were still dominating the majority of play though, while City relied on counter attacks from the often isolated Bellamy.

The winning goal came from a corner that possibly shouldn’t have been given. Dean apparently saw a flick off Rafael that was very hard to see on television replays. Nevertheless, United defended the corner badly and the kettle spiller was left free in the middle of the box to tap in the winner.

After my initial drunken rant last night though, I’m not feeling too bad about the defeat at all. We dominated City on their own turf. They looked poor for most of the game and if not for another shocking performance from smug looking Mike Dean we’d have come away with a draw minimum.

With the Stretford End behind us next week I have full confidence that we can overturn this deficit. There was another occasion in recent seasons where we brought a team back to Old Trafford and were carrying a 2-1 deficit. Does anyone remember how that ended up?

I’m not predicting the same result this time around, but with a more adventurous starting line up from Fergie and City inevitably camped in their own half desperately hanging onto their slender advantage, I can see us winning comfortably at home to those undeserving cretins who are under the mistaken impression that they deserve success.

Now I’m not into conspiracy theories. I’ve always been of the opinion that bad decisions happen to every team sporadically throughout the season. And while decisions don’t ever even themselves out like the old wives tale suggests , they do seem to happen to most teams every now and again.

This season has been something different though. Since Fergie had a go at Wiley I can remember very few decisions that have gone in our favour, and many that have gone against us, not least two key decisions tonight.

The first one was the non-existent penalty that was given, and the second was the corner that City scored their second from.

Rafael was naively caught out of position by a good Tevez pass and a good Bellamy run in behind him. Rafael, as he tends to do when caught out of position, had his hands all over Bellamy as he fought to get back into position.

He fouled Bellamy well outside the box and the referee gave nothing. He then fouled Bellamy again still outside the box, but the referee Mike Dean immediately gave a penalty without a moments hesitation, with that usual smug look on his face as if he knows his decision is wrong but he doesn’t care anyway.

Dean justified the penalty by insisting it was for the second foul. This brings up two issues:

If you don’t give the first foul you can’t give the second for the exact same thing. If anything, you allow an advantage to be played and if there is no advantage to be had, you pull it back for the initial foul.

The first foul was well outside the box and the second foul, while being closer to the box, was still outside of it. If this is the foul that Dean has given a penalty for then he has to come out and admit that he’s got the decision wrong.

The second one is more debatable. Should it have been a corner? Personally I think not, but I’d like to see a few more replays before I give my definite opinion.

It wasn’t just those two though. Carlos Tevez went in late with his studs raised and raked them across Wes Brown’s knee. it’s a yellow card offence minimum, but Dean didn’t think so. Further into the game Bellamy went in two footed and late on Valencia. It could have been a yellow card in itself, but to trip a United player 20 seconds later and still not get booked was quite frankly ridiculous.

It’s becoming all too familiar though. Big decisions are going in our opponents favour more often than not and it’s becoming slightly obvious now.

I’m sure City fans won’t care that they should have lost tonight’s game and that Mike Dean has gifted them one foot into their first final since 1981. And I’m sure a lot of them will come on here and call me a sore loser. I’m sure the more deluded ones all of them will all also tell me that it was a definite penalty and they were the better team.

The team going away from the council house tonight aggrieved at the result is obviously us. We dominated the majority of the game and could have won comfortably. At the very least we should have been heading back to Old Trafford with a 1-0 lead and with a proper referee in the second leg we just might be able to put this outrageous result right.

And with a little bit of honesty from the FA, Mike Dean will be refereeing in the Championship next week as punishment for his disgraceful performance tonight.

The Champions slipped to their 5th league defeat of the season in a somewhat pedestrian performance by the reds, who never really got out of 2nd gear.

United will point to their injury worries as a contributing factor to the loss, and they’ll have a point. Any team with Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville, Brown, Evans, O’Shea and Rafael missing from the defence would eventually come up against a side that would expose the weaknesses of the makeshift replacements. Unluckily for United, that side happened to be Fulham.

Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Richie De Laet made up United’s three man defence today as Sir Alex Ferguson chose to change his tactics. Patrice Evra and Antonio Valencia played as wing backs, Anderson, Darron Gibson and Paul Scholes formed the midfield with Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney up front.

It’s a formation that’s unfamiliar to the United players and it certainly showed. Paul Scholes left his radar at home as he misplaced pass after pass in the middle in dangerous areas. This led to pressure on the defence and eventually it told. Danny Murphy took the ball off Scholes just outside the centre circle, then ran unchallenged before striking a sweet shot into the corner of the net from 20 yards out. Michael Carrick will feel he should have closed him down quicker, and Tomasz Kuszczak probably should have done better, but in truth Fulham’s adventurous start to the game meant they were worthy of taking the lead.

United continued to be sloppy in midfield, Scholes and Anderson the worst offenders, while Gibson was wasteful with his shooting. The knock on effect meant that the pressure was always on the makeshift back three and at the other end of the pitch the strikers weren’t getting any service.

Bobby Zamora should have made it 2-0 after Zoltan Gera floated in a perfect cross, but the centre forward headed wide from 6 yards.

The half time whistle couldn’t have come soon enough for Sir Alex Ferguson who had seen his team put in their worst performance of the season. Nevertheless, he kept faith in his underperforming players and the same XI started the second half.

But whatever tactics Ferguson had set out to employ in the second half were dealt a blow almost instantly. Damien Duff crossed towards Clint Dempsey, who in turn knocked in down for Zamora who smashed it past Kuszczac from close range. Fulham had doubled their lead within 20 seconds of the second half.

Dimitar Barbatov came on for Darron Gibson and Fabio for De Laet as United attempted a late fightback. But the game was dead and buried in the 75th when Zamora set up Duff to score Fulham’s third from inside the area.

United stay three points behind league leaders Chelsea, having played a game more.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy had all but conceded defeat before the match had started, resting ten of his first team players ahead of the weekend clash with Burnley.

Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was the only survivor of the team that beat Spurs at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

United got out of the traps early and Wayne Rooney tested Hahnemann with a couple of good efforts, but it wasn’t as easy as it should have been for United.

Indeed the opening goal was a self inflicted wound on Wolves’ part, as Ronald Zubar inexplicably handled Darron Gibson‘s corner to give away a penalty, which Rooney duely dispatched to give the hosts the lead.

Gibson added another element to his game by showing that he can deliver excellent corners. One of which landed on the head of Nemanja Vidic who powered a header at the ‘keeper. Hahnemann got a hand to it but couldn’t prevent it crossing the line.

United were strolling through the game at this point without particularly impressing anybody. Wolves reluctance to attack gave a sort of pedestrian feel to the game.

Two of those pedestrians, Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia suddeny sprung to life after 65 minutes. Berbatov flicked the ball behind him and into the path of the oncoming Valencia who powered the ball past Hahnemann to make it 3-0.

United eased to 3 points, but against a very much weakened Wolves side, United fans will feel the game should have looked far easier than it did.

Gabriel Agbonlahor scored the only goal of the game to frustrate the champions on home soil. The closest United came was when Wayne Rooney smashed the cross bar in the first half.

United had the chance to draw level with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League after the blues drew 3-3 with Everton earlier in the afternoon, but the defeat now sees United lying 3 points adrift in the race for the title.

The goal came after Agbonlahor rolled the ball to the unmarked Ashley young on the right wing. The striker continued his run into the box and young duely picked him out at the near post for him to nod the ball past the helpless Tomasz Kuszczac. Either one of Fletcher or Brown could be blamed for not marking Young and Agbonlahor respectively, but the key factor was that even with the return of two central defenders, United still looked disorganized at the back.

It could have been doubly worse minutes later after Fletcher dwelt on the ball with Agbonlahor breathing down his neck. The striker won the ball from the Scotsman and was bearing down on goal. Only a crucial touch from the onrushing goalkeeper prevented his pass from reaching the unmarked Emile Heskey.

It wasn’t all Villa, United were creating chances of their own but struggled to find a cutting edge in front of goal.

Rooney’s attempts to get United back into the game saw him dive shamelessly in the Villa penalty box and he was rightly booked for his troubles.

His frustration got worse moments later after he excellently controlled Evra’s low cross only to smash it against the crossbar from point blank range.

Sir Alex Ferguson had seen enough at half time and sent on Michael Owen for the uninspiring Giggs.

Dimitar Berbatov was also introduced later in the game, but had an equally limited effect as his strike partner. Rooney was once again the offender, Berbatov had made a great run into the box, but Rooney’s through ball was woefully overhit and Brad Friedel had no trouble coming to collect it.

Berbatov himself was the man at fault moments later after Michael Carrick burst into the box and cut the ball back. It should have been the equalizer, but the Bulgarian failed to connect with it.

In the end it came down to poor passing in the final third for United. They dominated almost the entire second half, but the killer pass that unlocks defences was the missing component in a very frustrating day for Sir Alex. It wasn’t made any better by the woefully poor time keeping by referee Martin Atkinson, but the United manager will keep his feelings to himself if he wants to avoid serving out the remainder of his suspended two match touchline ban.

The English champions were without 12 players tonight through injury, but still managed to beat the German champions and finish top of group B.

A Michael Owen hat trick was enough to secure the win, while the highly rated Edin Dzeko scored for the hosts.

The hosts tried to pile on the pressure early in the game and had some good efforts from their front pairing of Dzeko and Grafite, but Kuszczac was equal to them.

United survived a credible penalty appeal shortly after, as Michael Carrick appeared to slide into Makoto Hasebe without making contact with the ball, but Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers waved away the appeals and gave a corner instead.

Darron Gibson tried a couple of long speculative efforts but his radar was off tonight and he failed to trouble the goalkeeper.

Wolfsburg were getting closer to breaching United’s back line, particular from crosses where the makeshift back four seemed to be lacking position awareness. Andrea Barzagli and Zvjezdan Misimovic both headed over from close range when they really should have done better.

United finally got the ball in the net after 31 minutes thanks to Danny Welbeck‘s cool finish, but the linesman correctly ruled that he was in an offside position when Anderson made the pass.

With two minutes to go until the half time interval, it was Michael Owen who found the back of the net. Nani sent an inswinging cross into the box and Owen – unmarked – coolly headed it into the right had corner of the net to give United a half time lead.

Wolfsburg were again the brighter team in the opening stages of the second half. They piled on the pressure knowing that qualification for the last 16 was at stake.

Edin Dzeko was the man to bring them on level terms. The Bosnian fired a powerful header past a helpless Tomasz Kuszczac to score his second goal against United this season.

Sir Alex Ferguson responded by bringing on wingers Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan and it was the latter who had the biggest impact.

The Frenchman found himself in the Wofsburg penalty area and bamboozled the defence with a piece of brilliant skill before squaring the ball to Michael Owen at the back post to score his 2nd of the game with a tap in.

Ten minutes later it was Owen again who found the net. Wolfsburg had pushed everyone forward and lost the ball, and Owen ran with the ball from just inside his own half, then calmly dinked the ball over the ‘keeper to complete his hat trick to chants of “Michael Owen is a red – He hates scousers” from the travelling Manchester United fans.

The final scoreline was 3-1 to united in what turned out to be a comfortable night despite the injuries. Sir Alex will be glad to have won the game and not suffered any more injuries before the weekend visit of Aston Villa.

A defensive crisis threatened to make the trip to Upton Park harder than it should have been, but united managed to keep a clean sheet as well as find their shooting boots.

Gary Neville and Wes Brown started in central defence, with Darren Fletcher at right back and Patrice Evra on the other flank, before a groin injury forced Neville off early leaving Michael Carrick to come on as a make shift centre half.

Nevertheless, it was United who showed the initiative and carried the attacking threat with the intent of a team hungry to put pressure on league leaders Chelsea.

Golden opportunities were falling to both Darron Gibson and Paul Scholes on the ege of the area regularly, but they were struggling to break through West Ham’s stubborn defence until late in the first half.

The ball dropped to Paul Scholes and he unleashed a left footed volley past Robert green who got his fingertips to it but couldn’t keep it out.

United went into the dressing room 1-0 up at half time.

The second half started in much the same pattern. Lots of pressure from United and the occasional counter attack or long ball from West Ham.

With the score at 1-0 West Ham were still in with a chance, but Darron Gibson saw to it that all three points were going to Old Trafford when he let fly with a rasping shot from 25 yards after Giggs layed it off. It was no more than he and United deserved.

West Ham’s best effort came a few minutes later when substitute Alessandro Diamanti curled a free kick towards the top corner, but Tomasz Kuszczak was equal to it.

From then on it was one way traffic directed at the West Ham goal. the third goal came after Paul Scholes sent Anderson down the left wing and his squared pass was met by Antonio Valencia who couldn’t miss.

In almost a carbon copy of the third goal, Scholes sent Valencia down the right wing and his cross was met by Rooney to score the fourth goal.

Four goals scored and another clean sheet ensure united stepped up the pressure on Chelsea ahead of their game against Manchester City at Eastlands.

Despite being rock bottom of the Premier League, Portsmouth rallied under new boss Avram Grant and gave united a real run for their money in the first 45 minutes. They will consider themselves unlucky to go in at half time with the score level at 1-1.

The second half was the complete opposite as United dominated the game, but their extra quality allowed them to use their killer instinct and beat the ‘keeper 3 times, albeit with two from set pieces.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the first half when Michael brown stomped on his foot inside the penalty area. Referee Mike Dean gave a penalty which Rooney duly dispatched to the goalkeepers left.

Minutes later and Portsmouth were level. Mike Dean harshly ajudged Nemanja Vidic to have been guilty of a foul inside the box and Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the resulting penalty to make it 1-1.

Portsmouth had plenty of chances to take the lead towards the end of the first half, but a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Tomasz Kuszczak kept the scores level until half time.

Ryan Giggs had been ineffective in the first half and changed position in the second. He played just off Wayne Rooney and what a difference it made.

The two combined well to score the second goal. Paul Scholes sent Giggs through down the middle, and he played in Rooney to his left who slotted past the helpless goalkeeper.

The referee was pointing to the spot again a few minutes later, this time penalizing Piquionne for fouling Ryan Giggs.

Rooney stepped up to take the spot kick and sent the ‘keeper the wrong way to secure his hat trick.

Any hopes Portsmouth had of getting back into the game were dashed when Ryan Giggs curled in a lovely free kick from 25 yards.

4-1 was the final scoreline but it was a hard earned victory for Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be happy one game of his touchline ban has been served and his side have kept the pressure on league leaders Chelsea, who face Arsenal tomorrow.

It was the hosts that created the first chance of the game. Branislav Ivanovic got in behind Patrice Evra and struck a left footed effort straight at Edwin van der Sar.

United were dominating the ball and not letting Chelsea build attacks, but were struggling to create chances of their own.

Michael Ballack sent in a cross from deep and found Didier Drogba, but the Ivorian headed wide.

Wayne Rooney was sent clear through on goal, leaving the Chelsea defence stranded. He had a clear goalscoring opportunity, but the incompetent linesman ruled that he was offside in one of many poor decisions from the officials today.

The next frustrating decision was when Ashley Cole and John Terry collided with each other. The referee – Martin Atkinson – was happy to let Chelsea continue their attack while the England captain – whose father was caught on video selling cocaine last night – lay on the floor. But as soon as United got possession and sprung a counter attack, he decided it was worthy of halting play while he received treatment. Sir Alex Ferguson had every right to complain as it wasn’t even a head injury.

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Player Ratings – Chelsea 1 – 0 Manchester United
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Wayne Rooney almost opened the scoring in the 66th minute. The England striker sent Valencia down the right wing with a well weighted pass, and the winger returned the pass to him on the edge of the area, but his shot ran a foot wide of the far post.

He came close again minutes later, when he cut inside and sent an effort curling towards the top corner, but goalkeeper Petr Cech was equal to it.

The next thing Martin Atkinson got wrong was to give a free kick to Chelsea for a non existent foul on Ashley Cole by Darren Fletcher. The midfielder won the ball cleanly and Cole went down theatrically to win the free kick. Inevitably, Chelsea scored from the resulting kick through John Terry, as Drogba dragged Wes Brown to the floor inside the area(and he was offside), which Martin Atkinson and his officials failed to spot.

It was a case of collective myopia today as Chelsea ran out undeserved 1 – 0 winners at Stamford Bridge.

Alan Dzagoev opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half after poor defending allowed him to stroll through United’s back line and fire a shot past Edwin van der Sar from an acute angle.

Michael Owen showed his poachers instincts a few minutes later to pounce on a loose ball inside the box and fire it into the left corner of the net.

Milos Krasic restored the visitors lead just a minute later after beating the offside trap and rounding Van der Sar.

United had it all to do in the second half but it was again the visitors that showed the initiative. Dzagoev’s free kick was headed home by Vasili Berezutski to put them 3-1 up and threatening to end United’s four year unbeaten home record.

Darren Fletcher was then denied a stonewall penalty as he was tripped inside the box. And to his disbelief the referee booked him for diving.

The introduction of Wayne Rooney stirred the crowd at Old Trafford and you could soon sense United had upped the tempo.

Only the impressive goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev kept united at baby as they put CSKA’s goal under siege for much of the second half. It took a Paul Scholes header to draw one back after an excellent cross from Gary Neville.

United never gave up hope of finding an equalizer and in injury time got exactly what they deserved. Antonio Valencia found himself in space outside the box and unleashed a fierce shot that looked to be going wide, until it was deflected off Georgy Shchennikov to send it past a helpless Akinfeev.

There was further heartache for CSKA as defender Deividas Semberas was sent off for a second bookable offence.

United had left it late, as they so often do, but the final score was a fair one and secures United’s place in the latter stages of the competition.

The Champions dominated proceedings and were rarely troubled by a Blackburn side lacking ambition and seemingly happy to limit the damage, rather than try to compete for the points.

3 points was a must after the disappointing performance against Liverpool at Anfield last week and the intent to put that performance behind them was clear from the outset. Blackburn were under pressure from the first whistle, but their resilient defending and ‘park the bus’ tactics meant United’s chances were limited in the opening half hour.

The chances started coming towards the end of the first half as United upped the tempo in search of the opening goal. Berbatov’s turn and volley was blocked by the excellent Gael Givet who thwarted many of United’s attacking efforts throughout the game. And it was Berbatov who was denied again moments later as his header from Valencia’s cross was tipped over by Paul Robinson.

He did have the ball in the net shortly after, following good work from Nani and Rooney, but the goal was correctly disallowed for offside, much to his frustration.

The second half started as the had ended, with almost constant pressure on the Blackburn goal. And the opener came nine minutes into the half to ease the pressure on United. Patrice Evra drilled a low ball into the box, which was flicked up and volleyed into the net by the increasingly impressive Berbatov. It was no more than United deserved.

Gabriel Obertan – on as a substitute for Nani – almost doubled the lead on his Premier League debut after finding himself with a gaping goal inside the 6 yard box. His nerves got the better of him however, and his tame shot went wide of the left post.

Wayne Rooney secured the points 3 minutes from time. Anderson fired in a low cross and Rooney diverted it past Paul Robinson to score his 7th goal of the season.

There was a late scare for United when Nikola Kalinić put the ball in the net after reacting first to Benny McCarthy’s parried shot, but the linesman wrongly ruled the goal out for offside.

Michael Owen could have scored a late 3rd after finding himself in space inside the box, and he’ll be disappointed that he didn’t manage to at least test the ‘keeper after dragging his shot wide.

The points were already secure and United are back on track, keeping the pressure on Chelsea – who they face next week at Stamford bridge – at the top of the table.