Despite the scoreline and the ending of the 12 game winning run at Old Trafford this was a pretty resonable result and display from United.
It was quite a modified side that took the field with Nani and Park on the wings, Jonny Evans and Gary Neville coming back in as captain and right-back. Park and Nani looked bright and inventive in the opening third of the game, with Nani showing great skill but not quite finding the final ball. Park was showing his usual enthusiastic play and could, no should, have got two penalties in the first half. He had his foot stood on which the ref ignored, and then was brought down when the player got non of the ball. The ref even gave a goalkick so he knew that the Villareal player hadn’t got a touch.
Hargreaves was back from injury and put in a wonderful corner. Shame it was Rio Ferdinand on the end of it. The keeper flapped and missed and Rio, showing the preditory instinct of a brontosaurus only managed to connect with his heel and send the ball back across the goal instead of into the net.
Whilst we showed much promise and good play in the first half, we did not kick on in the second and Villareal got back into the game. With their one true, flowing move they cut open the United team but Guille Franco tried a fancy flick to score and put the shot onto the post.
This woke United up and in response, Christiano Ronaldo made his return to the team, much to the delight of the crowd. Whilst not completely match fit, he did lift the side and United create two futher great chances to win the match. Firstly Rooney put in Tevez for a great chance, but it was saved off the line. Then, Ronaldo crossed and Jonny Evans managed to hit the post with a header. The game eventually petered out and finished 0-0.
On another day, the ref would have give one of the two penalties and we’d have taken one of the two great chances and the game would have been a 2-1 win. Fergie must now ponder on what can change his fortune against Chelsea on Sunday.
Fulham 0 Manchester United 3 (Hargreaves 15, Park 44, Davies 72 og)
A routine victory with a non-routine side against relegation bound Fulham meant the gap at the top was reduced to a solitary point. Rooney and Ronaldo were rested and United had such depth of squad that United were still far too good for the London team.
From the start United played with pace, power and purpose. When United go at teams from the start, they usually win. The big question is why they don’t do it more often, particularly in Europe. On five minutes, Saha was put clear through on goal, but sliced his shot horribly wide. They didn’t let Fulham go when United won a freekick on the edge of the area. In the absence of Ronaldo, Owen Hargreaves struck an excellent curler into the net for his first goal.
From then on it was a cruise and the game ended as a contest when Park put away an excellent header on the stroke of half time. Scholes used his experience and class to make a great run to the byline, pulled back an excellent cross that Park slammed home.
United’s final goal was an unfortunate own goal by Simon Davies. As he was running back to cover, he managed to run onto the ball and kick it into his own net.
Man of the Match
Paul Scholes. Ran the game with excellent passing, and the combination of Scholes and Hargreaves looked good.
Heinze hoped to force United to sell him but now his Liverpool dream is in tatters and his relationship with the Old Trafford fans who had worshipped him is sure to be in ruins.
He was born in Calgary, Canada on January 20 1981.
His father played youth-team football for two English clubs, Bolton Wanderers FC and Wigan Athletic FC and also for the Calgary Kickers of the Canadian Soccer League.
Hargreaves was eligible to play international football for any one of the Home Nations or for Canada, and had he not accepted his first England cap when he did, would have been able to play for Germany as well under residency rules.
He played his first full international game on 15 August 2001 against Holland which made him the only England player in history who has neither lived, nor played club football, in England. As he has now signed for United, once he makes his debut, this will not be the case.
Despite being a defensive midfielder, he can score some cracking goals. See this youtube compilation for examples.
He has never been sent off in professional football, either directly or for two bookable offences. For a tackling midfielder, this shows just how good he is at tackling. And also proves he is not the next Roy Keane.
He was the only English player to score a penalty in the World Cup quarter final game against Portugal, proving he had learnt something from his time playing in Germany that most English players do not.
He signed for United for a reported £17 million on 1st July 2007, a little later than Sir Alex Ferguson hoped for when he stated he wanted all his summer transfer activity completed before the 2006 World Cup.
He is one of only two English players to win the European cup with a non-English side when Bayern Munich beat Valencia in 2001. The other, astonishingly, is Steve McManananananaman.
Rafael has no fear of playing and has great belief in himself. He is only 18 but he has started very well. He did well against Middlesbrough last week and he has progressed again.
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