Manchester United 3-2 Aston Villa
Macheda the hero on dream United debut
Updated: April 5, 2009, 6:11 PM UK
Federico Macheda enjoyed a truly remarkable introduction to English football as he curled home an injury-time winner to give Manchester United a 3-2 win over Aston Villa which sends them back to the Premier League summit.
It seemed the Red Devils would have to settle for a point after Cristiano Ronaldo's brace had only proved enough to keep United level against a Villa side that thoroughly deserved a lead provided by John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
But Macheda, a former member of the Lazio academy who arrived at Old Trafford in 2007, was to have the last word.
At exactly the same moment as Yossi Benayoun struck for Liverpool at Fulham last night, Macheda turned onto Ryan Giggs' low pass before unleashing a stunning shot that curled past Brad Friedel and sent Old Trafford into ecstasy.
With Rio Ferdinand's groin injury failing to ease in time for him to be considered, United were without their first-choice defenders and their first-choice strikers amid six missing men that included Wayne Rooney.
Gary Neville's first appearance for two months was expected to come at right-back, so it was something of a surprise to see him line up alongside Jonny Evans in the centre of United's defence.
Carew's eyes certainly lit up, given his vast height advantage, which he duly exploited to the full.
On the back of an eight-match winless streak, Villa's confidence was a bit fragile too but their dominance in the 14 minutes before Ronaldo's wonder-goal provided enough evidence for them to retain self-belief even after they had gone behind.
During that opening flurry of attacks, Fletcher kneed a Carew header onto a post and Agbonlahor sped clear of Neville only to fail in his quest to find a team-mate with a low cross.
It is difficult to understand why a team that swept all before it for virtually three months should suddenly appear to be so poor.
Beyond question is the individual ability they possess, although the brutal nature of Ronaldo's 19th goal of the season still took the breath away.
Normally the kind of opportunity provided when James Milner and Friedel got themselves into a muddle, forcing the Villa keeper to handle a back pass, could be a bit of a negative given its proximity to the opponents' goal. Not on this occasion.
Ryan Giggs brushed the ball to his illustrious young team-mate, who sent it over the wall and into the roof of Friedel's net in a flash.
A sense of calm should have spread across home ranks. Instead, Villa merely came again.
Showing the form that established them in the Champions League positions at Arsenal's expense by the end of January, Agbonlahor and Ashley Young terrorised the United defence.
Edwin van der Sar was called upon to keep Villa out on three occasions but there was nothing he could do to deny Carew when Gareth Barry wriggled his way into space by the touchline.
The Norwegian crept between Neville and O'Shea to steer a deft header into the bottom corner.
Ferguson responded by putting Neville back to full-back, giving up the unequal struggle of competing with Carew. He also urged the United fans to make more noise, indicating a fear that talent on its own was not going to be enough.
The response was patchy and failed to curb Villa's enthusiasm.
Ronaldo excels at many things. Chasing back is not one of them. And when he gifted possession to Stiliyan Petrov inside the visitors' half just before the hour, he allowed the Bulgarian to sweep upfield unopposed.
Agbonlahor hung around waiting for the cross Petrov presented Carew with the opportunity to supply, then rose majestically to find the bottom corner, just as his strike partner had done earlier.
Ferguson's response was to introduce 17-year-old Macheda, which in itself said something about United's plight.
It did however bring an immediate improvement and when Michael Carrick exchanged first-time passes with Giggs on the edge of the Villa box, he then presented Ronaldo with a lay-off.
The world player of the year did not have a lot to aim at but he found the one small gap Friedel was unable to cover.
Still, when Friedel denied Danny Welbeck two minutes from time, it seemed United would have to settle for a point.
Macheda, however, had other ideas.
Source: www.soccernet.com
Showing posts with label man utd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label man utd. Show all posts
Monday, 6 April 2009
Macheda puts United on top
Liverpool scored a last-grasp goal in the 91st minute to defeat Fulham 1-0 on Saturday... Not to be outdone, Man Utd also scored a crucial goal in the 93rd minute to claim a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa in a pulsating match! Below is the match report:
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Man Utd crowned champions of UEFA Champions League 07/08
Manchester United 1 - 1 Chelsea
Manchester United became kings of Europe for the third time on a night of high drama and emotion in Moscow as they beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time.
Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was the hero with a penalty save to deny Nicolas Anelka after Chelsea captain John Terry had missed the chance to win the Blues the trophy by firing his own spot-kick hit the post.
The dramatic shootout looked to be going Chelsea's way after Petr Cech saved Cristiano Ronaldo's effort but Terry's miss opened the door for Sir Alex Ferguson to clinch his second Champions League crown.
As the celebrations began, you could have expected the ghosts of such giants as Duncan Edwards and George Best to be dancing with delight at the outcome.
It is 40 years since United first won the trophy with a team rebuilt by Sir Matt Busby from the survivors of that Munich disaster. Eight players lost their lives following the catastrophic events on a snow-filled German runway in February 1958.
It was fitting that United became the first English club to win the trophy 10 years later and even more apt that, half a century on, Ferguson's men had again taken on Europe's finest and beaten them all.
Their achievement was made even more poignant by Munich survivors Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon, Kenny Morgans, Bill Foulkes and Sir Bobby Charlton, now a club director, who watched the drama unfold from the stands.
But modern-day football has its own heroes and the likes of Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and the unstoppable Ronaldo now trip off the tongue in the same way Best and Charlton once did.
Yet, the opening 25 minutes of the first all-English final barely lived up to its hysterical pre-match hype.
However, all that changed from the moment Ronaldo headed United in front with his 42nd goal of a memorable season.
Paul Scholes, who missed United's last triumph through suspension in 1999, played a delightful interchange of passes with Wes Brown on the right flank.
His final return pass put Brown in the clear and the full-back's left-foot cross found the waiting Ronaldo in space at the far post.
The Portugal international planted a firm header into the corner of the net past a static Cech to give United first blood.
Chelsea's somewhat muted response almost brought them an equaliser in the 33rd minute when Lampard's cross was headed back into the six-yard box by Didier Drogba.
United's Rio Ferdinand, under pressure from Michael Ballack, was forced to head the ball towards his own goal and only a superb save from Van der Sar prevented a Chelsea equaliser.
But it required a sensational double save from Cech to deny United their second moments later.
Wayne Rooney delivered an inch-perfect 40-yard crossfield ball into the path of the ever-dangerous Ronaldo and the United goalscorer placed his cross on the head of the diving Tevez only for Cech to deny him.
Chelsea's failure to clear the loose ball gave Michael Carrick the chance to reward their superb approach work but again Cech was equal to the task with another fine save.
The Blues began to grow in confidence as the first half approached its climax and in the 45th minute, they took advantage of a massive slice of luck to level the score.
Michael Essien's attempted shot from 25-yards took two deflections on its way towards goal but the most telling was off the back of United captain Ferdinand.
It changed the direction of the ball into the path of Lampard, who duly supplied the finish from six yards.
Chelsea, buoyed by their flourish at the end of the first half, almost took the lead in the 54th minute.
Essien managed to get clear of the United defence but his attempted curler from the edge of the penalty area was far too high.
It was all Chelsea now but they could not force a second goal. Drogba sent a header a wide from Lampard's corner and Ballack was just off target with a 25-yard drive.
In the 77th minute, United had the woodwork to thank when Drogba sent a 20-yard shot against Van der Sar's left-hand upright. The Ivorian went close again four minutes from time when he just failed to convert Joe Cole's low cross.
Ryan Giggs was introduced in place of Scholes seconds later for the Welshman to make a record 759th appearance for the Red Devils.
The game went into extra-time, and within three minutes of the restart, the woodwork came to United's rescue again. This time it was Lampard who sent his shot crashing against the crossbar as United continued to ride their luck.
But Chelsea were almost made to pay dearly eight minutes later when Terry cleared a goalbound effort from Giggs off his own line.
Drogba was then sensationally sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic as tempers flared on both sides.
But the lottery of penalties ensured that United clinched the trophy.
Source - www.soccernet.com
Manchester United became kings of Europe for the third time on a night of high drama and emotion in Moscow as they beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time.
Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was the hero with a penalty save to deny Nicolas Anelka after Chelsea captain John Terry had missed the chance to win the Blues the trophy by firing his own spot-kick hit the post.
The dramatic shootout looked to be going Chelsea's way after Petr Cech saved Cristiano Ronaldo's effort but Terry's miss opened the door for Sir Alex Ferguson to clinch his second Champions League crown.
As the celebrations began, you could have expected the ghosts of such giants as Duncan Edwards and George Best to be dancing with delight at the outcome.
It is 40 years since United first won the trophy with a team rebuilt by Sir Matt Busby from the survivors of that Munich disaster. Eight players lost their lives following the catastrophic events on a snow-filled German runway in February 1958.
It was fitting that United became the first English club to win the trophy 10 years later and even more apt that, half a century on, Ferguson's men had again taken on Europe's finest and beaten them all.
Their achievement was made even more poignant by Munich survivors Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon, Kenny Morgans, Bill Foulkes and Sir Bobby Charlton, now a club director, who watched the drama unfold from the stands.
But modern-day football has its own heroes and the likes of Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and the unstoppable Ronaldo now trip off the tongue in the same way Best and Charlton once did.
Yet, the opening 25 minutes of the first all-English final barely lived up to its hysterical pre-match hype.
However, all that changed from the moment Ronaldo headed United in front with his 42nd goal of a memorable season.
Paul Scholes, who missed United's last triumph through suspension in 1999, played a delightful interchange of passes with Wes Brown on the right flank.
His final return pass put Brown in the clear and the full-back's left-foot cross found the waiting Ronaldo in space at the far post.
The Portugal international planted a firm header into the corner of the net past a static Cech to give United first blood.
Chelsea's somewhat muted response almost brought them an equaliser in the 33rd minute when Lampard's cross was headed back into the six-yard box by Didier Drogba.
United's Rio Ferdinand, under pressure from Michael Ballack, was forced to head the ball towards his own goal and only a superb save from Van der Sar prevented a Chelsea equaliser.
But it required a sensational double save from Cech to deny United their second moments later.
Wayne Rooney delivered an inch-perfect 40-yard crossfield ball into the path of the ever-dangerous Ronaldo and the United goalscorer placed his cross on the head of the diving Tevez only for Cech to deny him.
Chelsea's failure to clear the loose ball gave Michael Carrick the chance to reward their superb approach work but again Cech was equal to the task with another fine save.
The Blues began to grow in confidence as the first half approached its climax and in the 45th minute, they took advantage of a massive slice of luck to level the score.
Michael Essien's attempted shot from 25-yards took two deflections on its way towards goal but the most telling was off the back of United captain Ferdinand.
It changed the direction of the ball into the path of Lampard, who duly supplied the finish from six yards.
Chelsea, buoyed by their flourish at the end of the first half, almost took the lead in the 54th minute.
Essien managed to get clear of the United defence but his attempted curler from the edge of the penalty area was far too high.
It was all Chelsea now but they could not force a second goal. Drogba sent a header a wide from Lampard's corner and Ballack was just off target with a 25-yard drive.
In the 77th minute, United had the woodwork to thank when Drogba sent a 20-yard shot against Van der Sar's left-hand upright. The Ivorian went close again four minutes from time when he just failed to convert Joe Cole's low cross.
Ryan Giggs was introduced in place of Scholes seconds later for the Welshman to make a record 759th appearance for the Red Devils.
The game went into extra-time, and within three minutes of the restart, the woodwork came to United's rescue again. This time it was Lampard who sent his shot crashing against the crossbar as United continued to ride their luck.
But Chelsea were almost made to pay dearly eight minutes later when Terry cleared a goalbound effort from Giggs off his own line.
Drogba was then sensationally sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidic as tempers flared on both sides.
But the lottery of penalties ensured that United clinched the trophy.
Source - www.soccernet.com
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