A Late Victory in Moscow

Last night, United headed to Russia to face off against CSKA Moscow. With a pitch made of plastic, freezing temperatures, and very few supporters travelling, Manchester United had their work cut out for them. It didn’t help, either, that Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney, the two shining stars of the recent United squat were absent due to minor injuries.

Most of the match unfolded with little action. Scholes and Anderson were able to control the midfield for the Red Devils and the Moscow side looked uninspired. One bright spot for CSKA was their winger, Krasic. He was more than willing to take our defense on and infused some much needed creativity into the match.

Our wingers for the night were Nani and Valencia, two young, skilled Portugese players. Both have extremely high expectations to live up to but have largely failed to do so, thus far. On this night, though, they looked up to the task. Nani’s dribbling was impressive and Valencia sure knows how to cross.

Our Brazilian acquisiton from the summer, Fabio, started his first game for United at leftback. Fans looked on, anxious to see how he would perform. He’s got pace and an attacking mindset, perhaps too much for a defender, but he is certainly capable of causing problems.

Most of the match (86 minutes, actually) passed without incident. Sure, there were shots, chances, fouls, corners, offside calls, but neither side looked overly threatened. There was one moment of real magic where Nani and Valencia combined for not only a one-two, but a three-four as well. This display of passing right outside the CSKA box inspired football fans around the world and gave a glimpse of what is (hopefully) to come from the two Portugese.

But then, in the 86^th, Anderson sent a cross into the box aimed at Berbatov. Berbs got his head to it and it fell near the far post, to Valencia who finished it smartly. He met the ball on the half volley and it shot past the keeper, Akinfeev, who looked impenetrable for most of the match. United had gotten yet another late goal, and held on for the win.

I <3 Beach Balls

LOLOLOL. Liverpool F.C, United's biggest and most hated rivals have been doing very poorly so far this season. They're failing to stay competitive in the league and may be written off as a threat very soon if they don't turn things around immediately. This is pleasing in its own right. What just tickles me pink, though... is when things go from bad to worse for them.

Liverpool played Sunderland this past Sunday. You may not know, but it's a tradition for fans to play with beach balls at English football matches. Well... WELL... a beach ball found its way onto the pitch early on. In the fifth minute...

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

Liverpool were, for a lack of a better term, deflated (bada boom tsshhhhh) after that and Sunderland held on to win it.

Lackluster United Struggle Against Sunderland

Well, lads, Saturday was a rough one. Sunderland travelled to Old Trafford and the faced off against the Champions for a match they must have been dreading. No team in the world can feel completely confident against United, but a lesser side like Sunderland couldn't have been secure in any way, at all.

Fortunately for Sunderland, the United side that kicked off on Saturday didn't feature its usual frightening attack and venom. Pass after pass fell to the feet of Sunderland players and everyone looked very sub-par. After only seven minutes of sloppy football, Darren Bent continued his campaign for glory by scoring a cracker of a goal for Sunderland. 0-1.

One of two things happens after United falls behind in any given match. The first, and most common, is the fury of Hell being unleashed. The players wake up from whatever fog they were in, get angry at their failure, and then take their rage out on the other team. The other, more unfortunate thing that happens is that United loses any of the confidence they had and looks lost on the pitch. This is what happened against Sunderland.

The half finished with United looking listless and Sunderland not doing a whole lot, themselves.

The second half began and play resumed in the same way it did in the first. In other words, it was boring. Then, out of nowhere, in the 51st minute, Giggs sent in a pinpoint cross to Berbatov, who was acrobatic and skillful enough to bicycle kick it into the corner of the net, past the keeper. The bike was first touch and far out enough from the goal to be spectacular. Goal of the season contender, for sure. Berbatov, you're really showing your class now. I'm sorry I doubted you. 1-1.

United fans were still in ecstasy about the magic that Berbs had just produced and feeling hopeful for the future when the unthinkable happened. Sunderland found themselves in United's final third. A ball was sent into the box, Vidic was caught sleeping, and Jones finished smartly to deflate United again in the 58th. 2-2.

United were defeated. Completely, it seemed like. For the next 30 minutes, we attacked, but without any creativity. Things became more and more urgent, and we began moving faster, but there was still no spark, no chemistry. We're a late game type of team, though. Our players are some of the fittest in the world. We always have fantastic substitutes available. We can outrun and outlast anyone. That's why as the minutes ticked down and it got closer to the end of the match, Sunderland found themselves being threatened. We kept speeding up the pace, but still weren't doing enough.

The second half ended and all eyes fell on the third official who was signalling for four minutes of stoppage time. Four minutes! Sunderland and their fans let out a collective groan. Suddenly, United managed to get the ball into the box. It fell to Evra who struck it with power. It buzzed across into the path of the Sunderland defender, Anton Ferdinand, who broke one or two hearts as he clumsily hoofed the ball into the back of his own net. United haters everywhere shook their heads and asked themselves what else was new. It was 2-2, and it wasn't pretty, but I'll take it.