Manchester United SAHA Goal in Champion League

Manchester united goal v Benfica Louis saha great strike.
Good quality
1-0 man utd saha goal

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Cristiano Ronaldo on peak form

After firing United's equaliser at Reading on Saturday, the Portuguese winger produced another impressive display on his return to his homeland on Tuesday night, helping United to a 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica.

Sir Alex Ferguson had earlier saluted Ronaldo's early season form, naming the 21-year-old as United's best player so far this term. Sir Bobby has since added his own glowing endorsement of the winger and believes Ronaldo is currently at the peak of his powers.

"He's playing better than ever now at the club," Sir Bobby told Sky Sports News. "He's learning not to do the really difficult things. If the simple thing is on he'll do that, but put him round about the 18-yard box, one against one, and defenders have a problem. He's a great talent and he's still only young.

"I remember when I first saw him in a European youth tournament," recalled the United legend. "I was on holiday somewhere and I watched a Portuguese match that was on with these young lads. I remember saying 'wow'.

"I was a bit like a lot of people and thought some of the stepovers were a bit over the top. But there was an end product. I thought what a talent and excitement if you could just harness it."

Tag: MUFC Phone , C.Ronaldo , English Premier League , Sir Alex Furgeson,

Report: BENFICA-0 vs MUFC-1

Louis Saha's superb strike, aided by a slight deflection, made sure a hot-and-cold Reds display yielded three points and gave Sir Alex Ferguson's side further breathing space at the top of Group F.

Last December United exited European competition with a whimper, beaten 2-1 at the Estadio Da Luz and dumped to the bottom of what had seemed an easily navigable group.

The ghosts of that night have been laid to rest to some degree, with Sir Alex true to his pre-match word that there would be a different outcome this time.

There were periods, however, when it was easy to doubt his prediction. There's no denying that United were fortunate to be level at the interval.

In a poor first 45, the Reds' only clear-cut chance fell to Saha, who was brilliantly thwarted by Luisao as he charged in to convert the rebound from Ronaldo's spilled shot.

That was after 13 minutes, by which point Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes had already been booked for needless, clumsy challenges.

Team Line-ups

Benfica: Quim, Alcides, Luisao, Anderson (Mantorras 82), Leo, Petit, Katsouranis, Karagounis (Nuno Assis 62), Paulo Jorge (Miccoli 65), Nuno Gomes, Simao.
Subs Not Used: Moretto, Beto, Nelson, Ricardo Rocha.

United: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Scholes, Rooney (Fletcher 86), Saha (Smith 85).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Evra, Brown, Solskjaer, Richardson.

Goalscorer: Saha 60.

Tag:Saha,Manchester United,Sir Alex Fuerguson,Benfica FC,Champion League,

Transfer Rumours: Sept 06

The transfer window has only been closed a matter of weeks, but already United are being linked with a host of new signings.

While interest in Owen Hargreaves is still being maintained, the tabloids have tipped United to swoop for three midfield members of Italy's World Cup-winning squad.

Mauro Camoranesi, Daniele de Rossi and Andrea Pirlo are all supposedly being monitored by Sir Alex Ferguson and his scouting staff, with January moves mooted.

Meanwhile, Spanish striker Fernando Torres is also still being tipped for a move to Old Trafford, but next summer is supposedly a more likely time for the transfer to materialise.

Tag:Manchester United,Owen Hargreaves,Fernando Torres,Old Trafford,Andrea Pirlo,

Giggs coming along nicely

Manchester United star Ryan Giggs began light jogging again on Sunday as he begins his latest comeback from hamstring trouble.

After making a superb start to the new campaign, the 32-year-old winger has been ruled out for up to a month after pulling up during the Champions League win over Celtic two weeks ago.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted at the time the Welshman's absence was a blow to his side and they have certainly suffered too, picking up just one point from their last two games to fall behind Premiership title favourites Chelsea.

With another international break looming, the earliest Giggs is likely to be back in action is in time for the trip to Wigan on October 14.

But, at least the Red Devils icon is making steady progress in his battle for fitness.

"Things are going okay," Giggs told MUTV. "I did some light jogging for the first time on Sunday.

"All I can do now is wait and see how the injury progresses.

Tag: Manchester United , Ryan Giggsn , Champion League , Premiership,

Carlos Defends Under-Fire Rooney

Assistant boss Carlos Queiroz has defended striker Wayne Rooney following his below-par displays against Celtic and Arsenal.

The Portguese cites Rooney's lack of action since suffering a broken metatarsal in April as the reason for his rustiness.

?Since he got injured against Chelsea, Wayne has played seven games ? not all of them full games. So for me, he is making a natural progression in his form," he said.

"He cannot produce miracles if he has not been playing games. He needs to play more matches before can get back to his maximum."

Rooney and his team-mates face Reading this weekend as they bid to bounce back from last Sunday's home defeat to Arsenal.

As a close friend of the Royals' Irish midfielder Stephen Hunt, John O'Shea is looking forward to Saturday's game more than most.

"We used to be big rivals when we were younger," O'Shea told ManUtd.com. "I'm looking forward to coming up against him, it'll be a real flashback for us.

"He always remembers how I used to nutmeg him when we were younger and I'm sure he'll be trying to do the same to me on Saturday!"

Tag: Manchester United , Rooney , Arsenal

Ronaldo happy to stay

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo insists he sees his long-term future at Old Trafford although he admits he did consider leaving in the summer.

The 21-year-old Portugal international said after the World Cup finals that he wanted to move to Real Madrid, but now says he is happy to stay with United.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

"It's true I said after the World Cup I might have to leave," Ronaldo told the Sunday Mirror.

"But what I want to do is leave my mark on the club and for the fans to say I was one of the club's great players.

"I spoke to my agent and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and I took a calm decision and decided to stay.

"I really think it is the best decision but when we are hot-headed sometimes we say things we don't mean.

"Whether I will be here for another two, three, five or 10 years or until the end of my career I don't know.

"What is important is that things turned out well. I'm at Manchester and I feel very good. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world."

Tag:Cristiano Ronaldo,Manchester United,Portugal,world cup,real madrid,

William Hill - First for Premiership Football Betting. Live betting on all major televised games...

Reading came of age as a Premiership club as they deservedly held Manchester United to a draw at the Madejski Stadium.

United legend Steve Coppell nearly masterminded a glorious win over his former club as his Reading side led through a second-half Kevin Doyle penalty after Gary Neville had handled.

KEVIN DOYLE

But the former Old Trafford winger was denied by a current United wide boy as Cristiano Ronaldo rescued the visitors with a superb strike 17 minutes from time.

Ronaldo brilliantly controlled a John O'Shea pass and cut inside Graeme Murty before unleashing a fierce low drive beyond the reach of Marcus Hahnemann in the Reading goal.

But Reading held on to secure a point, extending an unbeaten home run that stretches to the first day of last season.

The result had looked unlikely early on as United started at a fierce pace.Wanye Rooney's second minute shot was spilled by Hahnemann although the keeper redeemed himself by blocking the follow-up from Kieran Richardson.

But Reading composed themselves, with striker Leroy Lita looking lively as he gave United centre-back Gabriel Heinze a real headache.

The striker nearly set up Ki-Hyeon Seol with a neat low centre, although the South Korean winger could not get ahead of Heinze in time to turn the ball home.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

And Reading were presented with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock on 18 minutes when Bobby Convey's flicked centre deflected into the path of Doyle, who took too long to set himself and saw his close-range effort well blocked by Edwin Van Der Sar.

The United keeper then got down well to hold a stinging low drive from Seol as Reading began to grow in confidence.

But United served several reminders of their threat, Hahnemann spilling a fierce curling free-kick from Ronaldo, and was grateful to see his defenders hack the loose ball clear.

Hahnemann redeemed himself with a tremendous fingertip flick to take the ball off Paul Scholes' toes as the midfielder seemed certain to turn in Ronaldo's low cross.

But it was Reading that made the breakthrough three minutes into the second half, with the opportunity literally handed to them by England full-back Neville.

Opposite number Murty sent over a teasing cross from the right and the ball evaded everyone before bouncing off Neville's arm, referee Peter Walton instantly pointing to the spot.

Doyle, who had missed Reading's Carling Cup shootout win over Darlington in midweek, stepped up to slam home the spot-kick, although Van der Sar got a hand to the effort before it crept into the corner.

Predictably, United hit back menacingly, Rooney pulling the ball back invitingly, only for the hapless Richardson to manage a complete air kick.

Centre-back Ivar Ingimarsson brilliantly blocked a Scholes shot when the midfielder looked destined to score, but United finally got back on level terms on 73 minutes.

Ronaldo pulled a high ball down brilliantly and had space to run at Murty before firing into the far corner with Hahnemann unable to react quickly enough.

Substitute John O'Shea might have stolen all three points for United late on, but his free header from a Michael Carrick corner was flicked away by the impressive Murty.

Reading manager Steve Coppell said: "Having got our noses in front it looked as though it was going to be one of those days where we nicked all three points.

"I'll wake up tomorrow and think it's a good point, though it was a good opportunity to push on.

"They are a fabulous footballing side and we stifled them well, to the extent that it stopped us being as creative as we can be.

"We now have another couple of big teams on the way here, so once we get to nine or 10 games we will have a better impression of where we are at.

"It's an ongoing test, and to feel satisfied after six games would be a waste.

"We had nothing to lose before the game. It was a great occasion for the club and the supporters and for the players to play against United.

"But I said to the players that I didn't want the highlight of our season to be one evening in September. There is a long way to go."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "When teams put eight in front of the box it makes things difficult.

"I haven't seen the penalty incident yet it but it was a big decision. If it had happened in the middle of the pitch it might not have been given.

"I felt Wayne Rooney was much better today and is getting sharper and back to his best.

"You have to remember that this was only his sixth game in six months and that is not a lot for a young lad. There were signs late on that he was getting tired but he is getting back to his best.

"It's a worry when you drop any points but we have a solid start to the season. Last week was a disappointment but not this, this was a good performance."

Tag:manchester united,c.ronaldo,reading fc,old traffod,

Rooney 'can be the best'

Rio Ferdinand says Wayne Rooney has got what it takes to become the greatest United player of all time - and Rooney agrees.

The defender reveals his United and England colleague's ambition to become a Reds legend in his autobiogrpahy, Rio - My Story.

"We were talking about [George] Best, Bryan Robson and [Eric] Cantona and how they were legends at United and he went, 'I'll be the best player to play for United', and smiled.

"Deep down he really does believe he is, but he's not being cocky. People can see he's so good that it's possible he will be the best United player of all time, provided he can steer clear of the unfortunate injuries."

Rio also reveals how Rooney's skills are used for slightly less serious purposes at United's Carrington training ground.

"In training we always muck about for a couple of minutes before we start properly and Wazza, like Paul Scholes, is always trying different things saying, 'I'm going to hit the crossbar from here' or 'I'm going to hit the corner flag'," he said.

"You have to be on your guard because Wazza and Scholesy will aim to knock your head off if you haven't got your wits about you."

Tag: Manchester United News,united,Rooney,Eric Cantona,

Park upbeat after ankle op

Ji-sung Park believes he will return a stronger player following a successful operation on his injured ankle.

The Korean international damaged ligaments in training just two days before United's opening Champions League victory over Celtic and now faces just under three months on the sidelines.

However, Park remains upbeat and is focused on getting himself fit as quickly as possible.

"It is frustrating to be sidelined for such a long time, but I'm that the operation was a success," explained the 25-year-old.

"I'm clearly disappointed but I feel confident I will return stronger than ever after this injury."

If his rehabilitation progresses as planned, Park could be back for United's pre-Christmas trip to Aston Villa.

Tag:Manchester United,Ji-Sung Park,Champion League,United,

Neville wants Reds to regroup

Gary Neville says United need to regroup and embark on another winning run after suffering their first defeat of the season against Arsenal.

A run of four straight domestic wins came to an end courtesy of Emmanuel Adebayor's late strike, and club captain Neville wants his side to bounce back quickly.

"We've got to make sure we don't get too downhearted about today," Neville told MUTV. "We've had a tough week and we've now got to recover tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday and then look forward to Reading.

"We've got to win the next match. You've got to make sure when you've lost at this club that you recover quickly and go back on another run."

The Reds took maximum points from games against Tottenham and Celtic earlier this week, but Neville admits they were founding wanting at the final hurdle of a tricky period.

He said: "We knew we had three big games this week and we wanted to win all three. We failed at the last one today.

"We looked tired for some reason. Arsenal have had the same games this week so there's no reason why we should have looked in a worse state than them, but it did look like that at times and they were fresh."

Like Sir Alex Ferguson, Neville was generous in defeat and lavished praise on Arsene Wenger's side.

He said: "I think today we can't complain. We looked tired at times, didn't pass the ball well and got punished.

"We found out today that if you give the ball away in the middle of the field Arsenal are still the best at running off you and breaking quickly. We did that too many times today.

"We definitely let ourselves down with our passing. We pride ourselves on that, it's what we do all week and in every game we try to make the pitch as big as possible when we get the ball. Today our passing wasn't crisp enough, quick enough or accurate enough.

"When you've not played well and there's five minutes left you think 'a draw's not a bad result'. But we paid for our mistakes once, and once is all it needs."

Tag: Manchester United,Manchester United News,United,MUTV,

Van der Sar dropped after Fergie row

There has been a report about Manchester United no1 goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar has been dropped for yesterday's defeat by Arsenal.

The Sun says United boss Sir Alex Ferguson dropped Dutch goalkeeper Van der Sar after a row. Fergie was upset with Van der Sar's after he publicly criticize United's defence after Wednesday night's 3-2 win over Celtic.

Ferguson handed a debut to Tomasz Kuszczak yesterday, who gave away and then saved an early penalty before being beaten late on by Arsenal's Adebayor. United insists Van der Sar missed the game with illness.

Not 100% true

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