United 3 Everton 0

MUCH-CHANGED Manchester United took another stuttering step forward in their bid to land the Barclays Premiership title but the manner of their win over Everton left lingering question marks over the depth of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad.

Cristiano Ronaldo put the Red Devils in front before the break, before Patrice Evra, with his first for the club, and John O'Shea netted to maintain a three-point lead over Chelsea.

But the decisive scoreline could not mask the lacklustre nature of some of United's play and the imbalance in Ferguson's side at the final whistle only emphasised the desperate requirement for striking reinforcements in the January transfer window.

Not that Ferguson will be too bothered, getting the victory he wanted - in a fixture United have not won for the past two seasons - after being able to give some of his key men a rest ahead of Saturday's trip to Middlesbrough and next week's make-or-break Champions League encounter with Benfica.

With the Neville brothers lining up as opposing captains, Wayne Rooney playing against his old club for the first time since Everton manager David Moyes launched legal proceedings against the striker and Ferguson's numerous changes, there were plenty of sub-plots.

One more emerged in the build-up to kick-off as rumours circulated of a bust-up between Ryan Giggs and Ferguson, which was said to have been triggered by the Welshman's contribution to Chelsea's equaliser at Old Trafford on Sunday.

That Giggs did not even get to celebrate his 33rd birthday on the bench only fuelled the gossip, until that is, he emerged in the directors' box, laughing and joking, showing no sign of a recent hairdryer blast.

There was not too much for Giggs to giggle about in the opening stages as United struggled to impose themselves on the contest.

Fortunately, Ronaldo had identified himself as a man the Toffeemen needed to stick to, skimming one long range effort wide before uncharacteristically ballooning a free-kick so high it almost ended up in the second tier of the East Stand.

Boss delegates penalty decision

Louis Saha and Cristiano Ronaldo will decide between themselves who should be on spot-kick duty for United, according to Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
After Saha's miss against Celtic in the Champions League last week, it was speculated that Ronaldo would assume the responsibility for the Reds.
The Portuguese winger has proved he has the nerve to take penalties in high-pressure situations, he converted the decisive kick to knock England out of the World Cup in the summer.
But, despite reports suggesting the 21-year-old had been promoted to the role of regular penalty taker, Sir Alex has confirmed he will let the decision be made by the two players on the day.
"I have left it between Louis and Cristiano to decide," the Reds boss told Sky Sports.

"Sometimes if one is playing better than the other it is sensible for the one who is playing really well to take it. Although I told Louis if he needed one for his hat-trick he should take it."

Ronaldo Ready For Sunday Blockbuster

Cristiano Ronaldo claims United are well equipped to win the Premiership going into this weekend's top of the table clash with Chelsea.

The Blues visit Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon with United currently three points clear of the champions, and the game's importance isn't lost on Ronaldo.

"This weekend's game with Chelsea is very vital," he said. "We're neck-and-neck with Chelsea and this is a good sign because we can't let them get too far ahead like last year. We're in a better position to win the league.

"I think Chelsea are about the same as they were last year. The transfers of Shevchenko and Ballack haven't changed them too much in terms of their superiority to everybody else."

The Portuguese winger is adamant that, despite Tuesday's Champions League hiccup against Celtic, the Reds can conquer all before them.

"I think we're capable of winning everything - the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League," he said. "Man United are fighting, as always, to win every trophy."

Preview: Sheffield United v United

Cristiano Ronaldo

SIR Alex Ferguson has reported a clean bill of health for Manchester United's clash with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Skipper Gary Neville has come through training and suffered no reaction to a calf problem while Cristiano Ronaldo is fit despite picking up an ankle injury at Blackburn last weekend.

It means Ferguson is almost certain to name an unchanged side for the third Premiership game on the trot with Patrice Evra retaining his place at left-back ahead of Gabriel Heinze.

Neville says the Reds can be assured of a real test, with ex-Bury boss Neil Warnock sure to have his troops fired up.

“It will be a battle at Bramall Lane,” says Neville. “We had a difficult game at Reading away and at Wigan last season, because teams that have just come up always provide difficult opposition.

“It’s a huge game for them because the visit of Manchester United is the sort of game for which they wanted to get promoted. They are also a big club and will have a big following.

“Any game away in the Premier League is difficult but looking at our form we are happy with the way we are playing. When we pass the ball and move like we do, it’s difficult for any team to live with us.”

Internationals: Rooney on target

Wayne Rooney bagged his first international goal for a year as England earned a 1-1 draw with Holland in Amsterdam.
The Reds' striker, whose last goal for his country came against Argentina in Geneva 12 months ago, struck on 37 minutes, but Rafael Van der Vaart's late equaliser denied England a deserved victory.
Rooney, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand all completed 90 minutes, while Kieran Richardson came on for the final 12 minutes. Wes Brown and goalkeeper Ben Foster, currently on loan at Watford, were both unused substitutes.
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo was also on the scoresheet as Portugal sealed a convincing 3-0 win over Kazakhstan. The Reds' winger, who was initially doubtful for the game after picking up an ankle knock in the win over Blackburn last weekend, netted Portugal's second goal on the night.
Another United star on the mark was Nemanja Vidic who gave Serbia a 6th minute lead against Norway. However, a John Carew equaliser 16 minutes later earned the Norwegians a draw.
John O'Shea won his 30th cap for the Republic of Ireland as Steve Staunton's romped to a 5-0 victory over San Marino.
Louis Saha and Patrice Evra each played a half in France's 1-0 win over Greece. Saha started the match alongside Thierry Henry who bagged the only goal of the game, his 39th for his country.
Saha was replaced Nicolas Anelka at half-time, while Evra came on for Eric Abidal.

Reds' goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was an unused substitute as Poland earned a 1-0 win in Belgium thanks to Radoslaw Matusiak's solitary strike.

Reds Aim To End Dismal Run At Ewood

United travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn this weekend, intent on ending an unwanted winless run in visits to the Lancashire club.

It has been over eight years since United registered an away League win over Rovers; six games have passed since the Reds' 3-1 win in April 1998.

Although United did win in the 2003 League Cup semi-final at Ewood, Rovers' recent record against United is as good as anybody's. Last season they registered a first league double over the Reds in 75 years.

And, with no Carling Cup involvement this week, boss Mark Hughes has been thankful for the extra time to prepare his side for United's visit. "We're grateful for the free week, we have a big game at the weekend against Manchester United so we've a lot to mull over," he said.

United go into the game on the back of a Carling Cup upset at Championship strugglers Southend United. Sir Alex Ferguson, however, is relishing the chance to get back to winning ways.

"Defeat doesn't do anyone any harm, as long as they can improve from it and learn by it," he said. "We've had three defeats this season, all one-nils, so there's not a lot wrong and we'll be ready for Saturday."

Man Utd dumped out of Carling Cup

Manchester United have been sensationally dumped out of the Carling Cup by Southend.

A Freddy Eastwood free kick put the Essex side ahead.

The bottom-placed Championship side then faced sustained pressure from the Premiership leaders.

But despite fielding a strong side, including Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Alex Ferguson's men were unable to reply and went out 1-0. There were joyous scenes in Essex as fans watched their struggling side progress to the quarter finals.

Newcastle eased the pressure on Glenn Roeder by beating Watford on penalties.

The Magpies led early on through Antoine Sibierski, but Damien Francis put Watford level to force extra time. Watford then went in front through Danny Shittu on 108 minutes.

Scott Parker levelled the scores and the Tynesiders progressed 5-4 on penalties.

Charlton ended Chesterfield's Carling Cup run with a penalty shoot-out victory following a 3-3 draw.

Wycombe Wanderers also went through to the quarter finals after beating League Two rivals Notts County 1-0 at Meadow Lane.

Match Preview: United v Portsmouth

Barclays Premiership | KO 15:00 | Saturday 4 November Manchester United v Portsmouth Form: United WWWWL, Pompey LWLLW Radio | Text Alerts | Tickets

Team News: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury against FC Copenhagen but Louis Saha, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville are all fit to return after missing the trip to Denmark with various niggles. Harry Redknapp's side has been boosted by the return to fitness of Dejan Stefanovic. Linvoy Primus is the only concern for the visitors.

Form: Including last weekend's superb victory at Bolton, United had won seven straight games in all competitions before slipping to a shock defeat in Denmark on Wednesday. Sir Alex Ferguson will be keen for his side to extend their stay at the top of the Premiership, ahead of Chelsea. Pompey have stuttered recently after a fine start to the season, but got back to winning ways in last weekend's comfortable 3-1 home win over Reading.

When	Where	Result		First Goal
11.02.06	Away	Won	3-1	van Nistelrooy (18)
03.12.05	Home	Won	3-0	Scholes (20)
26.02.05	Home	Won	2-1	Rooney (8)
30.10.04	Away	Lost	2-0	Unsworth (53)
17.04.04	Away	Lost	1-0	Stone (36)

FC Copenhagen Stuns Man Utd

Sir Alex Ferguson had known from the beginning that a draw would be enough to ensure that his Man Utd side progress to the next round in the Champions League but ex-Aston Villa player Marcus Allback had other ideas as he bundled in the winner to keep Copenhagen’s slim hopes alive while condeming United to their first defeat in Europe this season.


The atmosphere in the stadium was almost similar to one you would see in Moscow, it was cold and there was snow falling down from the sky as the host opted to open the stadium’s roof instead of clsoing it and preventhing the elements from coming in, it’s a little strange, why build a retracable roof if you don’t use it when you have the chance to?

Anyway, United they field Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Louis Saha as Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher and Ole Gunnar took their place respectively while Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Patrice Evra were also rested with Silvestre, O’ Shea and Heinze coming in for the trio, so it was a total of six changes to the squad that had won 4-0 against Bolton on the weekend.

The stage was set for a Man Utd victory but FC Copenhagen obviously didn’t read the script as they pushed United from the first whistle.Rooney and his mates seemed contended to soak up the pressure and the likes of Silvestre, Vidic and Heinze were got a game on their hands as the home team tried to tear apart a resilient United defence.

Sir Alex realized this fact and brought on the experienced Rio Ferdinand for Vidic and replaced the recovering Heinze with Patrice Evra, yet United still fell behind as Allback scored Copenhagen’s first ever goal in the Champions League proper.

Bad news for United was besides losing their 100% record they also lost Ole Gunnar Solksjaer who appeared to be suffering from a hamstring injury and maybe the slight good news is that Celtic lost 3-0 to Benfica which means their hopes of qualifying is a little more brighter.

Final score Man Utd 0 FC Copenhagen 1

technorati tags: champions league manchester united FC Copenhagen Marcus Allback

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