review: MANCHESTER UNITED 4 v 1 Middlesbrough

Article by Mark Graham, Stats Nerd
Match Review
Manchester United 4 v 1 Middlesbrough, Old Trafford, Manchester, 15.00pm, Saturday 27th October 2007.
Goals: Manchester United: Nani (3), Rooney (33), Tevez (55), (85).         Middlesbrough: Aliadiere (6)
Attendance: 75,720

Manchester United moved top of the Premiership table after another glittering attacking performance destroyed Middlesbrough and at the same time equalling a 100 year old record set by the 1907/08 Manchester United Championship winning side, containing such Legends as Dick Duckworth, George Wall, Charlie Roberts & Billy Meredith to name but a few.

100 years down the line in this fixture SAF named Owen Hargreaves as a starter as well as Nani, with Anderson playing in central midfield & the mouth-watering paring of Rooney & Tevez in the attack.

The Reds uncharacteristically took the lead in the very early going as Nani who as SAF said "only scores thunderbolts" pulled the trigger after possession on the right & even from 30+ yards out the youngster beat Schwarzer from that distance, giving the Reds the lead.

Middlesbrough soon were back in the game as Tuncay teased O'Shea into a dizzy spell & on United's left crossed and ball into the area which Aliadiere unmarked (tut tut Rio & Vidic) to head into the net beating EVDS. A further passage of the match passed the home team by as their passing was a off with Ferdinand a standout culprit of loosing possession rather too easily.

The impressive Tuncay again caused problems for the hosts after his gifted cross was met by Downing who with a downward header missed the net by inches.

Not to be outdone however, United started to fizz the ball around exquisitely, settling into a high tempo rhythm in-which Boro eventually caved in.

Ronaldo struck a low drive narrowly wide before Boro contributing to their own down fall somewhat with Downing attempting to dribble his way out of his own penalty area, Nani smelling blood tackled the England winger & the ball fell into the path of Rooney who belted a powerful shot past Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer to regain the lead.

Ronaldo trying his utmost to join his colleagues on the score sheet had "one of the those days" as chances seemed to pass him by as the Portuguese flyer failed to connect & convert a Nani pass into the box as a thankful Schwarzer gathered after being shot at.

The second half began with Tevez & Rooney combining well again, resulting in The White Pele missing a shot when he might have done better.

Middlesbrough against the run of play then had EVDS working as a powerful drive from Lee Cattermole's was tipped over by the Dutch stopper.

The next goal resulted in the Stretford End singing "THAT'S WHY WERE CHAMPIONS" as the linking play & 1-2 football, coupled with the awareness of each other was a pleasure to watch.  From every football fan from Arsenal to Chelsea to City to Liverpool surely could only applaud as after Tevez on the edge of the box found Rooney who was running toward the left of goal, dragging his defensive players away from the space he knew telepathically Tevez would occupy, Rooney made your reporter cry with delight as he expertly back heeled the ball into the space Tevez had sure enough moved into & the new Argie Stretford End hero placed the ball into the right hand side of the net for in my opinion, one of the best goals I've saw at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo's bad luck continued as a mazy quick textbook run wasn't quite matched by his finish, SAF then saw enough to know the Reds had taken maximum points as Hargreaves & Ferdinand were replaced by Darren Fletcher & Gerard Pique respectively giving the young players much needed match sharpness.

With only a Downing free kick as a major chance of the last portion of the game, Carlos Tevez with only 5 minutes left then equalled the 100 year record after his goal attempt struck Andrew Taylor looping high into the air, the height had totally confused Schwarzer who span around needlessly, before watching the ball bounce into the net.

West Cumbria Branch Flag


Editor: We here @ MUFCINFO.COM got some excellent T.V. airing of our flag behind the Stretford End goal especially for Carlos Tevez goal.

 

FOUR GOALS IN SUCCESSION
MUFCINFO.COM decided to break down & take an in depth look at the record which has just been matched by this seasons exciting Manchester United team.

(stats based after 4 games)

Class of 1907/08
Sat 28 Sep 1907  (A)  Chelsea  4-1 Meredith x2, Bannister, A.Turnbull
Sat 05 Oct 1907  (H)  Nottingham Forest  4-0 Bannister, J.Turnbull, Wall, Own Goal
Sat 12 Oct 1907  (A)  Newcastle United  6-1 Wall x2, Meredith, Roberts, A.Turnbull, J. Turnbull
Sat 19 Oct 1907  (A)  Blackburn Rovers  5-1 A.Turnbull x3, J. Turnbull

Class of 2007/08
Sat 06 Oct 2007 (H) Wigan Athletic 4-0 Tevez, Ronaldo x2, Rooney
Sat 20 Oct 2007 (A) Aston Villa 4-1 Rooney x2, Ferdinand, Giggs
Tue 23 Oct 2007 (A) FC Dynamo Kyiv 4-2 Ferdinand, Rooney, Ronaldo x2 (1 pen)
Sat 27 Oct 2007 (H) Middlesboro 4-1 Nani, Rooney, Tevez x2

1907/08 scored 19, conceded 4
2007/08 scored 16  conceded 3

United's Man of the Match
For the 1st time in history, we cant split them, Rooney & Tevez were so good it hurt.

MUFC.COM's Reaction
United have now equalled the record set by the great 1907/08 team managed by Ernest Mangnall, our next game is against Arsenal, can we go one better & beat the record, And we have done it before!!!!!

Was our prediction correct?
No!! We said 3-0. MUFC INFO 2 v 13 Wrong Predictions.

Milestones
SAF's 375th victory of his Premiership career.

Nani's 2nd Premiership goal of his United career & 2nd goal overall.
Wayne Rooney's 45th Premiership goal of his United career & 65th goal overall.
Carlos Tevez's 3rd & 4th Premiership goals of his United career & 3rd & 4th goals overall.

John O'Shea's 170th competitive League appearance of his United career.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 200th competitive appearance of his United career.

Ryan Giggs Countdown = 39 competitive Games left to eclipse the All Time Record Set by Sir Bobby Charlton.

United's Next Match
Saturday 3rd November 2007 against Arsenal in the Premiership at Emirates Stadium, London with a 12:45pm K.O.

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