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With
Chelsea loosing deservedly so to Wigan Athletic on
Saturday, Manchester United after ruthlessly &
efficiently defeated Stoke thus moving into top spot
in the Premiership.
A late,
but magical introduction gave Stoke nightmares as
the Welshman's 813th game turned into maximum points
for United in the form of two deadly assists.
A easy cross for Berbatov to tap home followed by a
bout of "fighter pilot accuracy" in the form of a
perfect free kick which JOS headed into the net
broke Stoke hearts as Giggs ran riot.
With possibly the aid of Tony Pullis' 1st team
forwards either injured or not fully fit, United's
mopped up what littlel the home side could muster
throughout to nullify the threat of danger, thus
dominating possession & chances.
Paul
Scholes ran the show in midfield for almost the
entire game as he pulled strings with ease.
Rooney
tried a scissors kick vollet from one of the rare
passes Nani completed & the youngster from Portugal
shot inches wide when Rooney returned the favour.
Perhaps
with more composure new signing Antonio Valencia
might have opened the scoring early when his own
work saw him race clear of Ex United defender
Ryan Shawcross giving the Ecuadorian a one on
one chance with
Thomas Sorensen
But as
most Reds will be aware, United's new summer signing
has raw tools which require tuning, especially in
the goal scoring stakes as
his
awful chipped attempt went wide.
Stoke
flickered briefly when Liam Lawrence shot across the
face of goal.
Over on
the other United flank,
Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha
or Nani for short was seeing plenty of the ball as
he continuously & maybe dangerously (for his
starting spot) winds up Wayne Rooney, the Portuguese
star is undoubtedly talented, but as
Cristiano Ronaldo was in his early years, his
final ball is a mile from being the finished
article.
With fist
flailing & a face like Thunder, Rooney gave Nani a
piece of his mind later in the match at his rather
audacious shot, when indeed most of his team mates
were in a better position.
Nani
again showed his potential when Sorenson was forced
to save a stinging shot shortly before half time.
United
had the upperhand for the entire 1st half half (&
game) and seemingly a stroll for the United back
four & Ben Foster it required the exit of a
frustrated youngster early in his career and the
experience & composure of Legend in his twilight
years to make a telling difference.
With 55 mins gone SAF introduced Giggs & must have
been tempted to tell Nani to sit, watch & learn as
the current PFA player of the year began claming the
MOTM award for himself.
With less
than 10 minutes of seeing action Giggs delivered
hammer blow number one to Stoke when he gathered
Darren Fletcher's pass
on hte left before delivering a plain, simple,
straightforward pass into the path of Berbatov, who
if your Editors of Grandmother was playing up front
for the Reds could not miss.
Berbatov
used his celebration time to
indeed "point" to the reason for the goal as Giggs
was swamped.
With still no threat from the home side, Stoke
manager Tony Pulis rolled his die in the form of
introduced Tuncay and James Beattie for David Kitson
and Dean Whitehead with 20 minutes left on the clock.
The
tactical double change soon turned to "Ashes in the
mouth" for Stoke when once again Giggs came up with
another priceless assist.
After winning a free kick, Giggs curled a precise
ball into the danger zone where JOS met the
Welshman's free kick past Sorenson and into the
corner of the net for a very deserved MOTM
performance & equally deserving three points, made
just that sweeter by our main title rivals losing
ground & losing top spot.
The
phrase "you cant have it all" then came to mind when
after Paul Scholes demonstrated a phenomenal example
of a pass to Ryan Giggs in the Stoke penalty area,
the Welshman wasted his chance for his 105th League
goal & 100th Premiership goal.
Are you
watching Nani. |
Article by Mark Graham, Editor, Record Keeper & Official
Reporter @ MUFCINFO.COM.
Berbatov (62 mins),
