Manchester United Soccer

Berbatov disappointing against Russian Champs

Sitting here after tonight’s champions league performance against Russian Champs, Moscow, leaves me feeling quite disgusted.  Apart from coming alive in the last 10 minutes of the match, Berbatov’s performance and attitude tonight was a dismal.

The lack of effort, hustle, dive, and constant waving of the arms to both his teammates and the referee definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.  Had it not been for his assist on the winning goal by Valencia, this blog post may have contained some otherwise vulgar language.

Stepping aside for Berba, I thought the whole team’s performance was rather lack luster and static.  I don’t know if this was due to the absence of Rooney, Giggs, Fletcher, Park and Evra or if Fergie thought it best to play conservative ahead of this weekend’s clash with Liverpool.  I lost count of how many crosses went into the box and found no one.

A few points that left me wondering:

1. What was with the strange formation?  If I saw correctly, they were playing a 4–2–3–1 with Berbatov the lone striker. 
2. Did Ferdinand come off to be subbed or did he pick up a knock?
3. How many times can Fabio get injured?
4. Is it my imagination or was that pitch natural grass for the 2008 champions league final?

Man United silence the howling German champs

UEFA CL match day 2 and already I am on the edge of my seat.  What a game United played tonight against German champions, Wolfsburg.  One can never say enough bout United Legend, Ryan Giggs.  Giggs once again proves that despite his ripe old age, he’s still got a few years before he hangs up the boots.

A deflected free kick strike by Giggsy saw United Level midway through the second half, followed by a breathtaking combination play orchestrated by Berbatov, Giggs and finished off by Carrick.  Hands down one of the top 3 goals of the 2009 campaign.

Not quite sure what went on with Michael Owen early in the first half.  It looked as though he took a knock from the diving header attempt early on in the game.  What seemed a bit confusing is that he did not go off to the trainers room after coming off – rather he took a seat on the bench amongst the subs.  For Owen’s sake, I really hope that he can put in a stellar performance one of these days in front of Fabio Capello.

The last point I want to make before closing, and is a point I’ve been going over in my head since the start of the season, is Valencia constantly taking the outside route when getting past defenders.  I cannot think of one time this season where Valencia took on a man on the wing, and cut inside like we used to see Ronaldo do time and again.  Valencia a replacement for Ronaldo?  Let’s start with beating our defenders by cutting to the inside first!

Berbatov shows his excitement after first Manchester United goal

Well as promised yesterday, I have found a side-angled shot of Berbatov’s goal “celebration’. Look at that excitement he’s showing! Kind of looks like a kid after failing a test in school. Anyone have any thoughts on this matter?

Berbatov gets the duece, Rafael shines in Champions League Debut

Dimitov Berbatov scored his first goals in a Manchester United shirt as the Red Devils soar past the Danish side, Aalborg, 3-0.

The game did not come without sacrifice as both Paul Scholes and Rafael were stretchered off the ptich; Rooney also picked up a knock and headed straight to the dressing room as a precaution.

Before Rafael’s departure, he showed Fergie that he is ready to contend with the likes of Gary Neville and Wes Brown for a starting spot on the first team. My personal opinion of Rafael is that he may belong in the midfield, despite the overload of Manchester United Stars already in the middle of the pitch. The 18 year old Brazilian showed quite a few weaknesses in the right back position against the Danish champions. His attacking ability and runs down the line will be of extreme value to Manchester United in the years to come.

Does anyone feel that Dimitov Berbatov shows no excitement in his game. Even when he puts one in the back of the net, he tends to show no emotion. The Bulgarian captain definitely started today’s game rather sluggish until ultimately being the talking point of Manchester’s victory. I am going to search the web for a snapshot of Berbatov’s facial expression just moments after his very first goal as a Red and post it on ManUtdBlogs.com.

Manchester United move to the top of the table in Champion’s League group E alongside Villarreal.