UCL [ 2 ] Manchester United 1 - 0 AS Roma

UEFA Champions League Group F Old Trafford, 2 Oct

MANCHESTER UNITED 1
(Rooney 70)

AS ROMA 0

There was no repeat of April's Roman demolition but United did enough to take all three points against an Italian side desperate to avenge last season's embarrassing defeat.

The Reds dominated for large spells but couldn't force the ball in during the first half. In the end, it was Wayne Rooney who broke the deadlock with a predatory strike in the 70th minute to hand Sir Alex yet another European scalp.

The United boss opted for pace down the flanks in his team selection, picking both Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani at the expense of the experienced Ryan Giggs.
Louis Saha was handed his first start since February, while John O'Shea slotted in at right back for the injured Wes Brown. There was no Owen Hargreaves in the squad, although Nemanja Vidic passed a late fitness test to take his spot in the centre of defence alongside Rio Ferdinand.

In goal, Tomasz Kuszczak made his European debut and he had to be alert as early as the 10th minute when Francesco Totti fired a long-range effort straight at the Pole. It did little to trouble Kuszczak but suggested last season's European Golden Boot winner had once again adopted the shoot-on-sight policy we saw here at Old Trafford in April.

Of course, on that occasion, United went 3-0 up before 20 minutes. Tonight, the pace was less frenetic in the opening exchanges, as the new-look Roma back four stood firm against United's two-pronged strikeforce of Rooney and Saha.

Nani unwittingly came close on 17 minutes when he stretched to keep a Rio Ferdinand pass in play and the ball cannoned off his shin and across the six-yard box. Two minutes later, the Portuguese winger earned a free kick when Lancashire-born Simone Perrotta caught him 25 yards from goal. Ronaldo lined up the ball but blasted the set-piece into the Italian wall.

It began a period of real dominance for the Reds, with Nani and Ronaldo again involved moments later. United had a half-hearted penalty appeal for handball turned down after a Nani pass struck a Roma defender on the arm. But there was more concern for the Italians in the next phase of play, as Nani whipped in a curling cross that Ronaldo narrowly directed over the bar from six yards.

The summer signing from Sporting Lisbon went close himself on 27 minutes when an in-swinging cross from the left-wing forced goalkeeper Curci to athletically tip the ball clear. Louis Saha then stung Curci's palms before a Totti free kick kept Kuszczak alert at the other end.

But it was all United and once again it was Nani who fashioned a chance for the Reds. This time he beat De Rossi on the left before curling a ball to the back post where Wayne Rooney volleyed over from close range.

Curci required treatment shortly afterwards when he collided with Saha at a United corner but the Italian stopper recovered sufficiently to continue and ensure Roma went to the break on level terms. He'd certainly been the busier goalkeeper, although Roma manager Luciano Spalletti would have been pleased to go into the dressing room at 0-0.

Sir Alex told ITV during the break he expectedthe Reds to take a few more risks in the second half and Ronaldo fired a low cross into the box early on. But it was Francesco Totti who perhaps should have put the visitors ahead in the 48th minute. Nemanja Vidic slipped in the penalty area, allowing Totti space. With Kuszczak bearing down on the striker, Totti was forced to take the chance early but could only clip the ball over both goalkeeper and crossbar.

It was a lively start to the second period and Nani almost illuminated the match further when his cross-come-shot brushed the top of the Roma crossbar after he'd carved open the Italian defence on the edge of the penalty area.

Wayne Rooney forced a smart save from Curci at his near post on 65 minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo found the net on 69 minutes with a cheeky backheel. To the Reds' dismay, the Portuguese winger was ruled offside and he was denied a second European goal in as many games.

There was no doubting the validity of Wayne Rooney's strike a minute later. The England international latched onto Nani's clever pass to fire a first-time drive across Curci and in off the far post to send United ahead. It was Rooney's first goal of the season and no more than he deserved after a night of tireless running and clever interchange play.

Carlos Tevez almost made it 2-0 when he flashed a shot inches wide from long range before Rio Ferdinand blocked a Ludovic Giuly shot that may well have been heading into the far corner.

But Roma's best chances were still to come, with Max Tonetto miscuing a volley at the back post inthe 82nd minute before substitute Ahmed Esposito blasted wide with the goal at his mercy and just three minutes on the clock. That opportunity arrived with the Reds down to 10 men, after Ronaldo, bloodied and groggy from a Mirko Vucinic elbow, had disappeared down the tunnel a minute earlier to receive four stitches.

Even with a numerical disadvantage, Sir Alex's men hung on for a satisfying three points… even if they didn't arrive in quite the same fashion as April's epic 7-1.

Attendance: 73, 652

United: Kuszczak; O'Shea, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra; Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Nani (Giggs 80); Rooney (Anderson 85), Saha (Tevez 66)
Subs not used: Heaton, Pique, Simpson, Eagles

AS Roma: Curci; Cicinho, Juan, Mexes, Tonetto; De Rossi, Aquilani (Pizarro 61), Giuly (Esposito 80), Perrotta, Mancini (Vucinic 74); Totti

Subs not used: Sergio, Antunes, Barusso, Brighi

EPL [ 8 ] : Birmingham 0 - 1 Manchester United

Barclays Premier League
St. Andrews, Sat 29 September

BIRMINGHAM CITY 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
(Ronaldo 51)

It wasn't vintage United but a second-half Cristiano Ronaldo strike gave the Reds victory at St. Andrews against a resilient Birmingham City.

Steve Bruce's side arguably created the better chances, but Ronaldo, in his 100th league match for United, was again the match-winner away from home. However, the Reds looked shaky at the back early on, and Sir Alex will be concerned by losing Edwin van der Sar to a toe injury. The Dutchman fell awkwardly after a routine save and was forced off at the break. The United boss made wholesale changes to the side that lost to Coventry in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, with all 11 who started in the Reds' victory over Chelsea returning to action.

Van der Sar, aiming to keep his sixth consecutive clean sheet, was among them, although he wouldn't have expected to be called into action in the first minute, and certainly not after a Paul Scholes error. But the Reds' No.18 was caught in possession, allowing Cameron Jerome to stride towards goal and let fly with a shot that required quick reactions from the goalkeeper. Frank Queudrue was first to meet the resulting corner, and his powerful downward header forced another smart save from van der Sar.

United had come out of the traps sluggishly but not even those early scares jolted the Reds into life. The home side continued to fashion the better chances and went even closer on 18 minutes when Gary McSheffrey's header was cleared off the line by Rio Ferdinand. In truth, the opportunity should never have presented itself. Patrice Evra, under close attention from former Arsenal trainee Sebastian Larsson, was careless in shepherding the ball out of play. The Swede nipped in to dispossess the United left back and clip the ball to the far post, where McSheffrey headed back across goal only for Ferdinand to hook clear.

At the other end, Cristiano Ronaldo, who'd earlier drawn a foul that earned Queudrue the game's first booking, twisted and turned on the edge of the box before firing a low drive straight at Blues goalkeeper Maik Taylor. It was the first time the Reds had really threatened in a match many expected them to win comfortably. But, just ask Liverpool, Birmingham are no pushovers. At Anfield last weekend, Bruce's side came away with a 0-0 draw after a spirited and robust display. At St. Andrews there was more of the same, with an added attacking element thrown in. Jerome and Olivier Kapo were lively up front, with McSheffrey providing plenty of support.

In contrast, United looked strangely blunt, with neither Wayne Rooney nor Carlos Tevez able to find a way past the Blues' back four. Even so, there was more cause for concern at the back, especially after van der Sar required treatment on his toe. Shortly afterwards the Dutchman left his area to deal with a through ball and scuffed his clearance straight to Jerome. Fortunately the 20-year-old forward couldn't muster enough elevation in his strike to clear Nemanja Vidic.

Van der Sar was visibly struggling, so Ferdinand assumed responsibility for the goal kicks until Polish stopper Tomasz Kuszczak came on at the interval. The Reds emerged brighter in the second half and good work from Ryan Giggs and Tevez on the left side of the penalty area ended with the Argentinian forcing a routine save from Blues goalkeeper Taylor. Moments later, Taylor was picking the ball out of the net as United shot into the lead. Ronaldo pounced on sloppy Queudrue defending on the edge of the box before confidently rounding Taylor and finishing with his left foot. It was the Portuguese winger's first league goal from open play since February and it gave the Reds a vital, if not wholly deserved, lead.

Kuszczak showed his worth on 56 minutes when a McSheffrey shot skipped off Ferdinand and looked set for the net before the Polish goalkeeper intervened with a flying save at the near post. McSheffrey then saw a free kick fizz inches wide of the post before Rooney had a shot cleared off the line and Tevez blasted over from 18 yards. The Reds were growing in confidence with every passing minute and Ronaldo perhaps should have had a second on 80 minutes when he skewed a shot wide from 12 yards. In the end, his first strike was enough to secure all three points and send United second in the league, despite a display that was neither convincing nor comfortable. But the statisticians – Sir Alex, too – will care only for the final result.

Team Line-ups

United: van der Sar (Kuszczak 45); Brown, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra; Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Giggs (Saha 64); Tevez (O'Shea 89), Rooney.
Subs not used: Anderson, Pique

Birmingham: Taylor; Kelly, Djourou (Schmitz 76), Ridgewell, Queudrue; Larsson, Nafti (O'Connor 84), Muamba (Palacios 71), McSheffrey; Kapo, Jerome.
Subs not used: Kingson, Danns.

Attendance: 26,526

CARLING CUP [3th rd] :Manchester United 0 - 2 Coventry

Carling Cup, Third Round

Old Trafford, Wed 26 September

MANCHESTER UNITED 0

COVENTRY CITY 2
Mifsud (2)

The Reds disappointingly bowed out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night as Coventry striker Michael Mifsud struck twice to give Iain Dowie’s Championship side a 2-0 victory over a young United team.

Sir Alex Ferguson gave first-team run-outs to some of the club’s rising stars, but the Reds showed their inexperience against a well-organised and determined Coventry side. Some valuable lessons for these young players will undoubtedly have been learned.

The match arrived as a welcome distraction for Sir Alex’s side from Premier League and European duties. Most of all, it offered an opportunity for some of United’s up-and-coming players to show what they can do.

With the accent firmly on youth, Sir Alex selected a starting eleven with an average age of just 21, most notably with club debuts for centre-half Jonny Evans and full-back Danny Simpson. “Tonight’s team will be built around the talented young players now back with us after spending most of last season on loan,” the manager said in his programme notes. “We have an exceptionally gifted group of young men who are in critical need of a higher grade of football.”

Eight of the starting eleven – Nani, Anderson and John O’Shea excluded – were handed their first starts of 2007/08. As with all infrequently assembled sides, it took this United team time to find their feet, especially under busy close attention from Coventry’s players who were prepared to fight for every ball.

The Reds grew in confidence in the opening stages. Pique started solidly at the back, Lee Martin and Nani looked dangerous as both players swapped flanks frequently, while Anderson showed nice touches and a wide-range of passes. After 17 minutes a good attacking move, starting with an Anderson pass to Nani that spliced Coventry’s defence, ended with Martin’s deflected volley going just wide.

Sir Alex wanted a test of his players, and he certainly got it. Coventry broke with a little over 20 minutes of the first half remaining, and in a move that ended with Sky Blues skipper Michael Doyle crossing for Michael Mifsud to tap home, they took the lead in the tie. The Maltese forward almost grabbed his, and Coventry’s, second moments later when he flicked Robbie Simpson’s cross onto the post.

The half ended virtually all Coventry, Simpson going close with a volley that dipped narrowly over Tomasz Kuszczak’s goal. Despite a bright start to the half, United lacked a little bit of composure in possession, as to be expected of young players. At the break, Fraizer Campbell injected pace into United’s attack, while Wes Brown came on for Phil Bardsley, and ten minutes into the second half, Sir Alex made a third change after Evans suffered a twisted ankle. Michael Carrick entered the fray to replace the Belfast born teenager.

Much like the first half, United began to step up the performance and for a period at the start of the second half looked to be edging towards an equaliser. After 52 minutes Nani tested Andy Marshall in Coventry’s goal with a long-range effort. Then Campbell fired a shot over the bar from outside the area, before three minutes later Dong had a shot inside the box saved by Marshall and Carrick’s follow-up was deflected wide.

But, the second half followed a similar path to the first. And it was Coventry who struck the next telling blow, virtually killing the tie with 20 minutes remaining. Mifsud broke down the left, slipped past Pique and after playing a one-two with Jay Tabb, lashed his shot past Kuszczak.

Mifsud, Coventry’s star, spurned the opportunity of a rarity for a visiting player at Old Trafford – a hat-trick. When Kuszczak spilled Doyle’s low free-kick, the forward pounced first, but fired wide. It didn’t stop the 11,000-or-so Sky Blues fans from singing and celebrating to the very last. “Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be, we’re going to Wembley…” they sang ironically. But nobody could deny their fans or the team this moment.

For the Reds, this was perhaps an evening to forget. But with a trip to Birmingham City on Saturday and the visit of AS Roma next Tuesday, it very quickly becomes business as usual.

Team Line-ups

Manchester United: Kuszczak; Bardsley (Brown, 46), Pique, Evans (Carrick, 56), Simpson; Martin (Campbell, 46), O’Shea (c), Anderson, Nani; Eagles, Dong.
Subs not used: Heaton, A.Eckersley.

Coventry City: Marshall; Borrowdale, Ward, Turner, Osbourne (McNamee, 88); Simpson, Doyle (c), Hughes, Tabb, Mifsud; Best (Adebola, 90).
Subs not used: Konstantopoulos, De Zeeuw, Thornton.

Attendance: 74,055