MATCHDAY 26/08/07 - GAME 4

Nani drilled in his first goal for Manchester United to hand the champions a precious first win of the season and frustrate a brave Tottenham display.

After Robbie Keane hit the bar for Spurs in the first minute United dominated, with Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes going close to an opener.

The visitors held firm, though, and had appeals for a penalty turned down after Wes Brown's apparent handball.

And Nani compounded their misery when he fired in the winner from 25 yards.

It was harsh on Tottenham, who had mixed a solid defensive display with the odd good chance, but United were good value for something from a game they had dominated for long spells.

Sir Alex Ferguson had boldly stated "we will win the game on Sunday" before the match, and the fact that Spurs had failed to beat United at Old Trafford in nearly 18 years suggested the Scot's pre-match confidence was well placed.

But it was some indication of the recent turmoil surrounding Tottenham that most of the talk before the game centred around Martin Jol's position as manager, rather than the fact that United began the match second from bottom.

The Dutchman cut a relaxed figure before the match, though, and having received vocal support from fans and players in recent days, it was little surprise the visitors began full of purpose.

In fact, there was barely a minute on the clock when Dimitar Berbatov and Steed Malbranque linked up well to set up Keane for the visitors' best first-half effort, the Irishman's curler dipping onto the bar from 20 yards.

With United struggling to find early rhythm, Spurs had plenty of possession and when Rio Ferdinand allowed the ball to run in the box, only a block tackle from Nemanja Vidic prevented Berbatov's shot going in.

However, having seen off Tottenham's early endeavours, United upped the ante on 20 minutes and it was almost exclusively a backs-to-the-wall effort from Spurs for the rest of the half.

First Ryan Giggs's cross-shot was pushed away by Paul Robinson, and then Carrick's rasper from 25 yards was deflected inches past the post.

Scholes was the next United player to go close, clipping over from Giggs's pass, before Nani's run and shot flew past the post.

It was proving a sound defensive effort from Spurs, though it was not hard to understand why United had scored just once in five matches before the game, so lacking was the final pass or shot on occasion.

The second half began much like the first, with the visitors' all-action approach frustrating the visitors, and Rocha wasted a glorious chance to hand the visitors the lead when he headed a Bale free-kick wide from six yards out with the goal gaping.

With United struggling to find early rhythm, Spurs had plenty of possession and when Rio Ferdinand allowed the ball to run in the box, only a block tackle from Nemanja Vidic prevented Berbatov's shot going in.

However, having seen off Tottenham's early endeavours, United upped the ante on 20 minutes and it was almost exclusively a backs-to-the-wall effort from Spurs for the rest of the half.

First Ryan Giggs's cross-shot was pushed away by Paul Robinson, and then Carrick's rasper from 25 yards was deflected inches past the post.

Scholes was the next United player to go close, clipping over from Giggs's pass, before Nani's run and shot flew past the post.

It was proving a sound defensive effort from Spurs, though it was not hard to understand why United had scored just once in five matches before the game, so lacking was the final pass or shot on occasion.

The second half began much like the first, with the visitors' all-action approach frustrating the visitors, and Rocha wasted a glorious chance to hand the visitors the lead when he headed a Bale free-kick wide from six yards out with the goal gaping.

With United struggling to find early rhythm, Spurs had plenty of possession and when Rio Ferdinand allowed the ball to run in the box, only a block tackle from Nemanja Vidic prevented Berbatov's shot going in.

However, having seen off Tottenham's early endeavours, United upped the ante on 20 minutes and it was almost exclusively a backs-to-the-wall effort from Spurs for the rest of the half.

First Ryan Giggs's cross-shot was pushed away by Paul Robinson, and then Carrick's rasper from 25 yards was deflected inches past the post.

Scholes was the next United player to go close, clipping over from Giggs's pass, before Nani's run and shot flew past the post.

It was proving a sound defensive effort from Spurs, though it was not hard to understand why United had scored just once in five matches before the game, so lacking was the final pass or shot on occasion.

The second half began much like the first, with the visitors' all-action approach frustrating the visitors, and Rocha wasted a glorious chance to hand the visitors the lead when he headed a Bale free-kick wide from six yards out with the goal gaping.

With United struggling to find early rhythm, Spurs had plenty of possession and when Rio Ferdinand allowed the ball to run in the box, only a block tackle from Nemanja Vidic prevented Berbatov's shot going in.

However, having seen off Tottenham's early endeavours, United upped the ante on 20 minutes and it was almost exclusively a backs-to-the-wall effort from Spurs for the rest of the half.

First Ryan Giggs's cross-shot was pushed away by Paul Robinson, and then Carrick's rasper from 25 yards was deflected inches past the post.

Scholes was the next United player to go close, clipping over from Giggs's pass, before Nani's run and shot flew past the post.

It was proving a sound defensive effort from Spurs, though it was not hard to understand why United had scored just once in five matches before the game, so lacking was the final pass or shot on occasion.

The second half began much like the first, with the visitors' all-action approach frustrating the visitors, and Rocha wasted a glorious chance to hand the visitors the lead when he headed a Bale free-kick wide from six yards out with the goal gaping.

Suddenly it was Spurs who were asking the questions and Berbatov twice went agonisingly close, the first when he tapped past Edwin van der Sar only for Rio Ferdinand to clear on the line and then when his shot from six yards out struck Brown and flew wide.

Replays suggested the ball struck the defender on the arm and Spurs were furious no spot kick was awarded, but Howard Webb waved the appeals away.

And, as if to add salt into the wound, United took the lead minutes later.

After Carlos Tevez's drilled shot had been cleared off the line by Jenas, the subsequent attack saw the ball fall to Nani 25 yards out and the winger drilled a superb effort into the roof of the net to send the home fans wild.

It was certainly hard on Spurs, but in truth United had always looked capable of something special.

Jol responded by bringing Adel Taarabt and Jermain Defoe on, but it was Berbatov that came closest to a leveller, the Bulgarian turning and shooting in one movement only for his effort to curl millimetres over.

The ensuing Spurs rally brought little reward as United held out to leap up the table and ensure a difficult week for the Londoners and Jol ended in defeat.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tottenham manager Martin Jol:
"Of course I am bitterly disappointed because we absolutely deserved something from this game - maybe even the win.
"We were comfortable throughout, I thought, and we had as many chances as they did. Plus we should definitely have had a penalty - Brown has used his arm and spread himself to block the shot like a keeper and you can't do that.

"They scored a marvellous goal but we had chances too, we just needed a bit of luck or a decision to go our way.

"As for me - I'm not under pressure. The chairman's backing me and you can see today how the players are desperate to play for this team so there is no problem."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Hargreaves, Carrick (Eagles 57), Scholes, Giggs, Tevez (Fletcher 77).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Dong, O'Shea.

Booked: Giggs, Brown.

Goals: Nani 68.

Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Rocha (Zokora 83), Gardner, Lee (Taarabt 75), Malbranque, Jenas, Huddlestone, Bale, Berbatov, Keane (Defoe 75).
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Stalteri.

Booked: Huddlestone, Berbatov, Gardner.

Att: 75,696

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).

SOURCE: BBC SPORT WEBSITE

MATCHDAY 19/08/07 - GAME 3

Manchester City made it three Premier League wins out of three this season with a shock win over rivals United.

United dominated the derby from the off and Nani forced Kasper Schmeichel into two good saves as City hung on.

The home side had created nothing until they took the lead when Geovanni's shot deflected home off Nemanja Vidic.

Vidic hit the bar and Carlos Tevez saw a late header fly wide but City, led by the impressive Micah Richards, held out and United are still winless this term.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side have now made their worst ever Premier League start in taking only two points from their first three games.

The champions lie seven points behind City, who are at the summit of the table.

It has been a perfect start for the Blues and their new boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is yet to see his hastily-assembled side concede a goal.

That statistic seemed unlikely early on as United started like a train and, with City struggling to keep the ball let alone create anything with it, it seemed only a matter of time before they took the lead.

Inside the first five minutes Nani forced an instinctive block out of Schmeichel and the young keeper did well to hold a firm shot from the same player soon afterwards.

United had set up camp inside City's half by now and another neat move set Patrice Evra running clear - only for him to slice his shot horribly wide.

City, who had lost Valeri Bojinov to injury early on too, were simply hanging on and if it had not been for the brilliant Richards they would surely have collapsed.

England coach Steve McClaren is short of centre-backs for Wednesday's friendly with Germany and he will surely be glad he can call on the 19-year-old City defender to play there, if needed.

Richards, nominally a right-back, began the season in the centre under Eriksson and has emerged as a real star of the new City regime.

He made one brilliant tackle to deny Tevez as the Argentine closed in on goal and then made a timely clearance after Schmeichel had dropped a Ryan Giggs cross.

But at the other end, City were still creating absolutely nothing and it was a total shock when they took the lead in the 31st minute.

With United's defence backing off, Elano fed Geovanni, who let fly with a 25-yard shot that spun off Vidic's back and swerved into the corner of the net.

If anything, City controlled the remainder of the half but United were soon threatening again after the break.

Vidic beat Richard Dunne to Giggs' corner but saw his header cannon off the crossbar before another dangerous Giggs cross was somehow cleared from danger by Richards.

Yet more United possession followed and Tevez went close to levelling when he flicked another Giggs ball agonisingly wide.

But the goal would just not come for Ferguson's men and their frustrating afternoon was summed up in injury time.

Another Giggs corner found its way to Tevez at the far post but the striker could not react quickly enough to find the target with his header and City survived again.

Source: BBC Sport Website

MATCHDAY 15/08/07 - GAME 2

A header from striker Benjani denied Manchester United their first win of the league campaign at Portsmouth as both sides ended with 10 men.

United took the lead when new signing Carlos Tevez set up Paul Scholes who fired in from 25 yards.

Portsmouth equalised when Benjani sent a superb header past Edwin van der Sar.

Sulley Muntari earned a second yellow for a late tackle on Michael Carrick, while Cristiano Ronaldo saw red for his part in a fracas with Richard Hughes.

All eyes were on Tevez who was thrust to centre stage by manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a result of Wayne Rooney's injury.

In one sense, it worked out well for the Scot because it postponed the inevitable scrutiny over whether Rooney and Tevez could play in the same team together because of their similar styles.

Of course, Ferguson would prefer to have that enviable problem, but while Rooney is sidelined he can sit back and marvel at the industry and talents of his new Argentine signing.

There was not too much to marvel at after a quiet, yet physical, opening few minutes to his United career, but then Tevez showed a bit of the Argentine flair those who have followed his progress knew he had.

The 23-year-old collected the ball on the edge of the area with his thigh before turning to lay a pass into the path of Scholes.

The former England ace, lethal from most distances, smacked the ball from 20 yards past David James, the keeper doing his best to pull off a miracle save, to no avail.

Aside from that piece of action there was little else to talk about from an opening half that exuded a lot of energy but little substance.

United should have extended their lead straight after the break but Nani's low shot from eight yards was brilliantly blocked by the feet of James, before Tevez's control and volley from eight yards flew over the Portsmouth bar.

A 2-0 deficit would have been slightly unfair on the home side, whose line-up altered when boss Harry Redknapp brought on Matthew Taylor and Djimi Traore.

Redknapp's tactical substitution did the trick when Taylor found Benjani from the right and the Zimbabwean gave Van der Sar no chance with a cracking header.

United, who drew with Reading in their first match, were desperate for their first three points of the campaign and both Giggs and Ronaldo went close only to be denied by the alert James.

At the other end, Portsmouth striker David Nugent was well marshalled by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, but the one time he managed to find himself one-on-one with Van der Sar, the former Preston star slipped embarrassingly.

The match ended on an unsavoury note when Muntari received his marching orders from referee Steve Bennett after a late challenge on Carrick, and then Ronaldo received a straight red for his part in a scuffle with Hughes.

And the red cards late in the game overshadowed a match that had earlier been all about Tevez's debut.

#
Portsmouth coach Joe Jordan:
"We ended the game with four left-footed players in defence.

"We hung on in there after being put under a lot of pressure and we showed a lot of character.

"The couple of substitutions we made at half-time changed things for us in a positive way after the break."

#
Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz:
"We played much better than we did against Reading and created lots of opportunities.

"We controlled the game in the first half but Portsmouth put more pressure on us in the second half and we lacked a bit of composure.

"Defensively, we did not look on Benjani's goal."

Portsmouth: James, Pamarot (Hughes 64), Cranie (Traore 46), Distin, Hreidarsson, Utaka, Pedro Mendes (Taylor 46), Davis, Muntari, Mwaruwari, Nugent.
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, Kanu.

Sent Off: Muntari (83).

Booked: Muntari, Davis.

Goals: Mwaruwari 53.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (Eagles 88), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Giggs (O'Shea 81), Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Pique, Fletcher.

Sent Off: Ronaldo (85).

Booked: Vidic.

Goals: Scholes 15.

Att: 20,510.

Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).

Source: BBC Sport Website

Didn't last very long in this tournament. Just after the break I got short stacked and pushed preflop for 3500 (300/600) with 77. Got called by 44. Flop came 10JQ. The turn was the 2 and the river was the 8. Yes, I was beaten by a 4 high flush on the river. Nice!

MATCHDAY 12/08/07 GAME 1

Manchester United had an uncomfortable start to the season as the champions were outsmarted tactically by Reading.

Worryingly, United also had to withdraw Wayne Rooney at the interval when the England striker fractured his foot after a challenge by Michael Duberry.

For the last 17 minutes Reading were a man short after substitute Dave Kitson was sent off seconds after coming on.

The closest United came to scoring was in the first half when Ryan Giggs hit the post with a finely executed volley.

Sir Alex Ferguson may have spent £50m over the summer on strengthening his squad, yet the United manager was reduced to deploying substitute John O'Shea as a makeshift centre-forward in the second half.

O'Shea did not disgrace himself as a striker but he was no replacement for Rooney.

In last season's opening fixture of the season, United were four goals up against Fulham after only 19 minutes.

Reading proved altogether less charitable opponents, with their manager Steve Coppell deploying man-markers to pay close attention to Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Coppell's strategic thinking worked a treat in the opening half and United only once seriously tested Marcus Hahnemann.

That was early on when the American had to come out quickly to snaffle the ball from Rooney after the England striker picked up Michael Carrick's pass.

Hahnemann had a busier time of it in the second half, saving well from O'Shea, Carrick, Ronaldo and Paul Scholes.

Those saves from Carrick, Ronaldo and Scholes came in the final minutes as United piled forward in search of the winner.

Even when Giggs hit the post with that first-half volley the Reading goalkeeper looked well enough positioned to stop the ball going into the net.

Rooney was injured when he managed to get in front of Duberry, falling awkwardly after going close with a first-time effort.

The United striker hobbled on until the interval but failed to re-emerge after half-time.

It was later confirmed the England striker had suffered a hairline fracture of his left foot, an injury that will rule him out of the Euro 2008 qualifiers with Israel and Russia in September.

If Reading's defensive organisation was exemplary, their attacking efforts were less eye-catching, with Edwin van der Sar spending most of the opening 45 minutes as a virtual spectator.

Indeed, Reading were so preoccupied with defence it was hard to remember them creating a single meaningful chance.

Rooney's injury allowed the Old Trafford crowd to glimpse the first of Ferguson's close-season signings in Premier League action, with Nani brought on to deputise for the England international.

The United debutant almost broke the deadlock with a beautifully struck shot that went narrowly wide.

Kitson came on for Kevin Doyle only to be sent off within a minute of his introduction for a dangerous tackle on Patrice Evra.

# Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson:

The loss of Wayne Rooney was obvious.

"If he'd been on the pitch I think we'd have won the match.

"In the second half, chances started to come. We had some good chances and we just didn't take them."

# Reading manager Steve Coppell:

"I want people to think we're more than just a defensive side.

"But your season-long dreams can be shattered very quickly here.

I'd have loved to have gone 4-4-2 and seen what happened but we'd have got hammered."

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (Fletcher 77), Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre (O'Shea 57), Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Evra, Giggs, Rooney (Nani 46).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Pique.

Reading: Hahnemann, De la Cruz, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Shorey, Murty, Ki-Hyeon (Oster 57), Harper, Gunnarsson, Hunt (Bikey 87), Doyle (Kitson 72).
Subs Not Used: Federici, Cisse.

Sent Off: Kitson (73).

Booked: Ki-Hyeon, Oster.

Att: 75,655.

Ref: Robert Styles (Hampshire).

Source: BBC Sport Website.