Rooney's goal provides United with a crucial away advantage (HD Goal video)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL

1st Leg @ Stamford Bridge 

6th April, 2011

Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Rooney (24')

Enjoy Rantastic Rooney's amazing goal and celebration against Chelsea.. his 4th goal in 5 days!

United crosses the first big hurdle of the tournament

It was quite a glorious outing for Manchester United as they finally achieved a victory at Stamford Bridge after 9 years, the last one being in 2002.

Michael Carrick was on top of his game last night with some excellent display from the Englishman which will surely silence his critics for some time. He produced a wonder pass to Ryan Giggs on the left, who very meticulously set the goal up for Wayne Wazza Rooney. Rooney did no mistake in finding his target and kept his goal celebration simple and adorable. The smile on his face was million times better than the swear words he used after scoring his hat-trick goal at West Ham last weekend.

Michael Carrick is the Man of the Match in my opinion. Thanks to his "hollywood" pass to Ryan Giggs and an early goal in the game executed by King Rooney.

Some big games in the next 6 days.. First up is Fulham on 9th of April (Saturday).. KO at 14.00 GMT and then the second leg of the champions league quarter final against Chelsea on Tuesday, 12th April. Both games are at home so United will definitely look forward to get past Fulham and concentrate on knocking out Chelsea of the Champions League.


GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED. 

Champions League Squad for the knockouts

United last night announced the 25-men squad that will represent them in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. Owen Hargreaves has been left out of the list as the 19 year old midfielder Oliver Norwood makes it to the ‘B’ list. Norwood is joined by Rafael, Fabio, Oliver Gill, Joshua King and William Keane in the B list, which includes players born on or after 1 January 1989 who have given at least two years' continued service to the club after their 15th birthday.

Antonio Valencia is expected to be fit to face Marseille in the second leg of the knockout round.

United are set to face French team Marseille on February 23, away from home followed by the match at Old Trafford on March 15.

Here is the list of players:

Goalkeepers: Van der Sar(1), Kuszczak (29), Lindegaard (34)

Defenders: Evra (3), Ferdinand(5), Brown W (6), Smalling (12), Vidic (15), Fabio(20), Rafael(21), O'Shea (22), Evans J (23), Gill(45)

Midfielders: Anderson (8), Giggs (11), Park (13), Carrick (16), Nani (17), Scholes (18), Fletcher (24), Valencia (25), Gibson (28), Norwood(47)

Forwards: Owen (7), Berbatov (9), Rooney (10), Hernandez (14), Obertan (26), Bebe (33), King(41), Keane W(48)

No UCL delight for Owen Hargreaves.

 The big question is, will Owen be ever be able to play club football?!?

ANDO SIGNS A NEW DEAL TILL 2015..

The strong Brazilian play maker has signed a new contract with United that will keep him at OT till June 2015. The Brazilian was already under a contract till 2012 but has now decided to extend it till 2015.

After a torrid last season with United where he suffered from an injury that kept him out for almost the entire season and then a car accident in Portugal kept him busy with his off the field problems. He has also had some spats with Ferguson and the player was reportedly fined in January 2010 for making a trip to Brazil without notifying the manager.

But now the midfielder, who came to OT as from Porto as an exciting new talent in 2007 for around $20m has shrugged off all his problems and put up some strong performances in absence of Scholes.

Here's what the manager and the player had to say:

Sir Alex: "We are delighted he has signed a new contract. Anderson has developed tremendously since joining us and he has fantastic potential at only 22; he is going to be a really top player.”

Anderson: “This is the best club to be at and I would like to thank everyone for the great support I have received over the years. I am looking forward to winning many more trophies with United and I am so pleased to have signed a new contract.”

Check out Ando's latest goal against Valencia which was the most crucial goal for United in the Champions league as United topped the Champions League group table. The goal also ensured United avoids the scare of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid and even Tottenham Hotspurs who are now a serious threat after leading Group A leaving behind Inter Milan! Friday's draw will be an interesting event for Manchester United



Anderson's goal against Valencia in Champions League.

UCL Review: An unbeaten and yet to concede United proceed to next round

Glasgow Rangers 0-1 Manchester United

Wayne Rooney 87 ' (pen)

Booked: Whittaker, Naismith (RAN)

Ibrox

7.45 PM GMT KO

The much anticipated "Battle of Britain" began with Berbatov being challenged by S. Davis inside the penalty box which was indeed a clear cut penalty. The 31 year-old controversial Swiss Referee got it completely wrong yet again.

Fabio set up Berbatov perfectly who couldn't find the back of the net through his head.

40th minute saw another inch perfect cross by Fabio which was finely dispatched by Rooney's head only to hit the cross-bar. The first half saw Dimitar Berbatov getting frustrated everytime United attacked. Perhaps the best chance for United was missed by Michael Carrick who was one on one with the goalie but couldn't find the goal.

Kevin Miller produced the best bit of football for Rangers (and United to some extent) in the 42nd minute when Miller's shot was easily saved by Van Der Sar.

Van Der Sar made a critical save after Johnny Evans let Foster have a shot in the second half

Dimitar Berbatov really looked disappointed at himself and rightly so, he hadn't scored for 9 freaking games! That's after his first hat-trick with United against Liverpool. Overall, Berbatov looked impressive with his quick pace and communication with other players - both of which qualities are rarely found in everyday Premier League games.

The tempo of the game picked up in the final half an hour of the game as Rangers actually started to attack rather than depending on Kevin Miller up front all the time.

Wayne Rooney ready to feature in the Battle of Britain

Rooney training ahead of the Rangers Champions League outing

Glasgow Rangers vs Manchester United
Ibrox Park
7.45 PM GMT  KO 
Where to watch it live on TV: ITV 1 
FREE VIEW

Rooney is all set to return to United after his last first team start back in September. Incidently, Rooney's last Champions League game was at home against Rangers too, the very game where we witnessed Antonio Valencia's horrific injury forcing the Ecuadorian on the sidelines. Watch the injury tribute. Click Here.


Team News:  
1) Rio Ferdinand, Nemenja Vidic and Darren Fletcher have been given a much deserving rest and they have not travelled across the border to Scotland.


2) Johny Evans and Chris Smalling would most likely be in the central defence.


3) Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are expected to start. 


4) Anderson and Park are set to feature in the Midfield.


5) Park Ji Sung reckons the game is nothing like Japan - South Korea derby games where there is massive pressure on the players. "When South Korea play against Japan the fans tell us that if we lose they are going to throw the players into the sea. Without doubt, they are the biggest thing for us."

VIDEO: Bebe's goal finally considered against Bursaspor

Bebe delighted after scoring a goal against Bursaspor

Want to see the goal video? 

Mission Bursaspor: United midfield silence loud Bursaspor crowd (VIDEO)

Manchester United 3-0 Bursaspor

Fletcher 48' Obertan73'  Bebe 77'

Starting XI:
Evra, Vidic, Smalling!, Rafael, Obertan, Obertan, Carrick,  Fletcher (Bebe), Scholes, Nani (Park), Berbatov

Match Highlights in Low Definition

UCL Review: Nani's powerful goal gives United 3 points against Bursaspor (VIDEO)

Nani's 30 yards strike was enough for United

FT: Manchester United 1-0 Bursaspor

Manchester United failed to dominate the game against Bursaspor despite the early goal by Portugese winger - Nani. This was his fourth goal so far this season - Nani has certainly gone onto a flying start. He seems to be fitting in his Portugese counterpart - Cristiano Ronaldo's shoes quite nicely.

Manchester United sit comfortably at the top of Group C with 7 points followed by Glasgow Rangers "Gers" at the second spot with 5 points after drawing 1-1 with Valencia. Bursaspor are at 4th at the moment yet to register a win in Champions League this season. 

Dark Clouds loom over Old Trafford ahead of Bursaspor clash

Bad news for United continues as Sir Alex confirmed on Tuesday that Johnny Evans, Michael Owen, Bebe, Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves AND Wayne Rooney would not take part in tomorrow's Group C UEFA Champions League fixture between Manchester United and Turkish Champions Bursaspor at Old Trafford (K.O. at 19.45) live on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD 2.

Chicharito helps United to register their first win in Spain after 8.5 years! (VIDEO)

Berbatov was the lone striker until Chicharito "Javier Hernandez" came off the bench and scored the vital goal!

Valencia CF 0-1 Manchester United

They say everything is decided in the last 5 minutes of a Champions League fixture. This statement held true tonight as United registered their first victory in Spain by defeating a tough Valencia squad after 8 and a half long years!

Thanks to Javier Hernadez "Chicharito" whose 86th minute goal secured a tough victory over the La Liga's current No.1 ranked team - Valenica.

United were without Rooney, Giggs and Scholes tonight. Dimitar Berbatov was the only striker up front and was rarely seen in the whole game. He only got 1 opportunity to score and he missed it. Michael Carrick took on the central midfield role and Anderson made a comeback as well. Both seemed well fit. In defence, Rio Ferdinand played full 90 minutes and seemed in good touch.

Chicharito came on for Anderson in the final third of the 2nd half and Berbatov made way for Italian Federico Macheda afterwards. Soon after coming on the pitch, Macheda delivered a lovely pass to Chicharito who scored from an excellent finishing.

 The Valencia manager Unar Emery, who is the 2nd youngest manager in Champions League season, kept himself busy by constantly moving his arms and offering help to his players.

All hail Chicharito - the awesome Mexican striker!

Javier Hernandez scored his first goal in Champions League in a crucial away game!

A look at the awesome Chicharito's goal against Valencia, Spain

UCL: Tactical Rangers manage a draw at Old Trafford

United had a  rather ordinary European night against Rangers

Javier Hernandez praise before Wayne Rooney and Darron Gibson kick off the 2010/11 Champions League Campaign

Wes Brown made a comeback against rangers from an minor injury

Fabio da Silva looked quite charged up front

Wayne Rooney fighting for the ball

Wayne Rooney looks on as the paramedics give aid to Antonio Valencia

A rather ugly football site, God Bless Antonio Valencia, Fergie says he's out for a "long" time.

Manchester United 0-0 Glasgow Rangers

Old Trafford

Yellow Cards: Giggs, McGregor, McCulloch.

It was a goal-less start to the dream Champions League campaign for Manchester United who were thoroughly frustrated by their British opponents Rangers.

Sir Alex Ferguson made a whooping 10 changes from the squad that drew at Goodison Park, Everton on the weekend. Tomasz Kuszczak was in goal for the entire game as Van Der Sar warmed the bench. Rio and Smalling started in the central defending role. Brown and Fabio Da Silva took on defending on the flanks. Valencia, Fletcher, Gibson and  Park featured in the Mid-field for United. Rooney and surprisingly enough: Chicharito were given the attacking role.  Giggs, Owen, Anderson and Macheda warmed the bench alongside the veteran Dutch goalie.

Hats off to Rangers who did some impressive defending and restricted United from having too many chances. Their defending was totally top class. Hats off to Walter Smith for having successfully planted and implementing working tactics to the Rangers squad. It all worked out well.

Not so good news for United - Valencia got injured in the second and the situation looks pretty bad at the moment. He was carried off the pitch on a stretcher while being oxygenated and was admitted to a nearby Hospital thereafter. It was a very sad moment for United who will lose a very valuable and explosive winger for months as Sir Alex said in an post-match interview.

Darron Gibson was the star of the night again with some impressive long range shooting - his trademark really! He seemed to had taken the role of Paul Scholes - especially when Giggs set him from the corner. Otherwise, a very confined attacking display from the Red Devils. Although they had the majority of the possession in both the halves, they were not allowed to take advantage of it, thanks to the awesome defending of the Rangers.

Giggs came on for Valencia and seemed effective while crossing the ball but couldn't link up with a player neatly.

The game was quite dull to be frank - thanks to the frustrating tactics played by Walter Smith's men.

Player Rating

Tomasz Kuszczak7.5
Rio Ferdinand 7 - made an easy comeback, nearly gave the possession away in the 1st half
Brown 7
Smalling 7
Fabio 6.5
Fletcher 7.5
Gibson 7.5 - Star of the game
Valencia 6.5
Park 6.5
Rooney 7 - looked good with accurate long passes but struggled in the attacking third
Chicharito 6 - needs more noroushing clearly!

Subs
Owen 5.5 - seemed pretty useless
Giggs 6 - his penalty appeal was valid Ref!
Evans N/A

MATCH DAY FACT
United got 6 "legal" extra minutes after the 90 minutes, they had the possession for about 80% of the time and yet couldn't score. Had it been last season, it might have been a different story!

Anyway, thanks for reading, wishing ANTONIO VALENCIA a quick recovery from the miserable injury!

Bebe and Hargreaves omitted from the Champions League squad

It is still not clear when Owen Hargreaves will make a comeback!

Owen Hargreaves and Bebe have been left out from the 25 men Champions League squad. There is a reason to it!

Owen Hargreaves is still seeking help regarding his knee in the United States whereas Bebe simply needs to pump it up with regards to his fitness. Recently he was omitted from reserves team as the Manager - Sir Alex thought the player is not ready and still needs to work a lot on his stamina.

Sir Alex sent his scout to Portugal to see Bebe play. Point to be noted- Sir Alex has still not seen Bebe play, which is kind of shameful really! But there's enough promise in the lad. You can watch an excerpt of the Portugal U-21 and England U-21 highlights focussing on Bebe's touches and runs. I'm sure you would be surprised by the amount of talent he has. Let's hope he has many games to come with Manchester United Reserves team (if not the first team) this season!

Bebe in action with the U-21 Portugal team against U-21 England team in Mexico

United have been famous for 2 things this season

The number of late goals scored by Manchester United FC this season have been astonishing!

Leaving apart the fantastic football they've played so far this season, I would like to touch upon two things that the Red Devils have done very masterfully this season - something that is pretty hard to find so consistently and yet has become an avatar for modern football.

Besiktas win at Old Trafford, ending United's 23 match winning (or drawing) streak in UCL at home.

MANCHESTER UNITED 0-1 BESIKTAS

That's the summary of the game. Besiktas kept on holding United for the whole of 90 minutes. United dominated but couldn't convert into goals.

Micahel Owen reacting after missing a strike on goal

Vidic reacting after losing shockingly to Besiktas!

Besiktas have done it! The loudest fans in the world must be roaring and raving.

It was a bad night for United. Bad decisions, bad times, goal-keeper wasting time, bad that Besiktas got it all right! I must credit their goalie for 1) being intelligent and wasting time... He got a yellow card for it but I think he would rather prefer getting yellow than not playing in the knockout stages at all! 2) because he made 2 excellent saves (first one from Macheda - a header and a second one came from Wes Brown). Both were brilliant and on-target headers and Goalie did no mistakes there!

Besiktas ended United's 23 match streak at Old Trafford by denying them two wonderful headers (and wasting some time in the extra minutes of the game). United have lost a game after EIGHT LONG years since their last defeat in 2001 in UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

The Final Score was United 0-1 Besiktas which could have easily been 2-1 or 3-1 as we had predicted earlier. Besiktas have come back with a strong reply having the same final score as United had in Turkey. Paul Scholes was the one to score at that time.

Can You believe it? United had the possesion for the 66% of the game and yet they were unable to score...

Match Review (followed by Player Review)

United started off brilliantly. They were passing the ball around rather magnificently and in full-force attack mode. Thanks to some lovely display from Park Ji Sung who moved the ball efficiently in the midfield. United fully dominated the game until Tello scored a lovely 30 meter goal which was deflected off Rafael. It fell to the right of Foster who was rather unlucky to concede such an avoidable goal. United carried on their vigorous attack on Besiktas and had some solid plans to demolish the side. Park did a good job by shooting the ball on target many times but it was frustrating to see him and Obertan not finding the net. Obertan was very sharp and athletic in the field tonight. His dribbling skills were remarkable and commendable.

All United lacked in the first half was accuracy. They were fully trampling the Besiktas defence but unable to convert the amazing runs and tackles into a goal. This is something the youngsters must be living up too. There was a great display from Darren Gibson, who took the midfield very responsibly.

United half repeated the same old story for United. They had some good chances but failed to convert into a goal unfortunately. Park, who ran like a bullet and passed like a charm today, was replaced by Michael Owen. No. 7 replaced No. 13, so everyone thought Owen must have brought some luck in his 4th UCL appearance but sadly, he hardly got the ball.. Hold on a minute, I can remember once he passed to Neville and Obertan and that is really about it!

Neville gave some amazing passes today. Amongst the list included the one to Gabriel Obertan which was perfect in pace and location but unfortunately the Frenchman failed to convert it.

Blunt Gibson was replaced my Carrick who tried his luck with a few long range shots as well as medium-ish shots but they were right in the gloves of the excellent goalie.

There was an injury in the 65th minute when Obertan unpurposefully hit his elbow on Toraman's eye region. He was bleeding badly and had to be substituted.

There were two more substitutions from Evra replaced Rafael.

In the dying minutes of the game, Bobo was replaced by Batahum who (according to me) created a new world record by getting booked within 14 SECONDS of his arrival at the pitch by purposefully shooting the ball at Foster after he was judged off-side by the linesman.

The real talking point of the match would be Evra being denied the penalty. It was a clear-cut penalty! The defender was no where around the ball and clearly had his arm in front of Evra to stop him in his tracks. The referee couldn't have been more annoying that that.

It was a good game though. United should have got 2 if not 3 goals and proved us right here at theredevilspot.blogspot.com

However, the kids certainly rocked... GLORY GLORY till the Pompey's game.

Keep rocking!

Player reviews

1) Foster- 5.5

2) Rafael/ Evra - 5/6

3) Brown- 7

4) Vidic - 7

5) Neville - 6.5

6) Park/ Owen- 7/5.5

7) Anderson - 7

8) Gibson/ Carrick- 6/6

9) Obertan - 7

10) Welbeck- 7

11) Macheda- 7

PREVIEW: United vs Besiktas at Old Trafford Tonight, 7.45 PM GMT Kick off

Kids wanna rock today against Besiktas!

Sir Alex Ferguson is targeting the top spot in Group B of Champions League by challenging his young players to prove they are worthy of wearing the Manchester United shirt.

"In the situation we're in, we could have a non-event of a game against Besiktas if we wanted. But that's not the way we want it to be. We want an exciting game and we'll do our best to challenge the youngsters who play."

"I'll be making changes. Not a lot, but enough to freshen things up. It's a problem keeping players happy, but everyone has that when you have a big squad. We used the League Cup for that and, if we can qualify early enough from the Champions League group stage, in Europe."

"Darron Gibson will definitely play and young Rafa as well. We can use the likes of Welbeck. He will will definitely play and Macheda probably. They are the ones who need to challenge."

"We're also thinking of starting Gabriel Obertan to see how he does. And we're looking at Park Ji-Sung's fitness because he's back and has trained very well. We've put him on a programme that has brought him to his best level. He played for South Korea last week so he's ready for a game."

"Darron has not had the amount of football that he'd wish for. I wish I'd been able to give him more games, but he has a lot of competition from Carrick, Anderson, Scholes, Fletcher, and Giggs if I choose to play him there."

"But, credit to Darron, he's never let it unsettle him. His training performances have been excellent. Every session he comes in knowing that it's worthwhile. He has a purpose about his training. For quite a few weeks we've been saying, you can't hold a young one back. They tell you that themselves. And I think Darron is approaching that. He has

become a very good, powerful midfield player."

"The youngsters have reached a point and it happens in football, when a footballer has the ability to be a top player and you recognise that. You have to give them the challenge. If you don't, they lose the scent. But this club has been good at recognising that over the years."

"Sometimes it happens and you get good runs free of injury, and other times you don't. That's the value of having a good squad. It'll probably be the same back four as Saturday against Everton.

"When Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes came through, we thought they were certainties. We had to give them a chance, and we did. That's the nature of football. A young player turns the corner and then ends up taking someone's job."

So to conclude, Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck have really gotta attack from the word GO! and have a good partnership between them. I am excited to see Obertan and Park (if he plays) working together in the mid-field. I wouldn't mind if Michael Owen warms the bench till the half time and maybe he can have a shot at a goal or two. United although need to be careful, they must be fully aware of what happened against Tottenham Hotspurs in the FA Cup semi-final against Everton when they lost and eventually lost the precious trophy!

I hope the youngsters dont let the Seniors down... GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!

United Probable 11s: Foster; Evra, Vidic, Brown, Rafael; Park, Anderson, Gibson, Obertan; Berbatov/Macheda, Welbeck.

Besiktas Probable 11s: Rustu; Uzulmez, Koybasi, Ferrari, Toraman; Ozkan, Ernst, Fink, Ekrem; Yusuf; Bobo.

theRedDevilSpot prediction: United win 3-1