Manchester United nudged Arsenal off the top of the Premier League last night after Ji Sung Park scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against their north London rivals.
Park’s spontaneous header proved enough to gain three points for United, a result that would have been confirmed had Wayne Rooney found the net from the penalty spot late on and not the Stretford End.
Arsenal, for all their possession, proved fallible towards the United goal and failed to create any decent opportunities. Credit however must also be given to the strong United defence lead by a steely Nemanja Vidic and collected Rio Ferdinand.
The win sends United 2 points clear of second place Arsenal with a game in hand and means Arsene Wenger has not recorded a victory against United or fellow title contenders Chelsea in eleven attempts, losing ten of them.
Dimitar Berbatov was rewarded a place on the bench for his 5-goals in mauling of Blackburn, United’s last league game, as Sir Alex Ferguson opted for the oft effective Park, especially against the Gunners, in a five man midfield instead.
The tactic was reciprocated by Wenger and was the main cause of a match that failed to live up to its hyperbolic pre-match amble: it was scrappy and lacking, mostly, in fluidity.
Perhaps surprisingly it was Anderson who, operating off a lone Rooney, made the most impact throughout. The Brazilian eclipsed Arsenal’s young Englishman Jack Wilshere, his opposite: marauding going forward, pugilistic tracking back. With performances like this the midfielder will have no problem securing an extended contract.
Buoyed on by the Old Trafford faithful the home side exerted greater pressure than Wenger’s side. Rooney harried Arsenal’s defence and rushed debut goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny into sliced clearances, Nani went at Gael Clichy encouraged by the holding Michael Carrick and tireless Darren Fletcher.
The first chance came when an miss-cued clearance fell enticingly to Nani who, off balance, blasted a volley inches wide past the far post. Rooney was thrice afforded too much time to turn, his shooting though failed to draw inspiration from Szczesny.
The half was approaching its end when a deep Edwin Van Der Sar clearance was met by Darren Fletcher who flicked towards the Rooney. The England strikers first time glance to Nani sent the Portuguese winger goalwards.
When Nani eventually cut in to shoot on his left his drive was deflected off of Clichy’s heel and into the cold Mancunian air. Park, who had ran off of the left into the box and appearing off-balance and augmented, managed to adjust himself in seemingly contrasting directions to loop a header beyond the despairing Szczesny.
Arsenal, although having greater possession than United, were prevented from playing their characteristic football as Ferguson’s tactics to double up on Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin paid dividends.
Their only chances during the ninety minutes both fell to Marouane Chamakh who firstly headed into the arms of Van Der Sar from a difficult cross and then allowed Vidic time to recover and block after the United keeper parried a Nasri effort.
The late introduction of Theo Walcott, Robin Van Persie and returning captain Cesc Fabregas failed to penetrate an indomitable defence and Rooney could have instantly atoned for his penalty miss with a delicious half-volleyed lob but was denied by the impressive Szczesny.
No comments:
Post a Comment