ALHAMDULILLAH! TAK SIA-SIA AKU STAY UP DESPITE ONLY SLEEPING 3HOURS SEMALAM BECAUSE MANYOO KICKED SOME RUSSIAN-SPONSORED CHELSKI BUTT 3-0!!! WOOOHOOO!!!
But of course, it could, and should, have been 6-0. That's because United, and Cristiano Ronaldo in particular, had 2 perfectly legitimate goals disallowed, and another legitimate penalty claim not given. The first was because the match officials weren't up to speed with United's clever planned corner-kick routine, and the linesman ruled that the ball wasn't in the quadrant when the corner-kick was taken. What they missed however, was that Wayne Rooney had actually rolled the ball into and out of the quadrant casually and left it for Ryan Giggs to cross, from which Ronaldo would subsequently head the ball into the net. Unconventional probably. Unorthodox, definitely. It fooled Chelsea. Unfortunately, it fooled the linesman too. Poor call from the match officials.
The second goal disallowed was a straightforward offside call. Dimitar Berbatov had released Ronaldo with a killer ball, leaving him one-on-one with Petr Cech, from which the Portugese wing wizard duly converted his chance. But the linesman flagged him for offside, which was proven wrong in the video replays. Ronaldo was on line with the last defender when Berbatov released the ball. Another poor call, men-in-black.
And I haven't even mentioned the legitimate penalty claim by Ronaldo yet. From a corner-kick, Ronaldo fell in the penalty box, and a scuffle between him and fellow Portugese international Ricardo Carvalho ensued. Carvalho was seen admonishing Ronaldo for presumably, diving, but replays showed that Ronaldo was practically manhandled by Carvalho, with the latter's arms all around Ronaldo and tugging his shirt, before Ronaldo was then tripped for good measure. In essence, Carvalho had committed 2 separate fouls there, but instead of awarding United a penalty, referee Howard Webb issued yellow cards to both Ronaldo and Carvalho. A rather puzzling decision, but one can only assume Carvalho's confronting of Ronaldo had influenced the referee's decision. Clever gamesmanship by Carvalho there, to commit a foul off the ball and trying to place the blame on Ronaldo and making it seem that Ronaldo dived. Ronaldo's surprised expression at Carvalho's aggression in confronting him says all that needs to be told.
Have to have a special mention of Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic though. Giggsy, all of 35 years of age, put in a masterclass in his adopted, not natural, position of central midfield, even being selected ahead of United's regular technician, Paul Scholes. Chelsea's midfield generals Ballack and Lampard couldn't handle him... and neither could their lieutenant John Obi Mikel. Giggsy totally schooled them and gave them a footballing education on how to play in the middle of the park. Incredible stuff.
As for Nemanja Vidic... is there a better defender in the Premier League? Vidic was simply imperious in the absence of regular partner Rio Ferdinand. Not only did he snuff out Drogba and Co., he scored a goal right on the stroke of half-time. And as far as I'm concerned, he should be credited with an assist in Berbatov's goal too. Right before Ronaldo crossed the ball, Vidic was seen giving instructions to Berbatov, which the Bulgarian acknowledged. Ronaldo crossed, Berba ran away from his marker to meet the cross, Vidic spread his arms and blocked Berba's marker from tracking him, and Berba was home free to stab the ball into the back of the net. Brilliant, brilliant, set-piece routine. Straight from the training ground.
Now United are only 1 point behind Chelsea, and 5 behind Liverpool with 2 games in hand. If United win these 2 games in hand, we'll be topping the table come Saturday! =)
But of course, it could, and should, have been 6-0. That's because United, and Cristiano Ronaldo in particular, had 2 perfectly legitimate goals disallowed, and another legitimate penalty claim not given. The first was because the match officials weren't up to speed with United's clever planned corner-kick routine, and the linesman ruled that the ball wasn't in the quadrant when the corner-kick was taken. What they missed however, was that Wayne Rooney had actually rolled the ball into and out of the quadrant casually and left it for Ryan Giggs to cross, from which Ronaldo would subsequently head the ball into the net. Unconventional probably. Unorthodox, definitely. It fooled Chelsea. Unfortunately, it fooled the linesman too. Poor call from the match officials.
The second goal disallowed was a straightforward offside call. Dimitar Berbatov had released Ronaldo with a killer ball, leaving him one-on-one with Petr Cech, from which the Portugese wing wizard duly converted his chance. But the linesman flagged him for offside, which was proven wrong in the video replays. Ronaldo was on line with the last defender when Berbatov released the ball. Another poor call, men-in-black.
And I haven't even mentioned the legitimate penalty claim by Ronaldo yet. From a corner-kick, Ronaldo fell in the penalty box, and a scuffle between him and fellow Portugese international Ricardo Carvalho ensued. Carvalho was seen admonishing Ronaldo for presumably, diving, but replays showed that Ronaldo was practically manhandled by Carvalho, with the latter's arms all around Ronaldo and tugging his shirt, before Ronaldo was then tripped for good measure. In essence, Carvalho had committed 2 separate fouls there, but instead of awarding United a penalty, referee Howard Webb issued yellow cards to both Ronaldo and Carvalho. A rather puzzling decision, but one can only assume Carvalho's confronting of Ronaldo had influenced the referee's decision. Clever gamesmanship by Carvalho there, to commit a foul off the ball and trying to place the blame on Ronaldo and making it seem that Ronaldo dived. Ronaldo's surprised expression at Carvalho's aggression in confronting him says all that needs to be told.
Have to have a special mention of Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic though. Giggsy, all of 35 years of age, put in a masterclass in his adopted, not natural, position of central midfield, even being selected ahead of United's regular technician, Paul Scholes. Chelsea's midfield generals Ballack and Lampard couldn't handle him... and neither could their lieutenant John Obi Mikel. Giggsy totally schooled them and gave them a footballing education on how to play in the middle of the park. Incredible stuff.
As for Nemanja Vidic... is there a better defender in the Premier League? Vidic was simply imperious in the absence of regular partner Rio Ferdinand. Not only did he snuff out Drogba and Co., he scored a goal right on the stroke of half-time. And as far as I'm concerned, he should be credited with an assist in Berbatov's goal too. Right before Ronaldo crossed the ball, Vidic was seen giving instructions to Berbatov, which the Bulgarian acknowledged. Ronaldo crossed, Berba ran away from his marker to meet the cross, Vidic spread his arms and blocked Berba's marker from tracking him, and Berba was home free to stab the ball into the back of the net. Brilliant, brilliant, set-piece routine. Straight from the training ground.
Now United are only 1 point behind Chelsea, and 5 behind Liverpool with 2 games in hand. If United win these 2 games in hand, we'll be topping the table come Saturday! =)
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