Man Utd v Middlesbrough as it happened

United parade the Fifa 2008 Club World Cup before kick-off




Middlesbrough look to hit United on the counter-attack





Ronaldo sends a dipping free-kick wide of Ross Turnbull's left-hand post as United probe for the opening goal




Emanuel Pogatetz and Ronaldo enjoy a running battle, and the United man gives as good as he gets





David Wheater fails to clear Michael Carrick's left-wing cross, Dimitar Berbatov is on hand to volley past Turnbull







Berbatov's 69th-minute strike is enough to give United all three points as Old Trafford breathes a sigh of relief

United 1-0 Middlesbrough

United once again got a 1 – 0 win and closed the gap with leaders . United produced numerous chances throughout the match and the credit for the score goes to Middlesbrough defence and Ronaldo , Park , Rafael .... Once again players like Neville and Scholes showed why they are considered the best in England
United started the game brilliantly with Wayne Rooney producing a fine save from the keeper . Then Park made a descent run and crossed for Ronaldo with goal gaping open the European player of the year produced a shot which kids should be ashamed of . Then once again Rooney crossed and with the goal wide open again Ronaldo missed the target . Throughout the first half Boro defended well frustrating United which was present on the attitude of Ronaldo . Just before half time Rooney produced a thunderous shot which the keeper somehow managed to tip over
Rafael was exposed many times on the back though he was brilliant in attack . He should learn a lot and the position was later steadied by club captain Neville . He was once again brilliant after impressing against Stoke on Friday . Scholes steadied the United attack later in the second half and he passed like he was in the field throughout the match .

The need for the hosts to break the deadlock became more evident as Middlesbrough embarked on a dominant spell of possession.They nearly took the lead in the 61st minute when Matthew Bates, an influential presence all evening, pinged a bouncing cross in from the right for Tuncay to nod just past Edwin Van der Sar's post.

But when Paul Scholes replaced Darren Fletcher in United's midfield, the flow of play swung back into United's favour almost immediately.And they duly broke the deadlock in the 68th minute when, from a swift, swarming attack, Carrick whipped in a cross that David Wheater could only deflect into the path of Berbatov, who volleyed home from eight yards. Though he was invisible throughout the match Berbatov compensated all through his strike. The game saw one of the biggest miss of the season with Park putting the shot embarrassingly over the bar from just under the bar as Neville brilliantly picked him up . Though he was brilliant with his passing and runs Park should improve his finishing


Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (Neville 62), Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Park, Fletcher (Scholes 62), Carrick, Ronaldo (Giggs 84), Rooney, Berbatov.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Welbeck, Gibson, Possebon.

Booked: Park, Scholes.

Goals: Berbatov 69.

Middlesbrough: Turnbull, Bates, Riggott, Wheater, Pogatetz, Aliadiere (Emnes 76), O'Neil, Arca, Downing, Sanli, Alves.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Taylor, Huth, Shawky, Porritt, Walker.

Man Utd v Middlesbrough

United will be taking on Middlesbrough only on Monday on a late fixture by that time probably leaders will be ahead of them by more points as they will be playing on Sunday . United are not upto their best as once again they produced another last minute 1 - 0 win on Friday . The problem is with United midfield as their is not a well defined formation .None of the midfielders except Ronaldo has fixed place in the starting line up . It is the time for Sir Alex to fix onto one formation . The United midfield and attack is failing to break well organised defence as once again seen on Friday


United will be without Rio Ferdinand for up to 10 days, after he suffered a back injury in the warm-up for Friday's win over Stoke. Patrice Evra is suspended . Last match Evra's absence was obvious . Should be seen who is going to start on Monday as O'shea started and later Giggs occupied the position . Dimitar Berbatov will be hoping to start after impressing when he came on last time out.


Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos, Neville, Vidic, O'Shea, Evans, Rafael, Ronaldo, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck.

Stoke City 0-1 Manchester United

Father Christmas is on hand




Park and Berbatov watching from bench



Berbatov comes on as a sub and his miscued shot tees up Carlos Tevez to score an important winner

United's Christmas gift

United's Christmas gift came perhaps a day after christmas by winning away to Stoke City on friday .United broke a stub born defence with only 7 minutes left through Tevez . This should once again will lighten up the title race with United having 2 games in hand . It appeared as United were heading for a draw even though Stoke were reduced to 10 men .It was the perfect return to domestic action for United after they beat LDU Quito in Japan on Sunday to lift the Club World Cup in Japan.


United made five changes to the side that won that trophy in Japan one enforced when defender Rio Ferdinand injured his back in the warm-up and was replaced by Jonny Evans.And Evans was almost caught out in the opening seconds when Fuller got on the end of a long ball into the box but shot wildly over the bar. Wayne Rooney almost opened the scoring after 24 minutes with a neat header from Gary Neville's cross, but Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen was well-placed to make the save.

United, inevitably, pressed forward straight after the re-start and Sorensen did well to block a stinging drive from Tevez. And Sorensen did even better to deny Paul Scholes, making his first Premier League start for three months after knee surgery, when he fired in a trademark 20-yard drive after 57 minutes.Stoke, having finally built up some momentum, were reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes left when Wilkinson, having already been booked, stupidly clattered into the back of Ronaldo and was deservedly sent off. And United broke the deadlock with seven minutes left as Tevez thrashed home a finish from six yards after Berbatov turned on Neville's cross.

Ronaldo almost made the victory more emphatic with a free-kick that flashed inches wide - but Stoke were unable to mount a late surge and United claimed a crucial three points

Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Abdoulaye Faye, Shawcross, Higginbotham, Delap (Davies 74), Whelan, Amdy Faye (Olofinjana 89), Pugh, Cresswell (Pericard 90), Fuller.
Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Lawrence, Tonge, Sonko.

Sent Off: Wilkinson (72).

Booked: Cresswell, Wilkinson, Fuller, Whelan.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Evans, Vidic, O'Shea (Berbatov 64), Ronaldo, Scholes (Carrick 90), Fletcher, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Park, Welbeck, Rafael Da Silva, Gibson.

Booked: Evans, Neville.

Boxing day special Stoke City v Manchester United

After their adventure in Japan United takes on Stoke City on early boxing day match . United are 7 points behind leaders Liverpool with 2 games in hand . United pay their first ever visit to Stoke's Britannia Stadium with the intention of adding to their 500 league wins under Sir Alex Ferguson.
This season Stoke were hammered by United 5 - 0 at Oldtrafford with Christiano Ronaldo leading the demolition . He will be the man Stoke will be fearing and waiting with tactics . Wayne Rooney is in fine form for United as he has once again showed his caliber in Japan . Berbatov is expected to partner Rooney upfront but he has not gained the form which he has shown for Tottenham . The thing most worrying United is they are wasting too many chances in front of goal with Tevez and Berbatov taking it as a challenge .
Patrice Evra is suspended for the match following his part in last years events at Chelsea . United will miss his long runs through left flank as John O'shea is expected to take the role.

Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen returns after a scan revealed no serious damage to his injured fingers.

City have a string of other injury concerns, however, with Dave Kitson and Andy Griffin (both knee), Salif Diao (calf) and Leon Cort (groin) doubtful.

Stoke (from): Sorensen, Shawcross, Sonko, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Delap, Amdy Faye, Whelan, Cresswell, Pugh, Fuller, Pericard, Tonge, Soares, Simonsen, Olofinjana, Davies, Wilkinson, Griffin, Diao, Cort, Kitson.

Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, O'Shea, Evans, Rafael, Ronaldo, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck.

Liga de Quito 0-1 Man Utd

Ji-Sung Park looks bright in midfield




Wayne Rooney is the pick of the players again but he fails to beat Cevallos in a goalless first half



Nemanja Vidic is sent off for elbowing Claudio Bieler




Despite having one less player, Man Utd hold on for the 1-0 win and are duly crowned champions of the world

Manchester United lifts the FIFA club world cup

Manchester United and Sir Alex added another silverware to their collection on Sunday with the win over Liga de Quito .
Wayne Ronney once again became the provider as United fight with 10 men in second half .Wayne Rooney clinched victory for Manchester United in the Club World Cup final with a late goal against Liga de Quito after Nemanja Vidic was sent off.

Quito goalkeeper Jose Cevallos made a series of superb stops to deny Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Park Ji Sung in the first half as United dominated.

United's hopes were hit when Vidic saw red after 49 minutes for lashing out with an elbow at Claudio Bieler.

But Rooney won it with a neat finish into the bottom corner on 73 minutes.

It should have been a far easier victory too, as United dominated possession from the start.

Quito's best chance came early on when Jairo Campos found space to meet Alejandro Manso's whipped free-kick in front of goal but somehow put his shot wide.

But the South American champions were on the back-foot from that point onwards and were grateful to Cevallos for three good saves in the first 20 minutes.

Cevallos did well to push away a Rooney snap-shot from the edge of the area and repeated the trick to keep out another ferocious effort from the England striker soon after - although this time he will have been relieved that the ball bounced wide after it had span from his grasp.

And the 37-year-old was soon in action again, flinging himself to his right to keep out a diving header from Tevez after some good work from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo looked keen to impress the crowd at the Yokohama International Stadium, showing off some fancy footwork at every opportunity, with only an end-product missing from his play.

United's failure to score was not through lack of effort, or chances, and Cevallos was again in the right place at the right time to palm away Park's stinging shot before parrying another effort by Tevez.

Park should have done far better before the break when Anderson's long ball fell to him at the back post - but he miscued horribly and sliced his attempted chip well over.

It looked like Ferguson's men would be punished for failing to take those chances when Vidic was dismissed for his clash with Bieler with both players grounded - and the red card also means he will be suspended for the first leg of United's Champions League clash with Inter Milan in February.

United's 10 men were forced to reshuffle and Tevez was replaced by Jonny Evans, who filled in at the back.

But it made little difference to the pattern of the game as Quito still lacked ambition and United continued to come forward.

Edwin van der Sar did have to claw away a long-distance shot by Manso but it was the English side who looked more likely to break the deadlock

United to face Mourinho's Inter

Manchester United will face Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League. This will be another classic in which Sir Alex Ferguson will renew acquaintances with José Mourinho who famously led FC Porto to victory against United at this stage in 2004 en route to winning the trophy.



CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW

Chelsea v Juventus

Villarreal v Panathinaikos

Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid v FC Porto

Lyon v Barcelona

Real Madrid v Liverpool

Arsenal v Roma

Inter Milan v Manchester United

Real Ronaldo claims rile Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has hit out at Real Madrid over claims Manchester United have agreed to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spanish giants.

Real director Pedro Trapote reportedly told Spanish newspaper El Mundo a deal had been struck, adding: "There are clauses keeping us from announcing it."

But Ferguson insisted there was no such agreement with Real, saying he "wouldn't sell them a virus".

He added: "Would I get into a contract with that mob? Absolutely no chance."

Speaking after his side beat Gamba Osaka in the Club World Cup in Japan, the United boss reacted furiously to the latest link with Ronaldo to Madrid.

"I wouldn't sell them a virus - that's a no. There's no agreement whatsoever between the clubs.

"I said to David Gill a year last summer, when we sold Gabby Heinze, you can bet your life in January it will all start up with Ronaldo again. It'll happen again this January, believe me.

"We've just got to ignore it because if we keep worrying about what Real are going to say then we are not going to concentrate on our own programme of difficult games coming up.

"Sometimes it can be an angry situation and sometimes we are really annoyed with them, but we know the game and I think we should just play our game and ignore it all."

Ronaldo has also responded to the claims saying he is happy to stay at Old Trafford and is unaware of Real's reported interest.

"I don't care. I don't see newspapers," he said. "We are out here in Japan and I don't know nothing, what's happened around me.

"I am very happy (at Man Utd), very happy."

Gamba Osaka 3-5 Man Utd

Manchester started the quest for another trophy with a 5 - 3 win over the japenese side . It was a breathless end to a brutally open match that ultimately sees United into Sunday's Club World Cup final against Liga de Quito of Ecuador

Manchester United eased through to the Fifa Club World Cup final despite a spirited late effort from Gamba Osaka.

Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo easily converted first-half headers but Masato Yamazaki pulled a classy goal back for the plucky Japanese side.

Substitute Wayne Rooney bustled through to score with his first touch seconds later before Darren Fletcher nodded in.

Dangerous Rooney added a fifth though a late flurry saw Yasuhito Endo convert a penalty and Hideo Hashimoto fire home.

Gamba Osaka v Man Utd

Manchester United starts their adventure in Japan on thursday with the match against Japanese counterparts Gamba Osaka . Manchester United are expected to pair Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez in attack for the Club World Cup semi-final with Gamba Osaka as Dimitar Berbatov is ill.

The 27-year-old Bulgarian has been unable to train since his arrival in Japan after contracting a virus.

English FC partial to CHELSEA ?

To many of you this sounds ridiculous . But their action throughout this season if inspected carefully will show . The latest incident is banning of Evra for a incident which happened last season . Eventhough they accept that it was the Chelsea grounds man who racially abused Evra they are not charging him because the governing body of Chelsea failed to convey him that FA can take action against him during his appointment. It sounds ridiculous . They are charging Evra for a incident which happened last season for which he is gonna get 4 match ban this season .
Second one is the revoking of Red card given to John Terry given to him in the Manchestercity match so that he can play next week against United . He gained a direct red for a foul so he was supposed to miss 3 matches that also was revoked . The referee is then send to second division game
If you look at United’s fixture this year they are playing away from home after their Champions league fixture which made them loose so much points . That too top draws against Chelsea , Arsenal , Man City ... look at the last fixture against Tootenham
Let’s look at an incident last season Ashley Cole commits a foul for which a direct red should have been given and he is showing his back to him . What action have they taken ????

WHAT HAPPENED TO UNITED ON SATURDAY?

United have spun a wonderful chance to reduce the point difference with Chelsea and Liverpool on Saturday in a week that saw all the top Four teams taking only 1 points through draws
United started brightly with possession but it was Tottenham which made real attempt on goal out of nothing through David Bentley . Everybody expect Berbatov to shine on his return to Tottenham but expect for his one or two pieces of skill he has made nothing much of an impression in the match . The main problem with United was in front of goal which is more obvious in the absence of Wayne Rooney . Whether he scores or not he is a playmaker which gives people like Ronaldo more support and to score goals . What is Tevez doing ?
The guy cant retain possession of the ball , can’t give a good pass or cross or even make a decent shot . Also it’s looks like Berbatov is questioning the amount of money United payed for him.
The star players on both sides were the goal keepers both Vadersar and Gomez saving descent attempts on opposite sides .Vandersar had to save from Bentley twice and also from Lennon while Modric just headed wide. It was Gomez who had to be allert on the opposite side. The Brazilian who’s recent form in front of goal was not convincing produced fine saves from Park and Giggs in the end stages of game. His Performance was outstanding throughout the match although Ronaldo had once beaten him which was harshly called handball


Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, Woodgate (Huddlestone 10), Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Zokora, Jenas (O'Hara 62), Bentley, Modric, Pavlyuchenko (Bent 54).
Subs Not Used: Cesar, Bale, Gunter, Boateng.

Booked: Huddlestone.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, O'Shea, Park, Fletcher (Scholes 69), Carrick, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez (Giggs 69).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Neville, Anderson, Nani, Evans.

Booked: Rafael Da Silva.

Tottenham v Man Utd

This crucial game comes at a bad time for United having lost Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra through suspension and Christiano Ronaldo , Ferdinand , Carrick and Berbatov struggling with injuries . But the most notable will be the absence of Rooney and Evra because this season they are the two most consistent and well performed United players . Anyway this game is going to miss Evra’s deep runs through left flank and Rooney’s presence all over the park .
But United should not worry much because they have got match winners all over the field . Even guys like Vidic can come and score winning goals for United as we have seen last week . They have a champion in newly croned European footballer Christiano ronaldo and they have Midfield mastero Paul Scholes coming back from the knee injury..............
Tottenham have recovered their form having seen the worst start to the season in a century , they are currently flourishing under the new coach Redknapp . They also have talent all over the pitch in Players like Luka Modric , David Bentley , Gareth Bale ..................... But the thing most worrying them will be it is one of the favourite hunting ground for Sir Alex Ferguson

Tottenham (from): Gomes, Cesar, Alnwick, Bale, Gunter, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Woodgate, King, Corluka, Zokora, Bentley, Huddlestone, Jenas, O'Hara, Bostock, Lennon, Jenas, Boateng, Bent, Pavlyuchenko, Modric.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Rafael, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Nani, Ronaldo, Anderson, Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick, Gibson, Possebon, Park, Giggs, Berbatov, Tevez, Welbeck, Manucho.

MANCHESTER UNITED

The most popular football club in the world with fans extending from Manchester England to slums in Africa. With their breathtaking totally dominating way of football they have won the heart of millions of football fans around the world.
Whenever someone have written them off they have returned in a way only they can do on the field. Before the start of 2006 season they were the less favourites having lost the Premiere League twice to the cash splashed Chelsea. Then the rest is history having done what they can only do. Twice winning back to back Premiere League crowns and also they are the Kings of Europe by winning Champions League last season. Also they have reached twice in repeating the treble winning season of ‘99
Most loved by their fans and hated by their rivals the football they play is breathtaking, with the best players in the world in Youngsters like newly crowned European footballer Christiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney and in veterans Scholes , Neville ....... They have the best and one of the greatest managers the football world have ever seen in Sir Alex Ferguson . He has guided them to glory for the last 22 years and is still doing it
This blog is for all the fans of Manchester United and to all the people who loves the wonderful game of football