Manchester United had the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points over Arsenal. All they needed to do was beat Sunderland at Old Trafford. United were already two points ahead of Arsenal at the weekend and this was the perfect
opportunity to wedge some distance between themselves and the challengers, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea at the top.
And United pounced opportunistically on this chance, riding out 2-0 winners in the blistering cold. Their 2-0 win came courtesy of a Boxing Day brace by the unpredictable Dimitar Berbatov, although his second might just be taken away from him when the ‘Dubious
Goals Panel’ reviews his case. It was a shot that looked to be going wide only for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Craig-Gordon-c9476 at the near post with his chest.
Sir Alex Ferguson decided to start the Bulgarian after he was dropped for the game against Arsenal. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Carrick-c25282, Anderson,
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Patrice-Evra-c29231, Rafael, Ji-Sung Park and Edwin Van Der Sar all retained their starting places from the victory over Gunners.
This match was a casual affair where United started very brightly. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ryan-Giggs-c31985 burst forward towards the centre of the Sunderland defence and released the ball to Rooney just as a challenge came in. Rooney crossed towards the far post, a cross that Berbatov
met with a good header into the ground and past Craig Gordon. That was 1-0 to United and the clock had only registered five minutes of play.
Then Berbatov was released on the left-hand side by a cute pass from Anderson, the Bulgarian weaved his way into the box but his shot could only manage to shake the upright. Then Anderson himself sent a curling shot from the edge of the box which passed
Craig Gordon and crashed onto the bar when he drove through the defence. And prior to that, Rooney had sent a delicate chip from the edge of the area just narrowly wide.
Somehow, Sunderland and Steve Bruce survived the onslaught to make it to halftime still at 1-0. But then came Berbatov’s second, via a deflection that effectively sealed off the game for United and sent the Black Cats packing. Berbatov’s second was assisted
by a clever disguised pass from Anderson who again had a stunning game.
Sir Alex Ferguson will be euphoric that this year Santa brought him a five-point lead over Arsenal and a six-point one over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786. Even though Manchester City are only two points behind the league leaders, Ferguson won’t think much of it as United have
a couple of games in hand over their arch rivals.
Ferguson must be buoyed by the fact that his long-time investment in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dimitar-Berbatov-c11254 and Anderson has started to pay off, for both of them are becoming match winners for the team, Berbatov with his goals and Anderson with his work ethic and assists. It
seems United have clicked into second gear as the second half of the season is upon us, and if United continue in this way then anything Arsenal or Chelsea do might be just a shade too less. The second half of the season is traditionally United’s strongest.
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