Monday, August 22, 2005
Man Utd Roors
Ruud van Nistelrooy's explosive start to the campaign continued with the only goal of the game at Aston Villa's expense to delight Manchester United's new owners at Old Trafford.
In sharp contrast to the trials of last season's injury-blighted performances, the prolific Dutchman is already reproducing the form of his first three years at United.
Eric Djemba Djemba feels the full force of Wayne Rooney.
And with Joel and Bryan Glazer watching on, having spurned the opportunity to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in action, Van Nistelrooy gave them something to celebrate on the flight back to Florida, arriving with impeccable timing at the far post to bundle the ball home after Villa defender Olof Mellberg had touched Cristiano Ronaldo's cross into his path.
Fergie backs Ruud's form to continue for the season
The goal - Van Nistelrooy's third of the campaign - maintained United's 100 per cent start to the season and ensured all the hard work of Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen went unrewarded.
Sorensen, who enjoyed such a marvellous evening at England's expense on Wednesday, single-handedly kept the visitors in a contest which saw them totally outplayed from start to finish.
The Dane produced half a dozen magnificent saves, the pick of which touched a brutal drive from Park Ji-sung onto the bar before half-time.
Knowing their side had not won at Old Trafford since 1983, the Villa fans arrived to the news star winger Nolberto Solano had been omitted from David O'Leary's starting line-up.
Judging by the reception he received as he warmed up by the touchline, the Peruvian's popularity among the supporters has not been affected by his admission he would be interested in a move to Liverpool if Milan Baros headed in the other direction.
O'Leary is seemingly not quite so forgiving, although, in fairness, Solano's silky skills might not have helped Villa too much as they set about containing their hosts.
The tactic worked impeccably for the first 25 minutes as United failed to fashion a worthwhile chance, even though they were dominant in virtually every area of the field.
All that changed when Van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes combined to provide Park with space inside the Villa area.
The busy South Korean, retaining his place at Ronaldo's expense, cut inside before unleashing a brutal drive which Sorensen somehow managed to keep out with a superb fingertip save.
It was the start of an exacting afternoon for the Dane, the only Villa man who could count himself unlucky to be on the losing side.
Wayne Rooney did manage to beat the former Sunderland favourite with a thunderous 25-yard drive, but on that occasion Peter Whittingham came to his aid with a calm goalline clearance.
As has become customary, Rooney found himself involved in much of the action, although he also earned the ire of referee Phil Dowd for a tackle borne of frustration on former United man Eric Djemba-Djemba after the England striker's poor first touch had cost him possession.
For once, Rooney's performance had been overshadowed by that of Park, who is swiftly ending any debate over whether his football skills or marketability saw Sir Alex Ferguson splash out £4million to take him from PSV Eindhoven during the summer.
The same energetic style which proved such a success in Holland is clearly transferable to the Premiership.
All Park appears to need is a little more composure, an asset which would have surely seen United take the lead when he raced on to Rooney's superb return pass, but then failed to reach a firm decision about an angled drive or cut-back cross and ended up drilling the ball disappointingly along the six-yard area.
It proved to be Park's last contribution before he was replaced by Ronaldo just before the hour mark. Gabriel Heinze came on for John O'Shea at the same time and within minutes the pair had combined to almost put the hosts in front.
Surprisingly, Ronaldo was the provider, floating a free-kick to the far post, which Heinze met with a powerful header that Sorensen kept out with a reflex save.
If that stop was instinctive, the effort which saw the Dane turn away Ronaldo's header shortly afterwards was straight out of the goalkeeper's textbook manual, holding his line as the Portuguese winger jumped to reach Darren Fletcher's cross, then flinging himself to the left to push it away with one hand.
Van Nistelrooy was inches away from turning home a low Gary Neville cross when United attacked again. By now, it seemed only a matter of time before Villa cracked and Van Nistelrooy duly inflicted the required hammer blow.
If anyone was providing a Villa challenge for man of the match honours, it was Sorensen and the latest in his series of fine saves denied Scholes' header at point-blank range.
Not that it mattered. Villa, toothless in attack, never came close to threatening United's winning lead.
Fergie backs Ruud's form to continue for the season
Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Ruud van Nistelrooy to hit the 30-goal mark again for Manchester United this season.
'It is important for the team that Ruud scores because once he gets on a run he is unstoppable,' said the United boss.
'In his first two seasons here he scored 36 goals and then 44. He is capable of doing that again.' Ironically, even Van Nistelrooy admitted his match-winning display was not one of his better ones.
Although he foraged about looking for chances, his contribution was overshadowed by Wayne Rooney and the excellent Park Ji-sung, with Ronaldo then stealing the limelight when he replaced United's new Korean signing just before the hour mark.
'I didn't think I played that well football-wise but as a striker it is always nice to score,' said Van Nistelrooy, like Park a former PSV Eindhoven player.
'Three goals in three games is a great start for me. It was important for me to start scoring and thankfully I was in the right place at the right time to finish it off.'
Ferguson spent much of pre-season talking about the need for his team to click into gear straight away and not hand an early advantage to their main title rivals as they did last term.
With six points from their opening two games, United know they will be the ones benefiting from a points gap over at least one of the London duo on Sunday night.
Ferguson will be a keen viewer when Jose Mourinho's men take on the Gunners tomorrow, but, at this early stage of the campaign, he cannot summon up any enthusiasm about the result.
'I cannot get excited about Arsenal and Chelsea,' he said.
'I will watch it as I normally would on a Sunday and I suppose I hope they both lose.
'The important thing is we have won and kept three clean sheets on the trot. That gives us tremendous confidence.'
That United's margin of victory was so slender was due almost exclusively to the performance of Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen, who made half a dozen outstanding saves, the best of which denied efforts from Park and Ronaldo either side of the interval.
Peter Whittingham also booted a Wayne Rooney piledriver off the line as Villa found themselves comprehensively outplayed despite O'Leary opting to deploy a 4-5-1 formation to try and frustrate the hosts.
'A lot of teams play like that against us now and they were not easy to break down,' admitted Ferguson.
'It requires patience and urgency but most of all it requires excellent play and good football. We were a bit slow in the first-half but Cristiano made a difference when he came on and we got there eventually.'
O'Leary will redouble his efforts to bring in new faces ahead of the August 31 transfer deadline, although he refuted suggestions he had axed winger Nolberto Solano as a direct result of the Peruvian's admission he would be interested in quitting the Midlands outfit for Liverpool.
'I have read Nobby's comments but no-one from Liverpool has said anything to me,' said the Villa boss, who said there were no new developments in his attempts to secure the arrival of
Milan Baros from the Anfield outfit.
'I am more interested in bringing in players before the window closes but I have been trying to do that since May and every other club is in the same position.
'Everyone is working hard trying to complete some signings but the more it takes to bring in someone for one position, the less we have for others.
Jude
Ruud van Nistelrooy's explosive start to the campaign continued with the only goal of the game at Aston Villa's expense to delight Manchester United's new owners at Old Trafford.
In sharp contrast to the trials of last season's injury-blighted performances, the prolific Dutchman is already reproducing the form of his first three years at United.
Eric Djemba Djemba feels the full force of Wayne Rooney.
And with Joel and Bryan Glazer watching on, having spurned the opportunity to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in action, Van Nistelrooy gave them something to celebrate on the flight back to Florida, arriving with impeccable timing at the far post to bundle the ball home after Villa defender Olof Mellberg had touched Cristiano Ronaldo's cross into his path.
Fergie backs Ruud's form to continue for the season
The goal - Van Nistelrooy's third of the campaign - maintained United's 100 per cent start to the season and ensured all the hard work of Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen went unrewarded.
Sorensen, who enjoyed such a marvellous evening at England's expense on Wednesday, single-handedly kept the visitors in a contest which saw them totally outplayed from start to finish.
The Dane produced half a dozen magnificent saves, the pick of which touched a brutal drive from Park Ji-sung onto the bar before half-time.
Knowing their side had not won at Old Trafford since 1983, the Villa fans arrived to the news star winger Nolberto Solano had been omitted from David O'Leary's starting line-up.
Judging by the reception he received as he warmed up by the touchline, the Peruvian's popularity among the supporters has not been affected by his admission he would be interested in a move to Liverpool if Milan Baros headed in the other direction.
O'Leary is seemingly not quite so forgiving, although, in fairness, Solano's silky skills might not have helped Villa too much as they set about containing their hosts.
The tactic worked impeccably for the first 25 minutes as United failed to fashion a worthwhile chance, even though they were dominant in virtually every area of the field.
All that changed when Van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes combined to provide Park with space inside the Villa area.
The busy South Korean, retaining his place at Ronaldo's expense, cut inside before unleashing a brutal drive which Sorensen somehow managed to keep out with a superb fingertip save.
It was the start of an exacting afternoon for the Dane, the only Villa man who could count himself unlucky to be on the losing side.
Wayne Rooney did manage to beat the former Sunderland favourite with a thunderous 25-yard drive, but on that occasion Peter Whittingham came to his aid with a calm goalline clearance.
As has become customary, Rooney found himself involved in much of the action, although he also earned the ire of referee Phil Dowd for a tackle borne of frustration on former United man Eric Djemba-Djemba after the England striker's poor first touch had cost him possession.
For once, Rooney's performance had been overshadowed by that of Park, who is swiftly ending any debate over whether his football skills or marketability saw Sir Alex Ferguson splash out £4million to take him from PSV Eindhoven during the summer.
The same energetic style which proved such a success in Holland is clearly transferable to the Premiership.
All Park appears to need is a little more composure, an asset which would have surely seen United take the lead when he raced on to Rooney's superb return pass, but then failed to reach a firm decision about an angled drive or cut-back cross and ended up drilling the ball disappointingly along the six-yard area.
It proved to be Park's last contribution before he was replaced by Ronaldo just before the hour mark. Gabriel Heinze came on for John O'Shea at the same time and within minutes the pair had combined to almost put the hosts in front.
Surprisingly, Ronaldo was the provider, floating a free-kick to the far post, which Heinze met with a powerful header that Sorensen kept out with a reflex save.
If that stop was instinctive, the effort which saw the Dane turn away Ronaldo's header shortly afterwards was straight out of the goalkeeper's textbook manual, holding his line as the Portuguese winger jumped to reach Darren Fletcher's cross, then flinging himself to the left to push it away with one hand.
Van Nistelrooy was inches away from turning home a low Gary Neville cross when United attacked again. By now, it seemed only a matter of time before Villa cracked and Van Nistelrooy duly inflicted the required hammer blow.
If anyone was providing a Villa challenge for man of the match honours, it was Sorensen and the latest in his series of fine saves denied Scholes' header at point-blank range.
Not that it mattered. Villa, toothless in attack, never came close to threatening United's winning lead.
Fergie backs Ruud's form to continue for the season
Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Ruud van Nistelrooy to hit the 30-goal mark again for Manchester United this season.
'It is important for the team that Ruud scores because once he gets on a run he is unstoppable,' said the United boss.
'In his first two seasons here he scored 36 goals and then 44. He is capable of doing that again.' Ironically, even Van Nistelrooy admitted his match-winning display was not one of his better ones.
Although he foraged about looking for chances, his contribution was overshadowed by Wayne Rooney and the excellent Park Ji-sung, with Ronaldo then stealing the limelight when he replaced United's new Korean signing just before the hour mark.
'I didn't think I played that well football-wise but as a striker it is always nice to score,' said Van Nistelrooy, like Park a former PSV Eindhoven player.
'Three goals in three games is a great start for me. It was important for me to start scoring and thankfully I was in the right place at the right time to finish it off.'
Ferguson spent much of pre-season talking about the need for his team to click into gear straight away and not hand an early advantage to their main title rivals as they did last term.
With six points from their opening two games, United know they will be the ones benefiting from a points gap over at least one of the London duo on Sunday night.
Ferguson will be a keen viewer when Jose Mourinho's men take on the Gunners tomorrow, but, at this early stage of the campaign, he cannot summon up any enthusiasm about the result.
'I cannot get excited about Arsenal and Chelsea,' he said.
'I will watch it as I normally would on a Sunday and I suppose I hope they both lose.
'The important thing is we have won and kept three clean sheets on the trot. That gives us tremendous confidence.'
That United's margin of victory was so slender was due almost exclusively to the performance of Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen, who made half a dozen outstanding saves, the best of which denied efforts from Park and Ronaldo either side of the interval.
Peter Whittingham also booted a Wayne Rooney piledriver off the line as Villa found themselves comprehensively outplayed despite O'Leary opting to deploy a 4-5-1 formation to try and frustrate the hosts.
'A lot of teams play like that against us now and they were not easy to break down,' admitted Ferguson.
'It requires patience and urgency but most of all it requires excellent play and good football. We were a bit slow in the first-half but Cristiano made a difference when he came on and we got there eventually.'
O'Leary will redouble his efforts to bring in new faces ahead of the August 31 transfer deadline, although he refuted suggestions he had axed winger Nolberto Solano as a direct result of the Peruvian's admission he would be interested in quitting the Midlands outfit for Liverpool.
'I have read Nobby's comments but no-one from Liverpool has said anything to me,' said the Villa boss, who said there were no new developments in his attempts to secure the arrival of
Milan Baros from the Anfield outfit.
'I am more interested in bringing in players before the window closes but I have been trying to do that since May and every other club is in the same position.
'Everyone is working hard trying to complete some signings but the more it takes to bring in someone for one position, the less we have for others.
Jude
# posted by Kalmax @ 12:23 AM 
