Manchester United strolled into the fourth round of the Carling Cup yesterday for the first time in three seasons, beating Prem side Boro on the way. Christiano Ronaldo marked his return to the starting line-up with a headed goal on 25 minues off a Ryan Giggs corner. Personally I feel that Ronaldo is under-rated in the air. It's why he steals off defenders and poaches one or two headed goals occasionally. The goal was , in more ways than one, similar to the last one he scored for United last season--a sublime header past Cech in the Champions League final. Adams Johnson briefly put Boro level mid-way through the second half but old head Ryan Giggs was at hand to capitalise on slack defending to chip Jones and restore United's lead. Luis Nani capped a fine performance with a late third goal that was, well, another gift from the Boro defence. The game though was marred by a horrendous challenge by Boro captain Emmanuel Pogatez on the young Rodrigo Possebon. Not only did he deserve a red card, but a ban as well. The pictures on the Internet showing his evil act remind me of the fate of Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva who, unlike Possebon, broke his leg. We have certainly been lucky in that respect as our mercurial Brazilian has not had any break in the leg. Such injuries can be career threatening. One might fear to engage in a tackle for the ball after being through the pain of a serious leg injury.
On a brighter note, it was nice to see a handful of lads make their bows for the club--as far as first team football is concerned. I'm sure that goalkeeper Ben Amos could not believe starting in a team with Ronaldo, Giggs , Vidic... Danny Welbeck led the line upfront, just infront of Ronaldo and it has to be said--he was one of those whose performances made the ticket a worthy purchase. Possebon was at his usual calmness alongside Anderson, who the boss claims is finally 'back' from the Olympics. It was even sweeter to see Manucho make his first team debut as a late substitute. What he did in his 8 or so minutes on pitch was enough to send me smiling on my way to bed. This guy could be the first real African hit that Fergie has signed. If given the chance, I personally fell that he can make as big an impact as Dimitar Berbatov. Time will tell. On a whole, it was nice to get such a win under our belts as we last won a game in August. Good to score more than 1 goal in a game since Wigan on the last day of last season. Long may it continue! Bring on Bolton.Labels: THE LEAGUE CUP
