P: Fulham 0 - 1 United
Ronaldo’s Class Seals Points For Lucky United
A below par performance at Fulham, illuminated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s marvellous solo goal, ended with the Premiership victory that put United nine points ahead of Chelsea.
Fulham will be aggrieved that they were unable to claim at least a point from a match in which United, sluggish and lacking in ideas, were there for the taking.
The Cottagers missed a least three glorious chances to put the game beyond the visitors. Fulham’s repeat failure was punished ruthlessly by Cristiano Ronaldo, who had the extra class when it mattered to win the game.
Sir Alex selected those players who had been on midweek duty in Lille but dropped skipper Gary Neville to the bench. The player did not admit to any injury, sparking immediate speculation that the manager had not taken kindly to their angry exchange of words during the Champions League match.
United’s players looked listless as Fulham took the match to the Premiership leaders during the opening period. The home side mostly aimed speculative shots towards United’s goal until they were gifted an opener in the 16th minute. A ball flighted towards the centre of United’s defence caught Vidic in two minds. His decision to leave the clearance to his goalkeeper proved flawed when the Dutchman made a hash of his effort and was helpless as McBride’s shot went in off the far post.
The goal stung United into match mode. Ronaldo went close with a run and shot in the 24th minute which flashed past the post. Four minutes later, Giggs, in a central position, found Rooney and timed his run to the far post perfectly to collect the return pass and place his shot expertly beyond goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka to register United’s equaliser.
The game, taking on an increasingly physical tone, swung back towards Fulham as the second half began. Two efforts from Radzinski, one a header which hit the bar and a delightful swivel and strike by Simon Davies, ought to have given Fulham the lead.
United could find little urgency or rhythm, with Carrick again anonymous in midfield. In the 63rd minute Davies capitalised on a mistake in United’s defence but struck a powerful shot from distance straight at Van Der Sar.
The squandering of chance after chance surely made Fulham fans nervous, especially when Sir Alex, going all out for victory, sent on Saha for Carrick to give United a back to the 70’s feel, with four attackers and Giggs and Scholes in midfield.
United’s added menace told in the 87th minute, when Ronaldo collected a pass in his own half and ran past four defenders to crash in a shot which deflected off Fulham’s Philippe Cristanval to give the visitors an unlikely lead.
A shocked Fulham went upfield and thought they had earned a penalty when substitute Helguson tumbled in a challenge with Van Der Sar. Referee Peter Walton waved away the home protest and the points were accepted gratefully by a relieved Sir Alex.
TEAM
United: Van Der Sar; Evra (Silvestre 66); Vidic (O’Shea 58); Ferdinand; Ronaldo; Carrick(Saha 66); Scholes; Larsson; Rooney
Subs: Kuszczak; Park
POST SCRIPT
Sir Alex: “Suggesting it was a smash and grab job is putting it mildly.Fulham will feel very aggrieved that they didn’t win the match.I must say that was the most difficult game we have had all season. Sometimes there are games where you get a feeling you would like to come back another day. I felt like that after about two minutes. I could sense it was going to be really hard for us. We didn’t keep possession very well. Our running was poor and the speed of our game was poor.
“We have to thank the goalscorers for digging us out of a hole. And we can look at van der Sar’s performance in the second half as a reason we won the game. In situations like the one we were in, you look for certain players to come to the fore. I was never thinking of settling for a draw. In my experience when you have got players with the ability that we have, you hope they are going to produce something. I tried to keep all the possible goalscorers on the pitch. It gave us a goal threat.”
“I think it is a significant result, particularly scoring late on.
Chris Coleman: On the late penalty claim - “The referee has no excuses, he was in the perfect position. There is only one way to put it and that is that he lost his nerve. Can anybody disagree with me if I say that if that happened at the other end of the pitch, and it’s 1-1, the referee is going to give a penalty?”
