[EPL] Man Utd 3-0 Fulham

[Ucup Carrick]

setimpal!!!
giliran Red Scousers minggu depan...

[drivemein]

Manchester United 3 Fulham 0: Unstoppable Wayne Rooney at the double to fire champions back to Premier League summit
-dailymail.co.uk-


Simply the best: Wayne Rooney celebrates

Wayne Rooney took his goal glut to 32 with another fine double to take Manchester United back to the Premier League summit.

Although they wasted a huge number of chances, with Dimitar Berbatov the prime culprit, United did enough to re-establish their dominant position with eight games of the campaign remaining.

Rooney provided a suitably quick-fire response after a goalless first half and after he converted Berbatov's cross seven minutes from time to leave him just 10 adrift of Cristiano Ronaldo's massive total of two years ago, Berbatov ended a frustrating afternoon by finally getting his name on the scoresheet.

It has come to that stage in the season where every round of fixtures bring their own pressure. And, on the occasion chosen to mark Old Trafford's 100th birthday, it was United needing to follow Chelsea and Arsenal, who after initial struggles, had ended up with three points yesterday.

On the face of it, a Fulham side in the middle of a titanic Europa League tie with Juventus would appear to be the perfect opponents.

Yet, as Ferguson pointed out in the build-up, Roy Hodgson has revolutionised life at Craven Cottage and masterminded a three-goal victory over these same opponents in December.

At the time, United were severely weakened by a loss of defenders. With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic back those problems are now at an end.


Roo beauty: Rooney (left) slots home his second goal against Fulham

On this occasion, it was United's attack that misfired. The hosts had plenty of possession and got into the right areas often enough. But at some stage, all their first half attacks broke down.

Only twice could the Fulham defence take complete credit. A collective effort ensured Rooney did not profit when Darren Fletcher elected to square the ball after charging into the box to reach Berbatov's return pass.

Mark Schwarzer denied Rooney later in the half with a fabulous one-handed save after the England man had curled a shot goalwards from 20 yards.


Predator: Rooney nips in to score the first goal

Restored to the starting line-up after missing the midweek demolition of AC Milan, Berbatov had no-one to blame but himself for failing to convert his best chances, both of which were headers.

True, that part of the game is not the Bulgarian's strong point but, after finding space deep inside the Fulham box, he should have done better after being picked out by Antonio Valencia and Nani respectively.

Rooney was grumbling at half-time after being hauled down by Stephen Kelly without winning a penalty. He was all smiles 29 seconds after the restart though.

A scrappy build-up saw Berbatov nod the ball into his strike partner's path. Rooney then fed Nani before advancing into the big hole Fulham's disorientated defence had left. Once Nani delivered the return pass back into exactly the same area, the outcome was inevitable.

With the home side in front, so was the result. Anxiety remained though as long as the wait for a second continued.

Rooney and Berbatov both failed to profit from decent half chances, in the latter man's case an acrobatic volley from Valencia's cross that flew narrowly wide.


Icing on the cake: Dimitar Berbatov (centre) heads in United's third goal

At least they could claim to have got somewhere near the goal, unlike Patrice Evra, who screwed his 25-yard shot so wide it resulted in a Fulham throw.

The value of having Ferdinand and Vidic back in harness was seen as the clock ticked down. Starved of possession and chances, Bobby Zamora had been given little opportunity to press home his England credentials. But when he ran onto a flick from substitute Eric Nevland, Zamora must have felt it was the moment he had waited for.

Instead, after being caught out by the initial move, Vidic darted back and snuffed out the opportunity with a thunderous challenge. For Zamora it was a frustrating afternoon.

It looked like being the same for Berbatov after he failed to convert Ji-sung Park's neat cross.

But after creating yet another goal for Rooney with a neat cut-back seven minutes from time, the £30.75million man finally located the target himself, from Park's cross, to complete a scoreline more in keeping with the one-sided nature of proceedings.

[drivemein]

United 3 Fulham 0: Player ratings
-manchestereveningnews.co.uk-



Van der Sar: Don't think the Dutchman's gloves will need to go to the laundry 6

Neville: Some dozy moments that could have cost Reds but got over them swiftly 6

Ferdinand: Cool as you like at the back and even threw in a decent volley at other end 7

Vidic: Looked shattered late on but he had put in a decent shift 7

Evra: No concerns at back and restricted attacking forays meant relatively subdued afternoon 6

Valencia: One of his quietest games for a while and didn't really cause Fulham any problems 6

Fletcher: Worked hard to get on top of Fulham's midfield who'd kept possession well 7

Carrick: Like his sidekick he kept at it to ensure United finally won midfield battle 7

Nani: A mixed bag from the winger but when he got it right it brought the breakthrough 7

Rooney: Another two clinical efforts and generally all round he unnerved Fulham 9

Berbatov: Two assists and a goal this was one of his best games for Reds 9

Substitutes

Park: (sub Valencia 73) Good assist 6

Fabio: (sub Neville 87)

Not used: Obertan, Diouf, Gill, C Evans, Kuszczak

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland (Greening 62), Baird, Shorey, Gera, Murphy, Hughes, Dempsey (Nevland 72), Zamora, Davies (Duff 45)

Goals:
United: Rooney (46, 83) Berbatov (89)
Fulham:

Bookings:
United: Valencia (43)
Fulham: Murphy (56)

Battle of the bosses: of the Bosses: Had Hodgson had Rooney and Berbatov it might have been different but Fergie held the attacking aces

Referee: Michael Jones - Not a convincing Old Trafford debut. 5

Attendance: 75,207

[drivemein]

Fergie: Ronaldo record on for Rooney
-manchestereveningnews.co.uk-



Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson feels Wayne Rooney can match Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 42 goals in a season after seeing the in-form striker bag a double in the 3-0 win over Fulham.

The Cottagers held United out during a goalless first half but Rooney slotted home from Nani's pass less than 30 seconds after the break before racking up his 32nd goal of the season with six minutes remaining.

Dimitar Berbatov made sure of the points by heading in Park Ji-sung's excellent cross as the Red Devils went back to the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Ferguson told Sky Sports News: "I said a while ago it's impossible for a player to get 42 but he is on 32 and there is a challenge there for him.

"He is capable of scoring in the next eight league games and five possible European games, so he has 13 possible games and you never know, I wouldn't put it beyond him. I was just glad he got to the 30 mark, but we are enjoying his goalscoring."

But Ferguson admitted the visitors had made life difficult for his side.

"I think Fulham with their possession made us work hard and chase around a bit. It was hard to get the ball off them. They have experienced players who are comfortable on the ball.

"We had to try and increase the pace of the game and hurry them up a bit, but the most important thing about that start (Rooney's first goal) was it put their team on the back foot and gave us momentum."

Ferguson was also pleased by the margin of his side's victory given the tight nature of the title race.

"You have to think about goal difference. We are only four goals ahead of Chelsea, I wish it was 14 to be honest, but at least it is in our advantage."

[theater of dream]

Good game good result...

[rondwisan]

Manchester United vs Fulham, Match Statistic
SkySport

[cr7lover]

good game 2nd half and so happy for rooneyyyyyy!!!!
toppppppppp abis ayo lanjutkan scoringnyaaaaa
I hope he breaks CR's record

[ridho_htrk]

yeah!! minggu ini penuh dengan dendam yang terbayar lunas!!

Dendam kekalahan 0-3 dari Milan dibalas tuntas dengan 4 gol tanpa balas midweek lalu, dan kekalahan telak 0-3 akhir tahun lalu dari Fulham dibalas tuntas malam ini dengan skor sama di OT..
Saatnya revenge berlanjut next week kala United menjamu Liverpool.. 3 kali pertandingan terakhir United kalah terus kali ini saatnya, dengan performa yang sedang luar biasa saatnya menghantam the anfield gank dan buat mereka tertunduk.. BRING ON THE SCOUSERS!!

tentang pertandingan hari ini.. no comment, almost perfect play by United... lini belakang rapih, lini tengah juga baik, lini depan Rooney Berba kompak...!! Salute United!!dengan performa terus seperti ini, 4 kali berturut turut juara EPL tinggal menunggu waktu.. we're still the best!!

[theater of dream]

Rooney got 9 because of his goals, Berbatov got 9 because of his game play....

[Genk's007]

Hasil yang bagus
Rooney masih fokus dengan hobbynya buat ngejebol gawang lawan..