Manchester United-Arsenal: Red Devils Show Credentials of Champions

After a lacklustre first-half performance from Manchester United, the Red Devils were able to turn things around after the interval despite allowing Arsenal to jump ahead.

United’s play was sloppy for much of the half and their only chances of the half fell to Wayne Rooney, who was unlucky not to find the back of the net on several occasions.

But plenty of misguided passes and careless marking nearly allowed Arsenal to take the lead. United could count themselves somewhat lucky to be going into the break with the score still deadlocked, but they were made to pay soon after the restart when Adebayor headed home from close range.

Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick were both guilty of loose defending inside the six-yard box. And moments later it was Rio Ferdinand who almost gifted Arsenal their second goal of the game when his miscued clearance was saved by Van der Sar’s brilliant reflexes.

United soon got their break when William Galas was culpable of hand ball inside his own penalty box. Up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo to slot home the equalizer.

But some confusion at the edge of the penalty area forced the Portuguese winger to take it again. There was no mistake the second time either, as Ronaldo scored his 38th goal of the season.

Carlos Tevez and Anderson were both brought on as United searched for the vital equalizer. Both substitutions provided more attacking play but neither was involved in United’s second goal.

After United had built up a considerable amount of pressure, Evra was fouled outside the penalty area. Ronaldo looked poised to take the free-kick but it was Owen Hargreaves who stepped up and curled the ball into the bottom corner of Lehmann’s goal.

Old Trafford erupted.

Unlike in October when United surrendered their 2-1 lead to Arsenal in the dying minutes, Ferguson’s troops ensured they took another step closer to a second consecutive league title.

Six points ahead of Chelsea, who play Wigan Athletic tomorrow night, the Red Devils have every reason to be confident of securing their tenth Premiership title.

Despite the extended advantage at the top of the league, Rio Ferdinand is remaining cautious.

“The three points, no matter who you play against, are important,” he said. “But there are more games to be played. The title’s not handed out now. We need to win our remaining games and if we can do that we’ll be champions.”

He did, however, reserve praise for his team after their comeback win.

“We showed true grit, determination, and a great team ethic to claw our way back into the game.”

With only four games remaining, it will be undoubtedly be an exciting finale to the season.