5 Goals In 22 Minutes: Only Manchester United

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ulrik Fredrik also tries and mostly succeeds at blogging daily at Man Utd Musings (http://www.newmanutd.com)

What a remarkable game it was last night.

At half time, we looked dead and hope was drying up fast. Two goals down against a resilient Tottenham.

It’s anybody’s guess at what sort of a hairdryer treatment the lads got from the boss after heading back into the tunnel at half-time.

And what a half-time chat it was.

The Red Devils came out guns ablazing. Five goals in 22 minutes. Only United.

Ronaldo provided the catalyst, the goal that said, “We’re only one back now. All to play for.” A perfect ball from Rooney enabled Carrick to make his run and as he touched his ball to the left, Gomes made contact and a penalty was given.

Whilst the award  of the penalty was deemed controversial by many quarters, the execution of the spot kick itself was class. You could clearly see the immense pressure visible on Cristiano’s face. The matchwinner against Porto definitely felt the heat. He takes a deep breath, eyes closed, gets into in his stride and calmly places the ball right down the middle. One behind, bring it.

About 10 minuts later on 67 minutes, the yet another equalizer came courtesy of United’s heart and soul. The build-up to the goal in midfield was simply exquisite. Ronaldo got hold of the ball in the middle of the park, slides it to Tevez. The Argentinian then links up with Berbatov and plays a neat one two, the Bulgarian releasing his team-mate further upfield. Tevez with the ball at his feet, senses an umarked Wayne Rooney making his run down his left and threads the ball into the path of the Englishman.

The job was far from done. Rooney still had Corluka and Gomes standing between him and glory. Then again, it IS Wazza on the ball. Four quick touches and a strike later, United’s equalizer materialized.

Only a minute later, United managed to complete a dream comeback not witnessed before in a very, very long time. Brilliant play by Evra on the left as he feeds Rooney the ball. Wazza neatly creates some space for himself by using this outside foot to halt the ball and sends in a tantalizing cross into the box for Ronaldo to head the ball home on the stretch. Whoa. You can’t script events like this. It just overwhelms beyond belief.

Three minutes after leading for the first time in the match, it was Ronaldo returning the favour to Rooney, with a floated ball from the right to the latter, completely unmarked. Rooney’s trademark first touch did him well although he could’ve have placed his shot much better as Woodgate managed to get something on the ball as it headed for goal. Power was, however, on Wazza’s side as Woodgate failed to keep it out, gifting a comfortable lead for the home side.

I read that Berbatov was booed as he entered the pitch at the start of the match against Portsmouth in midweek. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of his work, I strongly condemn this stupid act by the foolish fans.

The Bulgarian today fortunately managed to leave a mark on this match a further two minutes after Roon’s second. The boy wonder ONCE AGAIN turned provider and floated in another perfert cross straight to Berbatov’s head. The initial head also could’ve been more clinical but the No. 9 still somehow managed to bundle the ball across the goal line.

And…scene. It’s a wrap. Three points. A boosted morale and momentum back at Old Trafford.