EPL: Berbatov's Brace Inspires Stunning Second-Half Turnaround At Bloomfield Rd

It was the stuff of the movies on Tuesday evening when Ian Holloway’s Tangerines took on a still unbeaten Manchester United in the Premier League.

The venue was Bloomfield Road, and each and every one of the 15,000-odd strong crowd present witnessed a true Hollywood-esque classic unfold in front of their eyes.

Manchester United, unbeaten in their last 27 games, were the favourites, even after a dismal showing away from home this season where the Red Devils have managed to get only two wins out of a possible 10.

The challengers were Blackpool FC, who are quite the revelation of this season. The Tangerines’ form has been sporadic throughout. They’ve been squashed 6-0 and 4-0 by Arsenal and Chelsea, respectively, but they’ve also dished out results such as completing the double over Liverpool to keep them in a respectable 12th position in the Premier League.

The pre-match excitement was, if I may, tangible. The home team knew that they had it in them to get one over the table-toppers, and Manchester United, not too far behind on the scales of erratic-ism, also knew the fact only too well.

Liverpool target Charlie Adam was the crowd favourite as the match began and earned his praises as he scurried down the midfield exhibiting a delightful range of passes. But the Scotsman also earned the ire of fellow countryman Sir Alex Ferguson in the 13th minute when he accidentally collided with Patrice Evra, drawing blood from the Frenchman’s face.

Wayne Rooney, who was playing on the left flank in a 4-3-3 formation, took over the defensive duties as his teammate received treatment on the sidelines and conceded a corner in the process. Charlie Adam delivered an accurate cross to the back post, which was met by former United boy Craig Cathcart.

Cathcart, who was totally unmarked, got a free header from six yards, which found the back of the net. It was the young Irishman’s first Premier league goal after signing for Blackpool last summer.

Charlie Adam continued to trouble United with his crosses, one of which almost had Nemanja Vidic heading in an own-goal, but for the reflexes of Edwin van der Sar. Incidentally, Vidic’s last eight goals were all headers.

As the first half-hour passed, Sir Alex Ferguson reverted to United’s traditional 4-4-2 formation, with Rooney filling in the hole behind Dimitar Berbatov. The move resulted in Blackpool keeper Richard Kingson making his first save of the match in the 34th minute when Darren Gibson tried one of his typical long-rangers.

Blackpool survived a couple more frights when Rafael out-jumped defender Ian Evatt, with his powerless header finding Kingson. Berbatov then showcased some fantastic skill to pluck out the ball from the air, but his resulting shot was equally bad.

Finally, it was Blackpool who scored two minutes from the break from yet another Charlie Adam set-piece. Adam’s corner was flicked on by Nani to the far post, and an unmarked DJ Campbell was there to meet it and fire a bullet header past van der Sar.

Two corners, two free headers, two goals. United went into the interval shell-shocked and trailing 2-0 thanks to a non-existent defence and midfield.

The second half saw the introduction of a new character into the plot. Well, not new per se, as he’s been around for 21 years now. Ryan Giggs was given the role of The Penetrator, and there was a visible shift in play as United began to look more organized.

However, this wasn’t before United survived a scare when Rafael shoved Luke Varney to the ground in the box, but referee Peter Walton saw no malice and waved play-on. Replays suggested United were lucky.

United had their first attempt of the half after the hour mark when Rooney laid a ball onto the path of Paul Scholes who powered a shot goal-wards, but Kingson was equal to it.

There was another change in the plot in the 66th minute when Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was brought on for the ineffective Wayne Rooney. It was then that the momentum truly shifted.

Chicharito immediately gave the home crowd a scare when he broke the offside trap to find himself in a one-on-one with Kingson, but his shot only found the Ghanaian keeper’s legs.

United piled forward with Giggs playing the orchestrator and finally broke Blackpool’s resistance in the 72nd minute. Nani’s clever pass from the right played in Fletcher whose resulting low, square cross just needed a tap-in from Berbatov.

Ian Holloway’s men were starting to run out of steam and just two minutes later, United were level. Hernandez again beat the offside trap as he collected Giggs' perfect long pass. The Mexican’s instant control and slick finishing resulted in a fine equalizer.

The goal was to be ensued by more drama as Rafael clashed heads with substitute Marlon Harewood and had to be stretchered off after a few minutes delay.

The Tangerines’ tank was empty by the time Anderson was brought on for Rafael, with Fletcher covering as right-back, as Sir Alex Ferguson demanded his troops to go for the kill.

As the game entered its climax, United sealed their sensational comeback when Scholes’ radar found Berbatov who displayed some wonderful control and dribbling ability before coolly steering a left-footer past Kingson.

Blackpool had a whopping 10 minutes of added time to get a deserved point out of a match they played so well in. But there was clearly no juice left in the Tangerines, as United held on to a season-defining three points.

The match was a thorough exhibition of United’s "Never Say Die" attitude. They may not have the panache and the flair of Arsenal’s "Invincibles", but their indomitable spirit and immense desire to win pushes them five points clear of the second-placed Gunners in the league.

Truly, the stuff of champions!