Other than goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who was named captain by Sir Alex Ferguson, United's line up was very young. Johnny Evans comes in for Rio, and John O'Shea was placed at right back. Manucho, Rafael da Silva, Danny Wellbeck, and Darron Gibson were all on the bench waiting for their chance to shine on top level football.
Before the match, the pressure was all on United. Having lost to Arsenal in the previous week, the Red Devils HAD to win if they want to keep their chance on getting a hat-trick of titles. Stoke's secret weapon was Rory Delap's long throws which has caused problems for many teams this season.
United tried to put pressure early on. And it paid off right away! Carlos Tevez was fouled outside of the area by Abdoulaye Faye. Perfect spot and nice angle for Cristiano Ronaldo. It was set up perfectly for him to get his 100th goal for Manchester United. Typical strike from the young man, dipping, swerving, and gaining pace in the air. Sorensen could have done better, though. He was late to react and was just perplexed by Ronaldo's reputation on his freekicks. Four minutes into the match, the home side was 1-0 up.
In the 12th minute, Delap got his chance to show United the danger of his throw-ins. He had Stretford End behind him booing. Van der Sar stayed on his line - not like most goalkeepers - perhaps to see just how dangerous it really is. Stoke almost got lucky with it; O'Shea jumped and got his head to the ball, only to swirl it to the direction of his own goal. Fortunately, van der Sar was able to tip it away. Throughout the match, Delap had a couple more chances to put the ball into the area from the touchline, and van der Sar went up outside the near post for those times.
United's first half performance was steady, getting 75% of possession and always trying to put pressure. Stoke's defense was hard to break and United weren't as fast as some would like. With 1 minute added to the first half, it looked like both teams were settling with 1-0 going into the break. At the dying seconds, though, Michael Carrick broke through the defense and hit an unstoppable shot at Sorensen's near post. Half time, 2-0 for the home team who dominated the entire half; looked like the game was done.
The second half whistle went off and United attacked Stretford End right away. The fans behind the goal were sucking the ball into the net, as usual. Right at the start of the last 45 minutes, Carlos Tevez crossed from the right finding Dimitar Berbatov who controlled the ball and turned, and put a shot in the near post. Great skill from the Bulgarian, no chance for the goalkeeper. United got 1 at the beginning of the match, another at the end of the first half, one more at the start of the second. All crucial times to score the goals. The match was obviously over by then.
Having comfortable lead in the game, Sir Alex decided to give his young stars a chance. Darron Gibson and Danny Wellbeck were brought in replacing Ji Sung Park and Darren Fletcher with half an hour to go. Announcing his arrival at the Premier League, 17-year-old striker Wellbeck unleashed a screamer to the top corner. Sorensen had no chance. What a way to get his first goal!
Stoke's fans had been most vocal of other away fans. Singing "stand up if you beat Arsenal" from the start of the match, cheering loudly every time Delap gets a throw-in on his favorite position, and booing Ronaldo every touch he gets. Will they ever learn, though, that booing Ronaldo never does good for the opposition team? Ronaldo showed his class once again, with another free kick. This time fooling Sorensen, who was expecting another swirling ball, Ron curled it into the bottom of the far post. 101 goals for the man so far, and he's still 23!
United's line up: Van der Sar; O'Shea, Vidic, Evans, Evra; Ronaldo, Fletcher (Gibson 63), Carrick, Park (Wellbeck 63); Tevez (Manucho 75), Berbatov.
Some news that makes things even better, Arsenal lost 0-2 to Aston Villa, at home! And Frazier Campbell, on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, scored against Fulham.
Full report on ManUtd.com
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