Manchester United showed great spirit last night in coming back from being 3-1 down to collect a point at 3-3.
With Igor Akinfeev putting in another superb performance, United were left to wait until the dying minutes before sealing their place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
A big talking point of the match came just after the restart and two minutes after CSKA made it 2-1, when Darren Fletcher was tripped by goalscorer Berezutsky in the box. It was a clear foul but the referee opted to book Fletch for diving!
Fletcher missed out on last year’s Champions League final after the referee wrongly dished out a red card in our 3-1 victory over Arsenal last season at the Emirates. He’s hoping this season he will have better luck with cards!
“It’s a penalty,” Fletcher said after the match. “I turned in the box and the lad just took my feet. I didn’t try to fall, he just swept me. When the referee blew his whistle I thought, great we’ve got a penalty and then he started walking towards me with a yellow card – I couldn’t believe it. Hopefully my luck will change in the latter stages!”
More than luck the standard of refereeing needs to change!! And some sort of action or stick for the referee who frequently gets decisions wrong..more than what is currently in implementation..Video aids for the refs!
dont worry fletch.Things level themselves out.you were fortunate not to concede one against Arsenal.Just like you were unfortunately sent off in last years semis something good will happen this year(maybe a winning goal in the Champions League final)Football is a great leveller.so dont worry.
i didnt wacth the game can someday please analyse it for me please!!
For me it is just enough to see the game Chelsea – Barcelona….referee s are corrupted. We need video on the game. All that bullshit about fluid of the game it is a crap. And video is cheapper, so clubs can get more money.
Next match is home to Besiktas. If we’re winning all Fletch has to do is handle the ball towards the end of the game. Another yellow and he’ll miss the final group game against Wolfsburg. I know it’s very unsportsmanlike but then yesterday’s yellow card was very unfair on both the lad and the team.
@sam the kenyan red
CSKA took the lead in the 25th min after Alan Dzagoev scored from a very tight angle.VDS should have done better.However before that United should have scored atleast 3 with owen guilty of missing a few which he should have scored by his standards.4 minutes after CSKA scored valencia’s cross was flicked on to Owen by Nani and he scored from 10 yards.2 minutes later CSKA took the lead after more disastrous defending by us when Krasic was given lot of space and he rounded VDS and scored.2 minutes into the 2nd half we more shocking defending from a set piece allowed vasily berezutski to head home unmarked at the far post.
5 minutes later United were denied a clear peno after fletch was fouled in the box and he was ridiculously booked.Then Wazza came on and the mood inside the stadium changed.Obertan and Evra also came on and combined well down the left.We created loads of chances.Akinfeev made some cracking saves from point blank range to deny rooney and keep out a scholesy free kick.Kiko then hit the bar with a fantastic header. but the pressure was too much for CSKA and they conceeded in the 84th min as nevilles free kick was headed in by scholesy.in the 92nd min valencia’s shot was going wide but it took a horrible deflection and wrong footed akinfeev.it was the luck we deserved for creating so many chances in the 2nd half.
Overall.
1. Our defending was disastrous.
2 CSKA’s counter attacking was brilliant.Krasic and Dzagoev in particular
3.The never say die spirit in the team was there to see.
4.Akinfeev is a great goalkeeper and would be a great addition to our squad.
5. Wayne Rooney has the ability to change the atmosphere in the stadium and lift the players around him.
6. Macheda is far from the finished article
@aig alex is god
thanks mate you are far more better analyser than the so called jurnos in the tabloids..cheers mate only ONE word PRICELESS!!
after watching the highlights five things ive made up…….
1- fergi should sign dzagoev/akinfeev up..
2- vidic should step in and sort our defence..
3- macheda should be given more time..
4- valencia will have more impact than nani(oops he already have!!)
5- euro refs are same with english ones(shit)
7. Actually he’s a shite left winger
@haakon
what do you mean was macheda sloppy??
@sam the kenyan red
no mate.haakon means kiko has not completely developed yet which is obvious.he is just 18 and has long long way to go.maybe we will see a completely developed kiko in anotehr 3-4 years.he needs more games like this at the top level
and
Thanks.I just tried my best.glad you liked reading it.
Kiki did okay as a striker, but his movement and positioning is poor. He was often found in offside (both on Michaels goal and another chance Michael had). On the left wing he was clueless. He had an exceptional poor touch, lost the ball to a CSKA player and then ran up and stamped on the russians feet. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Should’ve been a straight red card.
Who the heck does he think he is?
I couldn’t believe that Sir Alex stuck on Macheda on the left wing instead of keeping Nani there. Nani needs to get a few matches on the trot, need some confidence. He undoubtedly has the talent but he confidence to succeed! Looks like Nani is on his way out, especially after Obertans nice display of simple and effective football.
Brilliant summary for Sam the Kenyan, AIG, caught the key points and flavour beautifully. I agree with the criticisms of Kiko, but he also did some good things, and could have scored twice, one a swerving shot, the other the header which hit the post. It’s clear he never gives up, even when things aren’t going well, which is an excellent quality. I thought he improved through the evening, although his stamp on this opponent was awful.
You won’t see the press making a big deal about Fletcher being wrongly booked. If it was anyone else though….
Feltch needs to stay away from black cats and ladders lol.
about akinfeev, lads – he was brilliant, but…yes there is but
his refusal to pick up a cross from which scholesy scored reminded me on foster – i don’t want a limited keeper on here…i don’t want another foster – great shot stopper but terrible at crosses
i’m not saying akinfeev is like him, nor that he’s terible in any aspect of the game but i think we should keep an eye on his dealings with the crosses
coz it’s important for a keeper in EPL to know when to pick up a cross , when to punch it, when to stay on the line
we do not want another reina ,who again fucked up for the fulham’s 2nd goal ( he fucked up against lyon too, for that equalizer )- we need another VDS
@CROoney
There’s not many top class keepers about but i do rate the kid at athletico madrid.
willi the red nutt
well that’s why i say we go for antoher VDS – well know , established and respected name – buffon
although he did say he would never leave juve for us – it would be like a step down according to him
fletcher is quality! unlucky last nite he is the most honest footballer there is and gets booked when he should have gotten a penaty… saw on sky sports that de ref had given 17 yellows and 3 reds in three CL games? cant be right can it? also i thought obertan played well when he came on and linked up well with evra to give us a better attack from both sides and not just through valencia and neville, i think their intro was key to our comeback
A point that is never brought up is that Valencia is hopelessly one footed and at times predictable. (Take the ball all the way to the touch line and try to cross if not back to the wing back)
he is undoubtedly a good player with his pace, direct play and his thunderous right boot but he must get comfortable on his left too, to add that spark and unpredictability that goes with being a United class winger (and I am not just saying this because of ronny)
Still he is still a young man, we will have to see what happens and he has performed more consistently that any other winger for United this season ex. Giggsie of course. but i think he needs to add that extra dimension to his game to really flourish at the best club in the world
@ aig alex is god
i agree with the last four of your points, but our defence wasnt disasterous. I know conceding 3 goals looks bad, but CSKA were very good, every time they broke they looked dangerous. I thought the back 4 were ok, gary neville and valencia did well down right 2nd half, even when valencia had 2/3 men on him. I thought Evans was solid, and id like to see him and vida at CB vs the rentboys, with brown at rb.
Macheda was getting stick in stands, but after watchin the game on tv he did ok, esp 1st half…
And Rooney def lifted the place, untill he came on it was very quiet, and still wasnt that loud till last 10 mins…
I’ve never seen a decision like that in my life – it took me ages to get to sleep last night I was so enraged.
The only way to (hopefully) clamp down on these ‘human errors’ is to ban the referee responsible, unpaid for three – six months.
Unless of course, it’s an incident in which they are so far behind play they can’t get a clear view – that being said, then surely they would be deemed unfit.
This fucking prick could have cost Sir Alex his job last night if circumstances were different and therefore, why not have officials facing the same peril?
Mistakes are mistakes, but just how many is one person allowed to get away with?
European refs maybe as fit as butchers dogs but fook me, they can make shite decisions too.
Krasic looks a decent player too, very composed on the ball in tight spaces, reminded me of Nedved in both looks and style.
Kiko was fucking class.. He held on to the ball went he had too and didnt headless chicken like Nani did. Yeah he was caught offside in the start but I thought he got better as the game progressed.
He’s probably the best 18 year old monster forward I’ve seen, bar Rooney in his heyday.
And the sooner we shoot Nani in the head the better.
GreenRed – I think it is a common theme on here actually mate , Valencia’s one footedness. As I said last night it was interesting to see them warming up at OT last night. EVERY SINGLE time the ball came to Valencia he kicked it with his left. Fergie has obviously told him that this needs some working on.
Fletch: Hopefully you’ll play better next game than you did last night.
Wes Brown not good at all. Remember when he totally quit on the first goal??? He easily could’ve reached it if he had run at all.
Macheda is unreal. I can’t believe how strong he is at 18
Giggsy doesn’t have a right leg,it’s not stopped him.
Then again,he is Ryan Giggs and he can use the outside of his left better than most right-footers can use their right.
What impresses me most about Valencia- not his overall body strength and pace, nor his humble goal scoring celebrations but his ability to track back and win the ball back.
The ref was shocking. Dishing out cards like it was Christmas already. And he was only standing a couple metres behind Fletcher when he got brought down.
The Suits with the power say video ‘technology’ will ruin the flow of the game yada yada yada; but a genuine penalty should be a penalty. A ball that crosses the line should be a goal. Fast-breaking forwards a la Henry in his heyday were constantly penalised by clumsy, overweight and myopic linesmen who couldn’t keep up with him. That is unfair. With this much money in the game and the stakes increasingly high, surely there is a solution.
I reckon they can put the 4th official in-charge of a video replay booth and be in communication with the referee. If the referee is unsure, the 4th official can view the incident and confirm what the millions of us on TV also see. It only takes 10 seconds and play CAN GO ON in the meantime.. if the the player was rightly offside etc, then the goal doesn’t stand. Everybody’s happy.
We need to buy 1 or 2 world class players and period. What is make me nervous, is are we playing as much as we need or we dont play good enough? This year will show…
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i suggest robot refs
When you have players like Valencia who are willing to work hard and try to get back lost balls and run the field then thats 100% commitment and if you had 11 guys on the pitch showing that determination then 1 you cannot ask for more and 2 more games would be won…