3 points grind

Last-minute man Carlos does it again !

Man Utd returns to Premiership action with a trip to the Britannia Stadium to face off with Stoke City. Although Stoke was mauled 5-0 at Old Trafford, United knew that playing away would be a different story. Previous team have found it suffocating to play against Stoke at their own turf. There was also a question whether the Man Utd squad was fatigued after the trip to Japan. It was not good news for Fergie at the start when Ferdinand and Berbatov had to pull out last minute. So, Evans replaces Rio while Tevez would start at the first eleven.

The match was intense with lots of competitive challenges and tackles. Rooney and Ronaldo were very very fortunate not to get dismissed for some really uncalled for situations. Rooney was seen trying to attempt to elbow while Ronaldo attempted to kick out at his opponent in frustration. Apparently nothing happened to them coz the referee didn't see it. The match was held in a deadlock for over 80 minutes or so. Both goalkeepers performed well in keeping out the shots. Fergie boldly replaced John O'Shea with Berbatov in the 64th minute, putting Giggs at left back while Rooney takes the right wing and Ronaldo on the left.

Stoke had the worse moment in having a man reduced when Wilkinson was dismissed for his second yellow card offence in the 72nd minute. With a numerical advantage, they should really go for a kill but it was not until the 83rd minute that Fergie's bold substitution produces the fruits. Berbatov latched onto Neville's cross. He appeared to lost his balance but once again, his brilliant technique gave him enough time to drift a ball across to Tevez to smash it at point blank. It was a relief for the team as they only need to hold on to that lead for another 10 minutes and the three points would be theirs. At the end of the whistle, it was a hard-earned 3 points in the bank thanks to Carlos, who saved United at the most crucial moment once again.

Anyways, one hilarious thing that happened in the match was that Ricardo Fuller kept dropping his boots coz they were not tied properly. He had to go to the sidelines and tie them like a little boy!..haha..the first time that happened was quite embarrassing. He was charging down at the United box when one of his boots flew away. As he wanna cut in, he slipped and tumbled down like a clown much to the delight of Evans who scooped up the ball and clear it away..lol. Well, if it's one time that the boots flew out, it's forgivable. But three times?? Lmao...