Five Blitz

Michael is delighted to open his competitive goal account for Man Utd

Three games into the Premier League season, it's always hard to ascertain and draw a conclusion of the state of the teams that are playing. The press and common folks were quick to draw conclusions, one moment they were saying that Arsenal were finished even before the season starts and now they are taken as serious contenders. Liverpool were looked upon unfavourably after losing to Spurs but regained back confidence from the crowd when they won their midweek match with a convincing 4-goal score. Similarly, Man Utd looked shaky after their first two games. A 1-0 victory over Birmingham followed by a shocking loss to Burnley raised the confirmation of some critics that United had lost their magic after the departure of the Portuguese wizard.

Man Utd had a 100% win record against Wigan so far and for this match, it seems that Fergie is reverting to the formula that worked against Birmingham. Fletcher got his place back in the center while Vidic was ushered straight back into first although he is not fully fit yet. United looked to be taking the lead in the early part of the game when Fletcher was had close shot on target but it was parried well by Kirkland. United were frustrated countless of times in the first half with the Wigan defence denying them. Wigan had one or two threatening shots too and Foster did well to deal with them. The first looked to be dominated well by United with Fletcher and Scholes bossing the center and distributing the ball well. Nevertheless, the absence of the lethal shot to produce the first goal continues to mount pressure on the players as each minute passes by.

For the second half, United needed to wait until the 56th minute before they could make a breakthrough. New boy Valencia was booed almost every time he got the ball since he’s a former Wigan player. However, he did well in assisting Rooney in that breakthrough goal. A visionary cross by Valencia after his sprint was met by a jumping Rooney who rose above the defenders to knock the ball in past Kirkland. That was Rooney’s 100th goal for Man Utd btw. A century of goals and the fans will definitely look forward for another century of it from Wayne. Wigan nearly threatened to equalize quickly but they failed to do it. That would have been a different game if that had gone in. Not long afterthat, Berbatov was at the center of attention when he lobbed the ball over Kirkland and finished it lethally behind the net as Kirland is left stranded at no man’s land. Rooney added to his goal tally with his superb shot that squeezed through the defence line, to Kirkland’s surprise. Owen was called out of substitutes bench to give Rooney some rest and he too had finally achieved the aim that he is waiting for, to score his first goal in that number 7 shirt. I think it’s a well-taken goal with evidence that he may still have that poaching instinct although the speed is not as fast as he used to be. Nani glided the ball to Owen who then smartly shoots it diagonally to sneak the ball past the reaches of Kirkland. Nani had the final last laugh of the game with the 5th goal with from a beautiful curling free-kick. At that moment, it looked like we don’t really need Ronaldo huh..haha =p

The 5-0 away win against Wigan will definitely be morale boosting but all eyes are on this weekend’s massive titanic clash where United will meet the VERY high-flying Gooners. This is the real test for both teams to see how well they respond to their title chasing credentials. I certainly do hope United will be there to burst Wenger’s bubble.