Showing posts with label premiership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label premiership. Show all posts
  • Review: Manchester United 2-1 Blackburn Venue: Old Trafford

    Time: 17:30 (GMT)

    Manchester United taking on Blackburn Rovers looking to extend their unbeaten run to 15 games since their defeat to Arsenal back in November. It was also the last time United conceded a goal in the premier league.

    Blackburn on the other hand had an uphill task to stay in the league as they are stuggling in the bottom 3. But the good thing is they have played generally well and yet went on to loose. It will be nearly impossible for them to even get a point from OT.

    Sqauds:

    Manchester United:
    Starting XI: Tomasz Kuszczak, Jonny Evans( Nemanja Vidic 64'), Patrice Evra, Rafael da Silva, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Nani(Carlos Tevez 64'), Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes(Ryan Giggs 82'), Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney

    Subs not Used: Ben Foster, Danny Welbeck, Darren Fletcher, Fabio da Silva

    Blackburn Rovers:
    Starting XI: Paul Robinson, Andre Ooijer, Ryan Nelsen, Stephen Warnock, Gael Givet, David Dunn(Tugay 73'), Vincenzo Grella(Benny McCarthy 79'), Morten Gamst Pedersen, Keith Andrews, El-Hadji Diouf(Keith Treacy 83'), Roque Santa Cruz

    Subs not Used: Jason Brown, Aaron Mokoena, Zurab Khizanishvili, Jason Roberts

    It came as a real shock for me when i looked at the team sheet and saw there was no Van der Saar, maybe in the view of the upcoming Champions League match against Inter and the Carling cup final against Spurs, he was rested. Vidic on the bench meant that Johnny Evans would get a chance, i have been really impressed with his performance and it was only fair that he got fair amount of chances to grow as a player.

    The first half was really very gripping to be honest with both the teams creating opportunities to score and scoring as well. It was not as many expected that Blackburn will be put under tremendous pressure and simply give in, no it was not. Blackburn fought very bravely and surged forwards. The first goal came as a result of a brilliant ball by Nani, which Nelson failed to clear in the box and Rooney grabbed the opportunity and scored giving United the lead in the 23rd minute.

    But Manchester United's 14 match clean sheet record came to an end when both Nani and Paul Scholes waited for each other to collect a loose ball , allowing Andre Ooijer to step in and dart forward. Ooijer then slipped a pass to Santa Cruz. With Rio Ferdinand closing in on the South American, there was no need for Tomasz Kuszczak,to dart out. Both United players then committed themselves to a tackle, allowing Santa Cruz to calmly continue his run and tap into an empty net. It was a run that had to end at some point of course. Manchester United scored through Johnny Evans when he headed a Nani corner home but the goal was disallowed for a non-existing foul.

    The second half started brilliantly for the visitors when they created a few chances and were really looking to get all 3 points. United had also made their intentions clear. It was all set for a brilliant half of football. Blackburn came close, very close to scoring and taking the lead around the hour mark when Nelson hit the woodwork and Diouf's shot was saved somehow by Kuzczak. But they will be very sorry they did not score as within minutes United scored...Keith Andrews brought down Evra close to the penalty box and Ronaldo hammered in a shot which Robinson could do nothing about.

    Just after the goal Evans and Nani was substituted and in came Vidic and Carlos Tevez. The departure of Evans might have raised a few concerns before the Inter match as Vidic is suspended. Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo had chances to score towards the end of the game but failed to hit the target and the score read 2-1 to united at the end of the game which meant United have an 8 point lead over Liverpool who play Man City later tonight.

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  • Unstoppable United March to Top... A lot has happened since I last posted anything here and that was in September, almost half-a year back..time just seems to fly. Why I did not post, there are a lot of reasons, but I don’t think I should be writing that, When I last posted United, had lot of injury problems and a very unfair-fixture,lost a couple of games,drew a few, in total a very bad start. Many said, they will not be winning the league this season, and given the start, I had a small doubt myself. But now the tables are turned on its head, those who said we are not going to win the league are writing off all other clubs to winning it, how strange.

    What is even more intresting is the clean sheets we have kept. 13 games without conceding a goal in the league, and most of the matches,we did not have our best defence. There were like 7-8 games Rio did not play, a few in which Evra was missing. But the best thing is that whoever replaced them did really well. Evans and Rafael have really showed what they are capable of. And one has to say that EVDS has been really brilliant.Even though he has been helped by having some brilliant defenders infront of him, but credit has to be given too him,for he made some brilliant saves. Hope he continues till the end of the season. It looks impossible at this point that he will let a goal in, but that also seems a lil unrealistic as well…

    Another good thing that I have to stress upon is that we have been improving in every aspect of our game. There were some games where I feel, United were a little too defensive, trying very hard not to conceed a goal, and that probably made us a bit too cautious. We were not the kind of free-flowing relaxed team and that worried me. But now esp in the game against Fulham(this was the first game I watched since Chelsea where we scored more than 1 goal. And the Chelsea game was brilliant..Men against KG kids..wish we scored more ;)..). What I loved is Berbatov’s goal. It was a move full that probably would have resulted in a goal against any opposition. [Here you can see the move(in pics)]. The game against Fulham, was the game in hand for us. It was important for us to win it as this would mean we would go 5 points clear of 2nd place (surpsingly!!) Liverpool. It is the first time in probably 5 months or so that the top 5 teams have played the same number of matches.

    When everything was going just right for us, some of our opponents have not had a good time at all..Chelsea for instance is in totters..They have sacked Big Phil..The hype, the rumors and all the oohs and ahs when he took over in May or June last year has died out all too soon. It is probably Chelsea’s 5th manager in the same number of years in the form of Guus Hiddink. Well, I am not particulary intrested in whats wrong out there,because everything is!! It was probably just as Sir Alex Ferguson had said even before the season started, when he wrote Chelsea completely off from winning the league..

    At Anfield, Robbie Keane..Ha..Back to Spurs!! LOLZ…Why the hell did they buy him in the first place!! Also they have lost the momentum and are now 5 points behind..And they have not been in the finest of forms as well..In 2009,out of the last 6 games, Liverpool has managed to get 12 points when United has got all 18. Also they have won only 2 of their last 6 games at home. That too at that time when United has won 5 and drawn 1 ie 16 of 18 points..Thats easily covers the 5 points lead United have.

    United are more than favorites to win the League, but they are also in the finals of Carling Cup(which is against Spurs on March 1), Last 16 of champions league and quarter-finals of the FA Cup. It means that United's in the running for doing an impossible task ie to win all 4 cups ie the quadruple..Hope it happens :)

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  • Liverpool 2-1 United Oh dear Oh dear..Its been 4 days since trauma @ Anfield that was probably a reason why i had been sick.. Or was it something else? Eager i was for the biggest battle but i have to say United seemed to be playing by too low a standard than usual. For the first 25 min or so, everything looked great, an early goal, lots of movement on and off the ball, it looked great and i swear i felt we were gonna thrash them. All nerves and tension went right through the window, it was matter of by how much we will won rather than are we going to win or not.

    Such was the intensity of the game in the opening few minutes, i dared not to blink, for i was not wanting to miss anything. Oh no i did not. But slowly we were losing the hold, Edwin Van der Saar nearly messed it up when he made yet another blunder from a corner this time and luckily i think the shot from Kuyt struck his arm and Brown cleared it. I thought i nearly missed a beat there.

    But fate seems to be favoring the Scousers as it has on their previous 2 victories this season, yet another error from VDS and this time most unfortunately, the ball it Brown as VDS tried to clear it (i personally feel he should not have) and made a right mess of it, the ball hit Brown and went in. United were surely guilty of letting their opponents work their wasy abck into the match. Liverpool were clearly the better side from then on.

    I don't know what went wrong or what happened but we never kept the ball for more than a couple of minutes if i remember. We kept losing the ball and at this level it is NOT AT ALL ACCEPTABLE, AT LEAST NOT FROM UNITED.

    The second half commenced and there were a few changes, Carrrick seemed to have injured himself after a tackle with Benayoun( i do not give a damn if the spelling is right or wrong, so dare not point it.) and was replaced by Giggs. Nani was also brought on for Anderson, i did not remember if ever played or not!!

    Well things just was getting worse and worse for us, Liverpool were much much better than us on that day, not like we don't have a squad to beat them, if every United played as much as 50% of their best, we could have given them a sound thrashing any day, any place any time, but it just was not our day.

    To aggravate things, Giggs made one error of not kicking the ball out of play and just waited for it to go out and he lost the possession and Babel scored. Damn him!! they were up 2 goals to one, the FIRST GOAL THAT "THEY" HAVE SCORED AGAINST US FOR QUITE SOME TIME IN THE LEAGUE. They had just a goal to show in the last 8 outings and that was scored by a United Player,Here too, first one for Liverpool was scored by Brown.

    When things could not get any worse, Vidic goes and gets himself booked for the second time in the match resulting in a RED card and to add more problems for Sir Alex. i was glad when it was all over, i just could not watch any more, it was that pathetic a display from us.

    Hope we have our problems sorted out. and by the way what the hell was Rooney doing as a winger? I do not know why, but the midfield never seemed to be the potent threat it used to be..Better sort it out soon... Next up are Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, hope we beat them, that will shut may a idiots out here, laughin at our loss, But its only a matter of time before we dust the problems off and come back strong. But i just hope that it will happen on the 2oth

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  • PREVIEW: LIVERPOOL vs MANCHESTER UNITED
    United will take on Liverpool tomorrow at Anfield for yet another mouth-watering match. United obliviously has had the results in their favor in past few seasons.

    As well as the injury plusses United also have the psychological advantage of a six-match, seven-year unbeaten run at Anfield. United's last Premier League defeat there was back in November 2001. Since then they have won five times and drawn twice.

    Under Rafa Benitez Liverpool have not even managed to score against United at home in four league attempts.

    This is something that Rafa would not be proud of, but it would at the bac of his mind that he never got the better of Ferguson. It will be only adding to the pressure if they do not win this one. Liverpool would be missing the services of Torres and Gerrard who are both out with injuries, but according to Rafa they are recovering well enough to play tomorrow.If the duo does not play, i personally do not think Liverpool will stand much chance.

    Liverpool have now been promoted from being a "one-man army" to a "two-man army" with the team depending very heavily on Gerrard and Torres to win them games. But with both doubtful for the game, i do not know how they will really be much of a threat. Some Liverpool fans are hoping that Robbie Keane will "inspire" them and they may win the game, which looks more unlikely by each passing minute.

    Meanwhile United have their own injury problems, Ronaldo is still out but is expected to be back soon, Hargreaves i am not very sure will be playing or not. Some say he is some say he is not, so it would be better to see for yourselves tomorrow.. But one good news for us would be that Tevez is back earlier than expected as he was harshly sent-off while palying for Argentina against Paraguay in a world cup qualifier match. So he will be fresh. Last season it was Tevez who scored the winning goal at Anfield so it will definitely up his morale and confidence.

    Also it seems certain that Carrick and Giggs return from injury. I will be intresting to see the combination Ferguson uses up-front as all 3 of his strikers are fit and rearing to go no doubt. The spotlight will be of course on United's latest signing Dimitar Berbatov, The Bulgarian will be itching for his debut in front of the Kop. But Ferguson will also have to think about accommodating or disappointing Carlos Tevez or Wayne Rooney.

    It is one game that i personally love to watch, a game that is extremely tough to predict. Am really excited about the game and dying to watch it...

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  • Finally....We have signed Berbatov | City "snatch" Robinho
    Well...finally we signed him. the transfer that we have waited for about 3 months for this news to come. Along with Ronaldo saying he wanted to move out and Berbatov wanting to come in, it gave me enough reasons to read almost all English paper's online editions, blogs, and numerous sites about United. Every day went by with much anticipation and expectation about the deals.

    But now everything has been settled. Ronaldo has agreed to stay at least for one more season. Well staying on Ronaldo, reports have come that he may well be playing for United by the end of this month. This definitely is a great news for us. Ronaldo will still be a key player for us and we hope that he gives us his best.

    Now moving onto the biggest news. Dimitar Berbatov has finally signed for United. But this was not before Manchester City who were taken over by Abu Dhabi United Group who have more funds than Roman Abramovich. City had their bid of about £34.2m for the Bulgarian striker accepted by Spurs but Berbatov reports has it that did not talk to any one from the Blues.

    Berbatov was at Old Trafford talking to David Gill and sir Alex Ferguson. Some have also said that City could have snatched Berbatov away from United with such a huge bid, but it was all proved wrong when Berbatov finally signed for United.

    But another great news for us is that City did manage to snatch a player from right under cheslea's noses. They had the Brazillian Robinho for something in the range of £32m. The player was reported to be going to Stamford Bridge, but at the last minute, City got him and left Chelsea and Peter Kenyon shell shocked. Its been said that had it not been for their clumsy handling of the deal, Chelsea could have had Robinho playing for them.

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  • Somethings i have not written about.. Firstly let me apologize for not writing for sometime now. I was rather unwell.

    In the mean time we managed to beat Portsmouth by a lone goal thanks to Darren Fletcher, who has scored in both of United's matches.

    In another match, this time in Europe we were playing Zenit St. Petersburg for the Super Cup. We should have won this one but we were miles away from the football that the Reds are known for. And as a result we lost the game 2-1. And to add insult to injury Scholes got sent off for picking up his second yellow card of the game when he tried to do a 'Maradona'. Now that he will be missing champions league matches, this doesnt seem to be good news for United.

    With Berbatov deal done and dusted we hope that he settles in quickly and we can play our best side against Liverpool on 13th this month.

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  • United 1-1 Barcodes | Where is Berbatov??? United drew with barcodes at Old Trafford to kick off their season in similar style as they did the last time around except that this time it was a 1-1 draw while last season started off with a 0-0 draw to Reading. Not a great start when all your major rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have won.

    It is one thing that only Chelsea looked of some threat. Arsenal had the lead in the 5th minute but never went for the kill. Liverpool dint deserve to win as they were easily the second best.

    United might have started off well with some crisp passes but it just dint last long enough. Frazier had a great chance to score but his header just met the head of Newcastle goalie Shay Given and went to safety. Frazier had a couple of chances again but Given made 2 more saves to deny the youngster any goals.

    Meanwhile Rooney huffed and puffed but with no avail. He was seriously out of sorts. One minute he was looking great and the very next he was very ordinary.To add insult to injury he went out to wish Newcastle's Argentinians luck when he flew in on Jonas Gutierrez, made a jump-tackle on Coloccini and was later booked for Dissent. Seems that he forgot to read the new 'Respect' thingy. He will have to have a measure of his temper if he has to avoid some early showers this season.

    United's need for strikers was clearly visible. A young, raw and highly inexperienced Frazier Campbell was probably the best except that it was Fletcher who scored. Rooney was out of sorts, very patchy and unlike himself. Has he forgotten his way to goal?? Carlos Tevez had to rush to Argentina as his uncle had died and this made the attacking very fragile. Had it been Tevez instead of Campbell, he would have been applauded for his efforts while every one seems to be pointing fingers at young Campbell. He is still very inexperienced and with time he will only improve so there is no need to be too harsh on the lad.

    The lack of attacking prowess will have only made Berbatov's move to Old Trafford more likely. He was not in the starting XI against 'Boro and was substituted later on and looked good. So far there has been little in the press about the deal but his agent Emil Dantchev has said "I think this will be the most important week,I read Alex Ferguson’s statement that he wants another striker and I hope that this striker is Dimitar Berbatov."

    Newcastle were kept i the game by given who had pulled of quite a few saves(wish he din run out of saves for the rest of season as he seems to have made all out here..lol) but soon they took the lead through Martins who headed in from a corner. Fletcher had failed to track his man, allowing Martins the space required and he din disappoint. But Fletcher sort of made up for that scoring the equalizer. Newcastle were for shortly down to 10 men as Taylor needing attention to a minor knock, and the champions went on the attack.Giggs angled in a ball that Fletcher, reacting superbly, turned past Given.

    As all the fans waited for more goals to come, Newcastle stood firm.Given thwarted Campbell twice. Then the bar rescued Newcastle, as Nemanja Vidic powered in a header. Rooney bent a free-kick wide in the last minute.Someone better get that Berbatov deal done.

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  • Manchester United vs Newcastle United Preview Manchester United will start its title defense against Newcastle United tomorrow at Old Trafford. In the previous season United scored a massive 11 goals against Newcastle of which 5 were from Ronaldo. Now that he is injured and wont be available for next couple of months, a lot will depend on Tevez(who looks exceptionally fit n fresh) and Rooney(who has recovered from the "mysterious virus").

    Sir Alex Ferguson has also told the press that there could be a surprise for them in a couple of days when was asked about the BERBATOV deal for the umpteenth time. Whether or not Berba will be playing for United this sunday is not yet decided but reports have come that he has given Spurs a request for transfer. Spurs would not want a player who wants to play elsewhere so the deal is likely to go through.

    Well back to the game then, Newcastle will mostly be without the services of Micheal Owen who has still not recovered from mumps and also has a calf strain. Keegan's problems are exacerbated by Jonas Gutiérrez still not being registered for the Premier League. The Argentinian winger's former club Real Mallorca are refusing to release his registration documents.The Argentinian Fabricio Coloccini was also still to complete his £10m move.

    But one player who is almost certain to play tomorrow is Wayne Rooney who has made a rapid recovery from the stomach virus he picked up when United played a pre-season friendly in Nigeria.

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  • United close to signing Berba| Spurs told to show proof| Terry's crap Manchester United are close on signing Dimitar Berbatov from Totenham Hotspurs. Spurs have also lodged a formal complaint against United tp the Premier League saying that United are "tapping" Berbatov. Well Levy has gone on to tell the 3 man delegation that United's intrest in Berbatov is "a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference."

    But the 3 men bench has asked Spurs to get some concrete evidence against united within 3 weeks before they dismiss the case. Berbatov has been for long wishing to come to Old Trafford. But the price tag that has been put up on him by Levy has made it difficult for him to make his "dream" move. The Champions League action that he missed @ White Hart Lane has made him consider moving to Old Trafford.

    But seems like Spurs were furious that the 3 men delegation had not given United any warning or found them guilty of "tapping" up Berbatov. But they have forgotten that this is MANCHESTER UNITED not that REAL MADRID who does things like this..there was no way Spurs could have gotten the verdict in their favour..

    Papers report that Levy wants to bend United to their terms making United pay a BRITISH RECORD £32m for Berbatov. That would represent an £18m profit on the player they signed from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 and has scored 23 goals in each of his 2 seasons.

    Now another news that John Terry has said that United have peeked and they wont have another level to go to..and that Chelsea is ready to up the level with some new players.. Joking are you???

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  • Ferguson: we don't need to make signings Sir Alex Ferguson definitely has the confidence in his squad that has been hit with Injuries,viruses and Olympics. He has said that there will be no signings at least for the start of the season(click HERE for the report).

    Adding a striker to give our attacking a bit of boost was what seemed the only thing that could happen in this transfer period(excluding Ronaldo saga). But with Tottenham it was not that easy and has sort of frustrated United though sir Alex has denied this.

    But from the match against Juve(for match report, clik HERE), it was rather certain that SAF had confidence in his younger players and we may well see them getting some quality experience and time on the pitch. Hope they will deliver when the time has come. I am definitely impressed by the Brazillian twins especially Rafael who did do well against Juve. This what SAF had to say about him     “We’re very pleased with his progress and the boy has a great chance. When you bear in mind the fact that he’s not played for a year, it was a very promising debut at Old Trafford.” ( courtesy manutd.com)
    Lets just hope that we do not have a start like the last time around..hoping for the best

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  • Ronaldo: I'm staying at United. Well finally the biggest transfer saga has ended. Ronaldo has finally agreed to stay at United for at least another season. This is the interview he gave to a Portuguese newspaper, Publico (click HERE to read it.)

    He has confirmed it now but i still believe he should have done it just after the Euros. That was probably the right time to show his "loyalty" to the club which has done so much for him. It might be a "dream" for him to play for Real but i think the way this was handled made almost everyone very furious. So there are obvious some patch-up work to be done.

    In his interview he has said that he is guilty of creating all the drama and has apologized. Ya you had to do that else it would have been rather sick to see him booed by United's supporters. It will not be right to do such an act to player who has given his all for United so far(till the end of last season) and hope he continues to.

    He has definitely shut the mouths of Schuster and Calderon who never were tired to talk about Ronaldo. Schuster has also said he respects Ronaldo's decision to stay at United, like he could have said anything. It was a slap on their faces delivered by Ronaldo, they who were confirming his move now have to eat humble pie.

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  • Transfer News: Pique Leaves After Kierran Lee( sold to Oldham Athletic) and Tim Heaton (on loan to Cardiff City), Gerrard Pique also decides to leave the club for his childhood club, Barca. He has signed a 4 -year deal with Barcelona. To read more of the news: Pique Set For Barca Return.

    Pique’s even written a letter to the fans.

    Another news that Jonny Evans could be spending some more time with Sunderland as he could be loaned there for about 6 months. I think it’s a good idea to loan him out to Sunderland for a further six months. It would not be smart of the boss to sell even Evans now that we’ve sold Pique.

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  • Vidic is back!! Sir Alex Ferguson in a press conference told the waiting world the news that every united fan was eager to hear. Yes ma friends Vidic is fit and will play against Blackburn Rovers later toady. Vidic returns has given Ferguson some options. Vidic is another player to return from injury. Recently we had seen Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre.

    With vidic back again in the side it will definitely boost the defense. Also another good news is that Nani is back to training and could be on the bench for the game against Blackburn.

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  • ITS UNITED TITLE TO LOOSE.. Thanks to Wigan Athletic(mainly Steve Bruce) who held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, United have now extended their lead to 5 points. With 4 games left, that 5 point lead somehow looks too tough for chelsea to overcome. but football is a game full of surprises where no one can be sure till the last minute. chelsea still have a chance, a very slim chance of but it will all depend on how UNITED play in their 4 games.

    Chelsea manager Avram Grant has also said that Chelsea can win the title only if they can capitalize on any bad game UNITED have. It will be important for Chelsea to keep winning and keep up the pressure on UNITED hoping that they would make some mistakes.

    Having a lead of 5 points has definitely given the boys in reds and their manager Sir Alex Ferguson some confidence of retaining the title but they are also aware of the fact that the game is not yet over as can be seen from Ferguson's comments saying he is "not ready to count his chickens yet".

    Though the boys in reds feel they can win both the premiership as well as the champions league they do know the importance of each and every point. The next game for United is against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park where United have known to drop points before. I hope that this time we manage to get 3 vital points from Ewood Park. With one eye firmly on the first leg of the Champions league semi-final against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, we can expect Ferguson to "rest some key players" in order to have them fresh for the clash against Barca. it would not be unusual to see Tevez as the lone striker just as in the game against Roma where Sir Alex Ferguson rested Ronaldo and Rooney to get them really fresh and fit for Arsenal.

    But the match every United fan would be keen to watch is Everton vs Chelsea at Goodison Park later tonight. Chelsea will HAVE to win this game if they have to keep the pressure on United who play Blackburn on Saturday. If Chelsea loose and United win on saturday they will be 8 points ahead of Chelsea and possibly out of reach for Chelsea. Chelsea will HAVE TO WIN THE REMAINING 3 MATCHES INCLUDING THE MATCH AT STAMFORD BRIDGE AGAINST UNITED. ALL UNITED WOULD NEED IS TO GET A DRAW AND THEY COULD BE BACK-TO-BACK WINNERS YET AGAIN!!

    What me and every other United fan would be hoping is for United to win back-to-back titles and the champions league title. It is for sure that United is favorites for both these titles but it would be too early to say anything as we all know at this stage, the drama is far from over and i hope there are lot more to look forward. And come the end of season i could be celebrating the double for United.

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