Checking out United's Super Cup Loss
Friday, 29 August 08, 06:16 PM · Comments(0)
It took eight years for United to capture the Champions League hardware again after their 1999 triumph, but the new title brought a similar result in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday when the Reds took on UEFA Cup winners FC Zenit St. Petersburg on Friday in Monaco.
The Russians were the more quality side when viewing the entire 90 minutes and deserved their 2-1 victory against a very strong United side. A beautiful flick-on off a corner at the end of the first half set up the first goal, and Danny’s daring run and pin-point accuracy with Rio Ferdinand right on him brought the Russians a 2-0 lead in the second half that could have been more.
Zenit continually broke down the United defense on the wings in the first half, and Edwin van der Sar did well to keep out a point-blank volley on a free kick. Zenit had opportunities throughout the second period as well, with Andrei Arshavin coming on in the second half to produce countless opportunities on the left wing.
For United, they were porous defensively (Gary Neville did not look impressive), and had little room on the flank to let Evra go – a strategy that worked so well against Portsmouth on Monday. Wayne Rooney again disappeared at times and bumbled a wonderful opportunity in the box after a dynamic run down the right wing by Carlos Tevez.
Tevez was a maniac throughout the match as he demanded that ball and rarely lost it. And when Zenit did steal it from him, he must have recovered it within the next two seconds at least four or five times.
Read the rest at this link:
http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m8d29-Manchester-United-falls-in-Super-Cup
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