United stays humble after top-drawer victory
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 27, 2009 00:00
MANCHESTER - Manchester United’s magical second half performance sees the Red Devils brush aside Tottenham and regain the top spot in the league. United turn on the style after going two goals down and put in a vintage United performance with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney scoring a pair each
Sir Alex Ferguson refused to accept that the Premier League title race is over after his team moved three points clear at the top of the table thanks to a stunning 5-2 victory over Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The United manager saw his side score five goals in 22 second-half minutes to recover from a 2-0 half-time deficit.
The comeback started when referee Howard Webb judged that Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had tripped Michael Carrick and pointed to the spot. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was left seething at what he felt was a wrong decision.
Even Ferguson felt it had been a fortunate call, although his obvious pleasure at the manner in which his team played thereafter did not extend to him celebrating what would be the 11th English league title of his career."It would have made the title race wide open if we had lost this," said Ferguson.
"We would have been level with Liverpool with a game in hand and these games in hand don't matter to me. The best indication is the points you have at this moment," he said.
Five games to go
"We have five games left, our opponents Liverpool and Chelsea have four, and we are whittling them down one by one. We are in a better position today than we were on Wednesday and we are one goal better off than we were on Wednesday."
"But I don't even think about Liverpool. What we have to remember is how slow we played in the first half and make sure we play at our pace. We will be much better," he said.
Ferguson was also full of praise for Argentine striker Carlos Tevez. "Carlos Tevez was responsible for that energy we got. Once we got the first goal it gave us a fantastic impetus and then we were magnificent," Ferguson told Setanta Sports after bringing the Argentina striker on at halftime.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty and added another goal, with Wayne Rooney also scoring twice. Dimitar Berbatov was the last man on the mark to cancel out the first-half efforts by Darren Bent and Luka Modric in emphatic fashion.
Title United’s to throw away
After such a poor first-half showing, the manner of United's comeback stands them in good stead ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg meeting with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney said a third Premier League title was Manchester United's to throw away after his man-of-match display helped the champions mount a second-half blitz.
The sinking of Spurs meant United reclaimed a three-point lead over Liverpool, who had beaten Hull 3-1 earlier in the day. With the added advantage of a game in hand, United now know that, even if their closest rivals keep winning, 10 points from their final five games will be enough to equal Liverpool's record of 18 English league titles.
"We are in a great position now, we have to make sure we take advantage," said Rooney. "With fives games left it is only ours to throw away," he said.
Rooney insisted that Ferguson had not been angry with his players at the interval. "He just said if we scored one goal we would have a chance of winning the game, and thankfully we did that.
"We know we're in a great position. We're now three points clear with a game in hand and have to make sure we take advantage of that. It's another game gone and we're in a great position. This gives us a lot of belief and confidence going into the mid-week game."
However, for Tottenham, their momentum was abruptly halted by Webb's decision and Redknapp even had a complaint about United's equalizing goal, claiming that the official had been about to award Spurs a free-kick before changing his mind and allowing the home team to attack.
"I thought there was no danger at 2-0," said Redknapp. "I honestly felt there were more goals in the game for us because every time we attacked, we looked dangerous.
"It's difficult to say when you end up letting in five, but the turning point was the penalty. It gave them such a lift, it was a gift that wasn't deserved, a terrible decision," he said.
In prime position
"Then, for the second goal, he was going to give us a free-kick because their right-back (Rafael Da Silva) was all over Modric, he had his whistle to his mouth to blow then said 'play on' and they attacked and scored," Redknapp said. "I'm not saying he is dishonest but he is supposed to be our best referee. If he is the best, on today's performance, I'd hate to see the worst."
The win gave leaders United 77 points, three ahead of second-placed Liverpool who have played a game more. Chelsea stayed third on 71 points with a 1-0 victory at West Ham United.
The United manager saw his side score five goals in 22 second-half minutes to recover from a 2-0 half-time deficit.
The comeback started when referee Howard Webb judged that Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had tripped Michael Carrick and pointed to the spot. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was left seething at what he felt was a wrong decision.
Even Ferguson felt it had been a fortunate call, although his obvious pleasure at the manner in which his team played thereafter did not extend to him celebrating what would be the 11th English league title of his career."It would have made the title race wide open if we had lost this," said Ferguson.
"We would have been level with Liverpool with a game in hand and these games in hand don't matter to me. The best indication is the points you have at this moment," he said.
Five games to go
"We have five games left, our opponents Liverpool and Chelsea have four, and we are whittling them down one by one. We are in a better position today than we were on Wednesday and we are one goal better off than we were on Wednesday."
"But I don't even think about Liverpool. What we have to remember is how slow we played in the first half and make sure we play at our pace. We will be much better," he said.
Ferguson was also full of praise for Argentine striker Carlos Tevez. "Carlos Tevez was responsible for that energy we got. Once we got the first goal it gave us a fantastic impetus and then we were magnificent," Ferguson told Setanta Sports after bringing the Argentina striker on at halftime.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty and added another goal, with Wayne Rooney also scoring twice. Dimitar Berbatov was the last man on the mark to cancel out the first-half efforts by Darren Bent and Luka Modric in emphatic fashion.
Title United’s to throw away
After such a poor first-half showing, the manner of United's comeback stands them in good stead ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg meeting with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney said a third Premier League title was Manchester United's to throw away after his man-of-match display helped the champions mount a second-half blitz.
The sinking of Spurs meant United reclaimed a three-point lead over Liverpool, who had beaten Hull 3-1 earlier in the day. With the added advantage of a game in hand, United now know that, even if their closest rivals keep winning, 10 points from their final five games will be enough to equal Liverpool's record of 18 English league titles.
"We are in a great position now, we have to make sure we take advantage," said Rooney. "With fives games left it is only ours to throw away," he said.
Rooney insisted that Ferguson had not been angry with his players at the interval. "He just said if we scored one goal we would have a chance of winning the game, and thankfully we did that.
"We know we're in a great position. We're now three points clear with a game in hand and have to make sure we take advantage of that. It's another game gone and we're in a great position. This gives us a lot of belief and confidence going into the mid-week game."
However, for Tottenham, their momentum was abruptly halted by Webb's decision and Redknapp even had a complaint about United's equalizing goal, claiming that the official had been about to award Spurs a free-kick before changing his mind and allowing the home team to attack.
"I thought there was no danger at 2-0," said Redknapp. "I honestly felt there were more goals in the game for us because every time we attacked, we looked dangerous.
"It's difficult to say when you end up letting in five, but the turning point was the penalty. It gave them such a lift, it was a gift that wasn't deserved, a terrible decision," he said.
In prime position
"Then, for the second goal, he was going to give us a free-kick because their right-back (Rafael Da Silva) was all over Modric, he had his whistle to his mouth to blow then said 'play on' and they attacked and scored," Redknapp said. "I'm not saying he is dishonest but he is supposed to be our best referee. If he is the best, on today's performance, I'd hate to see the worst."
The win gave leaders United 77 points, three ahead of second-placed Liverpool who have played a game more. Chelsea stayed third on 71 points with a 1-0 victory at West Ham United.