Toothless United suffer title setback at Blackburn
Manchester United’s crumbling season took another turn for the worse at Blackburn on Sunday as the champions were held to a 0-0 draw which left Chelsea in pole position to take the title.
|Last Updated: Apr 11, 2010, 09:39 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Blackburn: Manchester United’s crumbling season took another turn for the worse at Blackburn on Sunday as the champions were held to a 0-0 draw which left Chelsea in pole position to take the title.
Just four days after crashing out of the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side gave a toothless display which left them one point behind leaders Chelsea, who have a game in hand against Bolton on Tuesday.
Just two weeks ago United looked strong contenders to win a treble, but now they may have to settle for just the League Cup they lifted in February.
Without the injured Wayne Rooney, United never looked likely to break down a rock-solid Blackburn defence as Dimitar Berbatov and Federico Macheda laboured to fill the void left by the England striker’s absence with an ankle problem.
United’s best chance fell to Antonio Valencia moments before the interval but with just Paul Robinson to beat he saw his shot well saved by the England international.
The inclusion of Macheda was one of six changes made by Ferguson, who recalled the experienced trio of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, while John O’Shea made his first start for five months.
This promised to be a stern test for United, however, considering Rovers had lost just two league fixtures at Ewood Park this season and held Chelsea to a draw recently.
Rovers boss Sam Allardyce might be close friends with Ferguson, to such an extent that the pair spent a day’s racing at Aintree last week when the latter’s horse won, but he was in no mood to do United and their manager any favours here.
United were lacklustre from the start. Berbatov offered little movement in attack while Macheda struggled to get into the game.
Nani appeared to have the beating of the ageing Michel Salgado on the left flank yet United were struggling to get the ball to him.
Berbatov’s body language somehow personified United’s woes. The Bulgarian forward was a picture of frustration, with himself, his colleagues, the game and even the referee.
It was Blackburn who threatened first when Australia’s Vince Grella curled a delightful cross to Christopher Samba, but his downward header was well saved by Edwin Van der Sar at his right hand post.
It took United until the 24th minute to muster a strike on goal and provide Robinson with something to do.
Valencia burst into space on the right but his angled drive was well blocked by the legs of the England international.
Moments later Nani tried his luck from long range but was hopelessly off-target as the visitors’ lethargy continued.
When Berbatov decided to exert himself he created a wonderful chance for Valencia in the 43rd minute but the Ecuador international shot too close to Robinson and wasted a glorious opportunity to hand United a priceless lead.
Whatever Ferguson said at half time seemed to fall on deaf ears. United continued to struggle to find a way through Blackburn’s stubborn and well organised defence and when a slight opening did present itself Ferguson’s men wasted it.
Nani failed to find the unmarked Macheda with no-one between him and Robinson’s goal and the Portugal winger then blazed a free kick off target on the hour mark.
When Berbatov slipped and then lost his boot with just four minutes remaining he looked a beaten man and summed up United’s end to the season.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.