upDate mAncHester uNitEd scheduLe

Tue Jan 20 2009 Derby Country CC (H) 20:00
Sat Jan 24 2009 Tottenham Hotspur FA (H) 17:15
Tue Jan 27 2009 West Bromwich Albion (A) 19:45
Sat Jan 31 2009 Everton (H) 15:00

Mon Feb 02 2009 Everton (H) 20:00
Sun Feb 08 2009 West Ham United (A) 16:00
Tue Feb 17 2009 Fulham (H) 20:00
Sat Feb 21 2009 Blackburn Rovers (H) 17:30
Tue Feb 24 2009 Internazionale UCL (A) 19:45
Sat Feb 28 2009 Portsmouth (H) 15:00

mancHesTer uNited Latest reSuLt ( Jan 17 2009 )

Saturday 17 Jan 2009

Bolton Wanderers (0) 0 vs 1 (0) Manchester United FT
Berbatov 90

Premier League
Kick-off: 15: 00
Att: 26021


Match Report

Dimitar Berbatov's dramatic last-minute header helped Manchester United overtake Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.

Trailing Rafa Benitez's side by two points before kick-off, the champions looked like they had missed an excellent opportunity to hit the summit against a resilient Bolton at the Reebok.

But the Bulgaria striker stooped to head home Carlos Tevez's perfect cross in the final minute to move Sir Alex Ferguson’s team a point clear of their closest rivals.

The victory also saw United equal Chelsea's top-flight record of ten consecutive clean sheets.

After three successive Premier League defeats, Bolton were hoping for a repeat of last season's success at the Reebok when Gary Megson's side triumphed 1-0 - their first home success over their neighbours in nearly 30 years.

But the omens were not good for Wanderers, who have lost seven out of their last eight encounters with the champions and had not scored a goal against anyone since defeating Portsmouth on December 20.

United, without the injured Wayne Rooney after the striker pulled his hamstring in the midweek victory against Wigan, had the opportunity to pile the pressure on Liverpool ahead of their game with Everton on Monday night.

But despite dominating the early exchanges, it was Bolton who nearly broke the deadlock when Fabrice Muamba's 25-yard piledriver forced a finger-tip save from Edwin Van der Sar on 28 minutes.

Kevin Davies then saw his ambitious volley fly wide as Wanderers' confidence visibly grew.

United continued to struggle to create clear-cut chances but Cristiano Ronaldo, the newly-crowned FIFA World Footballer of the Year, finally forced Jussi Jaakelainen into action with a downward header from Darren Fletcher's cross.

The Wanderers goalkeeper then made an even better save from Ronaldo three minutes before half-time when he dived low to his left to turn aside the Portuguese star's free-kick.

Davies went even closer when he headed Jloyd Samuel's cross inches after the break over, before Jaaskelainen again denied Ronaldo when he kept out the winger's thunderous free-kick.

Ferguson threw on the experienced Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs as United searched for a goal, but apart from another Ronaldo free-kick well saved by Jaaskelainen, they could find no way through until Berbatov's vital late contribution.

Trotters boss Gary Megson commented: "I don't know if this result was ominous for the rest of the league, but if anyone finishes above United, they will win it.

"They usually come good in the second half of the season but if you look at what Chelsea have done, they will be equally delighted. That is what good teams do.

"It looked as though we would get something but it hasn't happened."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson added: "Being top is not decisive at this stage, but it is always nice because it is the best place to be.

"We have been playing catch-up in terms of fixtures for a while now. We still have another game in hand against Fulham on February 14.

"Only after that will we have a good idea of where we stand between Liverpool, Chelsea and ourselves."

Bolton Wanderers: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Jlloyd Samuel, Gary Cahill, Gretar Steinsson, Chris Basham, Andrew O'Brien, Fabrice Muamba, Matthew Taylor, Ricardo Gardner (Sebastien Puygrenier 83), Ariza Makukula (Temitope Obadeyi 64), Kevin Davies,

Subs not used: Daniel Shittu, Ebi Smolarek, James Sinclair, Adam Bogdan, Riga Mustapha

Booked: Ariza Makukula 22

Manchester United: Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville, John O'Shea, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Luis de Abreu Anderson (Paul Scholes 69), Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Ryan Giggs 69), Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov,

Subs not used: Danny Welbeck, James Chester, Luis Carlos Nani, Ji-Sung Park, Tomasz Kuszczak

Booked: John O'Shea 74

Attendance: 26021

mancHesTer uNited Latest reSuLt ( Jan 14 2009 )

Wednesday 14 Jan 2009

Manchester United (1) 1 vs 0 (0) Wigan Athletic FT
Rooney 1

Premier League
Kick-off: 20: 00
Att: 73917


Match Report

Never mind the performance, feel the points, would be the way Manchester United viewed this slipshod performance against Wigan at Old Trafford.

The only goal came after 54 seconds but, for much of the game, United were a shadow of the team which beat Chelsea so convincingly on Sunday.

Wigan, who have now lost all eight meetings against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in the Premier League and Carling Cup, were unlucky not to take a point from this latest encounter.

But the result was all that counted in the end with victory moving United two points behind leaders Liverpool.

United will end the week on top of the table if they win at Bolton on Saturday, although they will have to play far better at the Reebok.

Wayne Rooney's early goal was his sixth against Wigan in the last four seasons.

The Latics were caught cold when Dimitar Berbatov's raking pass found Cristiano Ronaldo on the right.

The FIFA World Player of the Year beat Maynor Figueroa on the edge of the box before supplying the low cross which Rooney tapped home from close range in the centre of goal.

Six minutes later though Rooney was replaced by Carlos Tevez after signalling to the United bench that he had a hamstring problem which will keep him sidelined for three weeks.

Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland had to race out of his box midway through the first half to head clear from Ronaldo and United should have added to their tally in the 25th minute.

John O'Shea's innocuous header out of defence saw Tevez steal a march on a lethargic Wigan defence when he ran clear just inside the Latics half.

The Argentinian rounded Kirkland but took the ball too far and, when his shot came in, it was easily blocked by Titus Bramble on the left by-line.

Wigan pressed forward, although they failed to capitalise on slack United defending numerous times.

United went close to scoring a second goal in the 38th minute. Nani's cross from the right side of the Wigan penalty area was missed by both Ronaldo and Tevez, and when Paul Scholes fired in an shot from 12 yards, it was blocked by Mario Melchiot.

Wigan forced the pace after the interval and it took a fine save by United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar after 67 minutes to keep out a powerful 20-yard shot from Figueroa but in the end Rooney's early goal proved to be decisive.

Manchester United: Edwin van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Carlos Nani (Luis de Abreu Anderson 59), Paul Scholes (Darren Fletcher 85), Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney (Carlos Tevez 8), Dimitar Berbatov,

Subs not used: Tomasz Kuszczak, Ji-Sung Park, Danny Welbeck, Gary Neville

Wigan Athletic: Chris Kirkland, Titus Bramble, Maynor Figueroa, Mario Melchiot, Paul Scharner, Ryan Taylor (Daniel De Ridder 81), Wilson Roberto Palacios, Lee Cattermole (Olivier Kapo 88), Luis Antonio Valencia, Emile Heskey, Amr Zaki (Henri Camara 75),

Subs not used: Erik Edman, Richard Kingson, Emmerson Boyce, Michael Brown

Booked: Titus Bramble 49, Amr Zaki 54, Paul Scharner 52

Attendance: 73917