Red News - 21 april
I "Red News" ger vi er senaste nytt ifrån klubben.
Poängtapp mot Magpies
Manchester United tappade, något oväntat, poäng borta mot Newcastle. Offensiven funkade inte riktigt trots två jättechanser av Chicharito & Giggs. ”Magpies” stod upp bra och i slutändan var ett oavgjort resultat rättvist. Kommentarer efter matchen:
Sir Alex: "I'm confident we'll be fine now as that was a hard one to get over. At this stage of the season, we're in a better position than we were on Saturday as there's one less game and five games left.
I think you've got to look at Chelsea also and how they respond to three home games in a row. There's two important games coming up - obviously Arsenal away and Chelsea at home. But we've got a better goal difference than Chelsea and I think we're in a better position today.
We did that tonight (reshuffled the pack) as we tried our best to freshen up. We did the best we could asit was a tiring pitch at Wembley, a slow pitch that can drag players down a little bit. But, in fairness, we didn't show signs of that - we were energetic and our players thrived on the challenge, which is good coming at this stage of the season.
It was a clear penalty but it's an insult because he's booked him (regarding the possible penalty in the final minutes of the game). The referee had a good game tonight. I thought he had an excellent game but he lets himself down by booking the player. If he's not giving the penalty, fine, but to book him is an insult. I saw it myself and there was definitely contact, no doubt about that.
It was a great chance (for Ryan) but actually the defender got a touch on it, just a fraction, to put him off a little bit. In the first 20 minutes, Newcastle played really well and full marks to them. They did exceptionally well in the first 20 minutes but, the longer the game went on, once we got to half-time I was sure we'd improve.
We did really well in the second half - the passing was terrific and we got into great positions but just didn't trouble the keeper and that was the only thing.
It's difficult to say (if Newcastle deserved a point). I suppose the way Newcastle fought and challenged they probably feel they deserve a point. But, apart from the first 20 minutes, we were more or less in control for the remainder of the game."
Carrick: "I thought it was a penalty. I've (since) seen an angle on the TV and there is contact there (regarding the possible penalty in the final minutes of the game). I was screaming for a penalty and I thought it was (going to be) another late goal for us. Obviously it's disappointing it wasn't given.
We throught we played well enough in the second half to score a goal at least. Giggsy had a chance or two and Chicha had the penalty shout. We came here to win the game so we're obviously disappointed. At the moment the draw feels more like two points dropped [than one gained]. But we'll have to take it and move on.
We're still in a good position and Saturday's game (against Everton, at Old Trafford) will be another big one for us."
Arsenal tappade ledning igen, Chelsea närmar sig
Arsenal tappade 3-1 ledning borta mot Spurs i ett galet derby. Tom Huddlestone reducerade strax före paus och van der Vaart kvitterade på straff med ungefär 20 minuter kvar att spela. Tidigare hade Theo Walcott gjort 0-1, van der Vaart kvitterat någon minut senare, Samir Nasri gjort 1-2, och Robin van Persie nätat igen. Galen match som sagt och ”Gunners” tappar poäng igen. 1 vinst på de 6 senaste, ingen bra form kan vi alltså konstatera. Ligaguldet sitter just nu på ett flyg till Manchester, och om allt går som planerat kommer planet att nå sin destination. På med bältet, snart landar vi.
Chelsea tog en ny seger, den här gången hemma mot Birmingham, och har klivit upp på en andraplats. Malouda (2) & Kalou nätade för Chelsea, Sebastian Larsson tröstmålade från 11 meter (straff).
Skador & avstängningar
Paul Scholes missar matcherna mot Everton (hemma) & Arsenal (borta) pga avstängning.
Rafael förväntades delta mot Newcastle men så blev inte fallet. Kanske är han tillgänglig mot Everton nu på lördag.
Anders Lindegaard ska finnas tillgänglig mot Everton på lördag.
Darren Fletcher är fortsatt sjuk och enligt ”Physioroom” ska han vara tillbaka den 1 maj.
Owen Hargreaves missar resten av säsongen.
Dimitar Berbatov tvingades stå över matchen i tisdags, och är osäker inför mötet med Everton på lördag.
Övrigt
Ynglingarna tog sig till final efter klara 4-0 hemma mot Chelsea i semfinalen av FA Youth Cup. Ravel Morrison & William Keane (3) gjorde målen. I finalen vänter Sheffield United i ett dubbelmöte. Första matchen spelas den 17 maj på Bramall Lane och returen spelas den 23 maj, då på Old Trafford.
