Tuesday 31 May 2011

From Manchester With Love, Part 1



Similar to our former group of posts “From London With Love”, this series of articles provides weekly coverage of what is going on in the land of our next UEFA Champions League rival and co-finalist, Manchester United. Every week, guest writer (and a friend of our own writer, Hady) Hasan Noureldin, who happens to be an avid Liverpool and English Premier League fan, will be covering what’s happening in the stadium of dreams – Old Trafford – in Manchester.

From match details to internal club and transfer issues, this is a chance to look at the upcoming encounter from a neutral’s point of view through a slightly sarcastic lens. Manchester United have showed a solid performance against Chelsea and managed to win in a thrilling game. Continue on for a full review of their latest match here on your number one source for all Barça-related issues.

It was just 35 seconds… 35 seconds and Manchester United were on course to their record-breaking 19th Premier League title. All of the talk of them being not a “vintage United side” was put to rest as soon as the whistle blew to signal the start of the game. It was United’s best performance of the season, one of the best performances of the season by any team so far.

Chelsea were not up to pace -yes, that should be said- but it was the high pressure of Man Utd that created an air of uncertainty for the Chelsea backline. They were fantastic in every department, and the only blemish on a great day was conceding a goal, a goal that put United under pressure, but even then they continued to create chance after chance through counterattacks. They could and should have been 4-0 up before Chelsea even attempted to get something out of the match.

Park was at his industrious best, competing from the left hand side and proving to be a handful, Valencia went past Ashley Cole more than the latter had cheated on his ex-wife. Hernandez could have bagged a hat-trick, Rooney had chances to score as well. Out there on the pitch, there wasn’t a single player who didn’t perform well, from the defense to offense, it was perfect.

United have all but sealed the title, needing 1 point from their last 2 games to win it. This would give Fergie the chance to rest some players before the final, and it will hopefully be worth the wait. Barcelona will be confident enough to surpass them, but it depends hugely on the Red Devils. If they reproduce the same performance they had against Chelsea, we will be in for a cracking game.

Hady’s question to the readers: After this great game by Manchester, are you afraid of any surprises that United may have in store for Barça? And what do you think of their manager’s latest words in which he said that he’ll be able to harm Barça in the UCL final? Personally, I think we’re in for a very challenging game with a slight number of goals due to the fear of counter attacks on both sides, but, as always . . .

. . .IN PEP WE TRUST!

Please share your opinion in the comments section and remember to be respectful of others’ points of view.

Photo: Getty Images

Statistics: 11-05-2011







Messi31117352
David Villa1831022
Pedro1344021
Iniesta81009
Bojan50106
Keita21205
Xavi32005
Dani Alves22004
Pique31004
Thiago20103
Afellay00101
Adriano00101
Maxwell00101
Abidal00101
Puyol10001
Nolito00101
Milito00101
Busquet10001
Jefferen10001
Vazquez01
01
Fontas01001
Ibrahimovic00011
Own Goals10012
Total9027224143


AssistsLa LigaCLCopaSSCTotal
Messi2043027
Dani Alves1432120
Iniesta553114
Xavi724114
Villa1111013
Pedro1021013
Thiago01405
Keita30205
Busquet32005
Bojan20103
Adriano12003
Maxwell10012
Jeffren10001
Affelay01001
Nolito00101
Fontas10001
Pique10001
Abidal01001
Total8024224130

MinutesLa LigaCLCopaSSCTotal
Messi27699564511284304
Dani Alves27449903901804304
Iniesta2798809419344060
Pique2491938435903954
Villa2683858362343937
Xavi2373863529883853
Valdes27009000903690
Busquets2210990255903545
Pedro2126681531563394
Mascherano141779064902856
Maxwel16903715071802748
Abidal18354692431802727
Keita13524204581802410
Puyol138563010302118
Adriano887424642111964
Pinto45018075001380
Bojan749594191461373
Milito66834227811010
Thiago4819026825864
Afellay3911202180729
Fontas25290900432
Nolito1402370251
Barta0551800235
Jefferen14228410211
Dos Santos663265136
Oriol Romeu0009090
Ruben Minio0009090
Sergi Gomez0009090
Victor Vazquez0770077
Ibrahimovic0005252
Sergi Roberto0125026
Montoya1800018

Goals Per GamesGamesGoalsAverage
Messi53520.98
Keita5350.09
Pedro50210.42
Villa50220.44
Dani Alves5040.08
Iniesta4990.18
Pique4940.08
Xavi4850.10
Busquets4410.02
Mascherano4100.00
Valdes4000.00
Maxwel3810.03
Abidal3710.03
Bojan3560.17
Adriano3010.03
Puyol2610.04
Afellay2410.04
Milito1710.06
Pinto1600.00
Thiago1530.20
Jefferen1110.09
Nolito510.20
Fontas510.20
Dos Santos400.00
Barta300.00
Sergi Roberto200.00
Victor Vazquez111.00
Ibrahimovic111.00
Oriol Romeu100.00
Montoya100.00
Ruben Minio100.00
Sergi Gomez100.00

GamesLa LigaCLCopaSSCTotal
Messi32127253
Keita3399253
Pedro31117150
Villa33115150
Dani Alves32115250
Iniesta3495149
Pique30117149
Xavi30116148
Busquets27115144
Mascherano24107041
Valdes3090140
Maxwel2376238
Abidal2375237
Bojan2535235
Adriano1468230
Puyol1772026
Afellay1356024
Milito1024117
Pinto529016
Thiago1013115
Jefferen623011
Nolito20305
Fontas31105
Dos Santos11114
Barta01203
Sergi Roberto01102
Montoya20002
Victor Vazquez01001
Ibrahimovic00011
Oriol Romeu00011
Ruben Minio00011
Sergi Gomez00011

Yellow CardsLa LigaCLCopaSSCTotal
Pique831113
Dani Alves910111
Busquets51309
Mascherano61007
Xavi60006
Valdes60006
Messi40105
Adriano30205
Puyol31004
Iniesta13004
Pedro21104
Villa30003
Milito21003
Keita30003
Maxwel20002
Abidal20002
Pinto10102
Bojan20002
Afellay10001
Bartra00101
Thiago10001
Total701210294

Red CardsLa LigaCLCopaSSCTotal
Pique10001
Pinto01001
Villa10001
Total21003


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