MATCHVIEWS FROM THE BROADSHEETS

Last updated : 23 November 2003 By Editor

THE TELEGRAPH

Ruud van Nistelrooy, having laughed off the threat of a Bannockburn in midweek, found Blackburn a trickier proposition. The Hammer of the Scots looked to have been instrumental in all but settling matters before the interval, but the advent of Paul Gallagher, a young substitute through whom those north of the border may eventually take consolation for humblings such as last Wednesday's in Amsterdam, helped to render the second half more competitive.

Even after Brett Emerton had briefly made himself a cheerful Australian by reducing Manchester United's two-goal advantage, however, it was pretty obvious to which side the points were going. From the start of the season United have been winning, by and large, without playing especially well, ticking over, saving their energy and inspiration for the tasks to come in the new year. Graeme Souness's Rovers, who were expected once again to be among the main challengers to the leading group, have now lost eight of their last 10 matches; they, unlike United, cannot afford to be below their best and in the first half here they were pallid, as if mesmerised by their hosts.

The 19-year-old Gallagher, Souness agreed, had strongly influenced their improvement. "What Gally's got," the manager said, "is a very smart football brain. And, if you can play here, you can play anywhere." Gallagher, a forward with balance, vision and confidence - a portentous little list, I think you will agree - demonstrated his readiness for the big stage with the superb pass that sent Emerton through. Souness was less successful in convincing us his team as a whole had performed acceptably but insisted: "If we can keep believing, we can get to 40 points and stay in this league. That's our priority. It was our priority at the start of the season and it's our priority now." Until Russia's answer to Jack Walker materialises in a blue-and-white scarf, presumably.

In Uncle Jack's day, Blackburn could give Old Trafford a few worries and initially you wondered if Sir Alex Ferguson was living in the past. What was he playing at? A 4-5-1 formation against one of the Premiership's out-of-form sides - at home? Surely he could not have held Vratislav Gresko, Rovers' constructive left-back, in such esteem as to endeavour to pin him down by introducing the speedy David Bellion on the right? Before long another theory surfaced. Maybe Ferguson was trying to bore Blackburn into submission. For 24 minutes it was difficult to think of anything but how well a prawn sandwich would slip down. Then United broke through and all became clear: the opposition had been lulled into a false sense of security.

Van Nistelrooy took a return pass from Quinton Fortune, who did much to facilitate both of United's goals, and, surging beyond the central defenders, drove across Brad Friedel for his 12th goal of the season. At the other end, an American goalkeeper lived a life less daunting. A chip from Matt Jansen and a header by the same player asked no more of Tim Howard than he had encountered in the warm-up. United, meanwhile, continued to derive pleasure from their game of patience. As Ferguson said afterwards: "Our first goal was a good one, but the second was outstanding, really top-class."

It went to Kleberson and was the Brazilian's first for the club. He had been dovetailing nicely with Roy Keane in the United midfield but, on this occasion, the captain chose to send the ball wide to the right. There he found not Bellion but Van Nistelrooy, whose cross Fortune touched square with such delightful weighting that Kleberson was happy to try a low shot with his less favoured left foot; he was even happier to see it glide just past Friedel's flailing arm. Lovely stuff indeed.

THE INDIE

Manchester United returned to the top of the Premiership, albeit only temporarily, by overcoming a resolute Blackburn Rovers side in front of a record-breaking home crowd.

Those 67,748 fans were in full voice before the lunchtime kick-off, as news filtered through that England had won the Rugby World Cup. It is not often that you hear the whole of Old Trafford singing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", but then the extraordinary events Down Under demanded something special from this Mecca of the round ball.

Judging from his selections, Sir Alex either truly believes in his fringe players or does not think much of Blackburn. David Bellion, Kleberson and Quinton Fortune were in the starting XI, with the likes of Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and the in-form Diego Forlan on the bench. The change in personnel meant a variation in tactics, with the home side using an unusually defensive 4-1-4-1 formation.

The system suited Blackburn early on, as they soaked up what little pressure they were being put under only to then launch smart counterattacks. Twice in the opening 15 minutes the visitors broke quickly, but neither Dwight Yorke or Garry Flitcroft were able to capitalise. Big mistake. Indeed, what happened next was all too predictable. With 24 minutes gone, United's first meaningful passing move resulted in Ruud van Nistelrooy playing a quick one-two with Fortune just inside the Blackburn box, before burying the ball in Brad Friedel's net.

With his side losing seven of their last nine matches before yesterday, a frustrated Graeme Souness decided desperate times called for desperate measures. So he withdrew two of his most experienced players, Matt Jansen and Steven Reid, and brought on Nils Johansson and the teenager Paul Gallagher. The substitutes seemed to make little difference as, six minutes after the restart, Gary Neville floated in a cross and John O'Shea rose highest to head towards goal. Friedel somehow managed to tip the ball over the bar.

The save galvanised Blackburn, although they must have wondered if this was simply not their day, as a Yorke "goal" was disallowed after he was called for offside. "I've seen those be given," was Souness's verdict. No matter. The visitors refused to give up and, within minutes, had halved United's lead. Gallagher, who impressed throughout the second half, gathered possession in the centre circle and, profiting from a mix-up in the Reds' defence, slipped a perfectly weighted pass to Brett Emerton. The pacey Australian left everyone for dead before slotting home an exquisite, curling finish.


THE OBSERVER

Sir Alex Ferguson must have felt that the English had had enough excitement for one day. Either that or he underestimated Blackburn Rovers, which was nearly a mistake. Manchester United rested Ryan Giggs and gave Kléberson his first start since August against a team who had won just two of their previous eight Premiership games. The Brazilian played just in front of a four-man midfield and scored his first goal for the club, although playing Ruud van Nistelrooy as a lone striker did not work out as well as Ferguson had possibly hoped.

Fresh from hammering three past Ferguson's home country on Wednesday, Van Nistelrooy also managed to get on the scoresheet here, yet confronted by a defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet all season, United seemed to be limiting their own attacking options.

Van Nistelrooy constantly had to drop too deep or venture too wide to pick up the ball and consequently he was not much of a threat to Craig Short and Andy Todd. A couple of times in the first half, Van Nistelrooy raced to the byline and looked up to find no one waiting for a cross and on one occasion sheer frustration obliged him to try a wildly optimistic shot from 35 yards.

David Bellion, a player whose pace could have caused the Blackburn central defence problems, was rather unimaginatively employed on the right wing, where Vratislav Gresko looked after him comfortably. Bellion's capture from Sunderland was thought to indicate that Ferguson fancied a pacy support striker operating through the middle, as Craig Bellamy does for Newcastle United. With Giggs on one wing, Cristiano Ronaldo on the other and a flyer and a finisher operating in the centre, United would have a formation capable of unsettling most defences, although they did not have to resort to rocket science to baffle Blackburn.

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Kleberson, in the view of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, "won Brazil the World Cup". Ronaldo and Ronaldinho might wish to argue with that, but Ferguson’s point is that until Kleberson was introduced in place of Juninho during the group stages of the tournament, Brazil had no player to link their prodigious forwards with the rest of their team. Less debatable is that Kleberson made the difference here.

After Blackburn’s second-half fightback almost cancelled out United’s mastery of the first period, it was the Brazilian’s gorgeous goal in the 38th minute which separated the sides. It was a personal triumph for the midfielder, who celebrated his first strike with a personal message.

In a gesture made famous by his compatriot Bebeto, Kleberson ran to his supporters after scoring, making semi-circles with his arms to simulate the rocking of a cradle: Dayane, his wife, is due to give birth to their first child this week. But the goal was also a sublime team effort. Its genesis encapsulated the footballing principles that have brought Ferguson so much during his 17-year Old Trafford reign.

The Nevilles started it, Phil receiving the ball deep inside his own half and passing to Gary, who found Roy Keane.

When Keane chipped a precise ball up the right flank to Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the Dutchman had the space to drive almost to the byline before cutting a cross back to Quinton Fortune at the far post.

Fortune touched it square to Kleberson, who beat Brad Friedel with a crisp first-time finish. "It was marvellous football, really top-class," purred Ferguson. He was rather less happy about how events unfolded after that.

Kleberson’s goal had put United two up, but not only did they miss a chance to kill Blackburn off before half-time, their sloppiness in the second period helped to keep their opponents alive. "We tried to put too much icing on the cake," was Ferguson’s growled verdict.

It was as if the move for Kleberson’s strike had been so sumptuous, United did not want to score again unless they could come up with something better.