THE INDEPENDENT - RONALDO'S DOUBLE PROVES DECISIVE AS FULHAM FUME
Sir Alex Ferguson is probably in the company of one in thinking Chelsea can be caught this season, but if Manchester United do not overtake the runaway leaders they are threatening to be a spectacular failures. They scored four goals against Fulham last night to add to the three they got in midweek, and if they ever learn to defend they could be quite something.
The frailties that cost them in the seven-goal thriller against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, almost came back to haunt United but this time the attack bailed them out. Cristiano Ronaldo (twice), Park Ji-sung and Louis Saha kept them just ahead of Fulham, who had not won away in the Premiership this season but came closer than the scoreline suggested.
Fulham scored through Brian McBride and Heidar Helguson, had the better of the second half and were not beaten until Ronaldo's second goal four minutes from the end,
Their slight sense of injustice was compounded by United's third goal for which Ruud Van Nistelrooy was a yard offside in the build-up. Fulham, were furious and their manager Chris Coleman was sent off by Martin Atkinson after angrily confronting the linesman.
"It was an horrendous decision," said Coleman and Ferguson was relieved to win after some desperate defending, with Patrice Evra particularly shaky. "I think the players realised how important it was for them to get a result," Ferguson said. "I'm proud of them for digging in."
He might have been stressing the positive at the end, butat half-time both managers must have been incredulous. Imagine a practice game where teams are told to attack and forget about defending and you will have an idea of what the first 45 minutes were like.
THE OBSERVER- RONALDO COVERS UP THE CRACKS
Perhaps this is where the long-awaited fightback starts. Manchester United reduced Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premiership to a mere dozen points, but the truth is that against the side with the worst away record in all four English divisions, this victory raised far more questions than it answered.
Not until Cristiano Ronaldo converted a loose ball following a good save by Antti Niemi from Ruud van Nistelrooy's shot four minutes from time was the win guaranteed and, even allowing for the absence of the suspended Rio Ferdinand, this was yet another in a growing catalogue of hugely suspect defensive performances.
It took United six minutes to add to Fulham's inept away reputation, six minutes in which they made at least two other concerted attacks to test the visitors. After only three minutes, Ji-Sung Park's low centre found Van Nistelrooy whose trademark control and turn afforded him the chance to shoot and force Niemi into a tidy reflex save.
The corner brought more concern for Fulham, Park's kick met on the volley by Wes Brown and Niemi pawing the ball away, unconvincingly, off his goal line.
It was all looking very ominous, even allowing for the absence of Wayne Rooney, left on the bench by Sir Alex Ferguson after a barren run of nine games without a goal.
If Ferguson is at all concerned about his prodigy's lack of goals recently and, in Rooney's defence, there is little evidence that he should be, then this was a curious game from which to omit him. Not without good reason do Fulham possess such a poor away record and the watching England centre-forward must have been salivating at the prospect of coming off the bench and having a run at their defence.
THE SUNDAY TIMES - RONALDO FLATTENS FULHAM
Sent to the stand for dissent, Chris Coleman spent three quarters of the match sitting next to his chairman, Mohamed al-Fayed. He had ample time to discuss with the owner of Harrods the phenomenon of January sales. Coleman included four transfer window signings, including Michael Brown and Simon Elliott, in his team, and witnessed the good and bad effects of fresh blood.
Fulham had the pep of a side with something to prove but the inconsistency new line-ups bring. Manchester United convinced nowhere except up front, but were good enough there to capitalise.
Scoring has not been among numerous problems, and when Cristiano Ronaldo made it 4-2 in the final minutes it was United’s 10th goal in a week.
Ronaldo struck when Fulham were spent. After errors gave United a two-goal start Coleman’s team pegged back the score twice and threatened an equaliser for much of the second period. But Ronaldo was always dangerous and Louis Saha and Ruud Van Nistelrooy were lively too. Interplay between the latter pair found van Nistelrooy with the ball near the penalty spot with a pass to Ronaldo beckoning. He instead chose to shoot and drew a save from Antti Niemi, only for the rebound to fall to the Portuguese. Beating Elliott, Ronaldo cracked a shot home off the far post and an awkward day at the office was given a comfortable sheen.
United’s defensive discord, which saw them concede four goals to Blackburn in midweek and three in last month’s Manchester derby, continues and they were exposed by Fulham, particularly in the full-back positions, but the club have gone back to first principles. How ever many you score we’ll score more, is their traditional way and the prowess of Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy and Saha outweighed the paucity of Patrice Evra and co. Ferguson asserted United can still be champions if Chelsea "toss the ship away." If that phrase was odd what he said next was even more disorientating: "Tomorrow I’ve got my scarf on supporting Liverpool."
It was as if the spirit of Massimo Taibi hovered over Old Trafford. Neither Niemi or Edwin van der Sar performed well. They were as resolute as custodians as Mr Barraclough, the soft-hearted jailer in Porridge. Only one of United’s first three goals did not feature a Niemi mistake, and even then he looked foolish. Gary Neville’s mishit cross was returned to him via a poor clearance by Wayne Bridge. Neville found Ji-Sung Park, whose shot hit Carlos Bocanegra’s back and lobbed over Niemi.
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - UNITED LIVING DANGEROUSLY
You would have thought United must have had enough of this sort of thing the other night but evidently not. Still licking the wounds from their 4-3 slugfest at Blackburn, they traded goals and blows again before edging the verdict against a bold if fragile Fulham.
Both teams exposed a weak chin and even with a 3-1 lead after a quarter of the match, United were vulnerable to Fulham's counter. Chris Coleman's side had just the ammunition too, repeatedly exploiting United's inability to cope with the twin aerial powers of Brian McBride and Heidar Helguson.
To the relief of the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, he had the players to out-punch Fulham and Cristiano Ronaldo appropriately landed the telling shot. Scoring goals has not been a problem for United of late, which is why Ferguson felt he could afford to leave Wayne Rooney out of his starting line-up. Their weakness has been in defence and Ferguson's latest permutation was no more convincing than some of his recent back lines.
Twice United held a two-goal advantage in an extraordinary first half and twice Fulham forced their way back into contention. United were fortunate that Park Ji-Sung's shot was deflected past Antti Niemi and fortunate again to register their third, since Ruud van Nistelrooy was clearly offside in the build-up to Louis Saha's goal. Coleman was incensed that the linesman kept his flag down and marched towards the official to voice his distain.
Moments later he was on the march again, this time to a seat in the stand, on the orders of the referee.
McBride and Helguson headed Fulham into the contest, and, with a little more composure, either one of the strikers might have completed the revival. Instead, they dropped their guard once too often and Ronaldo capitalised.
United, without the suspended Rio Ferdinand, began with a flourish. Fulham's riposte was positive and menacing. Michael Brown, on his debut, found space on the left and although United saw off the initial danger, McBride eventually got in a header that Edwin van der Sar gathered.
The momentum of this stirring, open encounter was established and United's next offensive produced the breakthrough. Gary Neville, ever available on the right, played in Park, whose shot took a huge deflection off the flinching Carlos Bocanegra and left Niemi hopelessly beaten.
Rooney came on to steady the nerves in the second half yet still Fulham had the chances to draw level. But Van Nistelrooy twice went close before United ultimately secured the points. Niemi beat out the Dutchman's shot only for Ronaldo to seize on the loose ball and score off the far post.