‘Birmingham City were brutally reminded that it takes more
than an unbeaten record and a mean defence to seriously
challenge the best that the Premiership can offer. United
may have started sluggishly until they took the lead through
a penalty incident that also brought a red card for the City
keeper, Maik Taylor, but they went on to claim a decisive
victory.
‘If United's defence had not received and understood the
depth of Sir Alex Ferguson's dismay over their performance
against Stuttgart in midweek, the message was underscored
yesterday by the manager. Ferguson's verdict in his
programme column condemned their defending against the
Germans as 'terrible' and 'awful', although John O'Shea was
the only member of the Champions League back four omitted
once Rio Ferdinand came through a fitness check on a foot
injury.
‘With Roy Keane and Phil Neville taking the initiative in
the centre of the pitch, Birmingham were unable to mount any
significant attacks during the first half.
‘Yet, for all their control, United were also strangely
muted, although Paul Scholes, who awoke yesterday to read
lavish praise from Thierry Henry, did his best to justify
the Frenchman's testimonial.’
Telegraph:
‘Steve Bruce's return to Old Trafford was ruined by a
controversial refereeing decision to send off his goalkeeper
Maik Taylor for what was interpreted questionably as a
professional foul.
‘Ruud van Nistelrooy scored from the ensuing penalty and
Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs enlarged the scoreline as the
team managed by the former United captain were left with
little option but to try to stop their first Premiership
defeat of the season becoming a rout.
‘That Birmingham's 10 men succeeded in restricting the
champions of England to three goals on their own ground was
greatly to the visitors' credit.
‘To general surprise, Rio Ferdinand turned out to be fit
enough to play after turning his ankle in the midweek
Champions League defeat by Stuttgart and being given no
better than a 50-50 chance. As it turned out, John O'Shea
was the only man to suffer from Sir Alex Ferguson's fury at
the sloppiness of his team's defending in Germany.
‘On a sunny, but chilly, afternoon, the game took a long
time to warm up. With United discovering why Birmingham came
to Old Trafford with the best defensive record in the
Premiership, there was not a shot at goal until Scholes
tried an ambitious effort from out on the right wing after
14 minutes.’
Indie:
‘Manchester United may have played like novices in Europe in
midweek but they are seasoned hands when it comes to the
Premiership and yesterday they did what they do best:
dispose of a team high in ambition but too low to be part of
the domestic élite.
‘In theory Birmingham, undefeated and in fourth place,
should have given the champions a demanding test, but United
dealt with them with ease. True, they were assisted by the
sending-off of the visitors' goalkeeper, Maik Taylor, but
determined and hard-working though Steve Bruce's team were,
the red card served only as an invitation to the inevitable.
‘Beforehand the Birmingham manager had picked Paul Scholes
as United's greatest threat and, with the prescience he
often showed when he was a tower guarding the Old Trafford
citadel, he was proved right. The England midfielder gave a
virtuoso performance drifting between midfield and attack,
finding space at will.
‘It was Scholes who was brought down for the penalty that
led to Taylor's sending-off and Ruud Van Nistelrooy's ninth
goal of the season, and he got the second that put the game
beyond Birmingham's grasp. By the time Ryan Giggs scored
with nine minutes left the mood had been reduced to practice
match proportions.
‘United began under the shadow of their 2-1 Champions'
League defeat to Stuttgart. Ferguson said their defence
there was "terrible", and perhaps all the talk of defence
influenced this game because for the first half hour there
was barely an attacking move of note. Indeed, if Scholes had
not fired in a header and a highly stoppable shot in the
16th and 17th minutes the goalkeepers would have been
entirely redundant. Which was ironic because Taylor was out
of the game after 33 minutes.
‘One of the more underrated aspects of Van Nistelrooy's play
is his ability to bring other players into moves and it was
his exquisite turn and pass that pushed Scholes beyond the
Birmingham rearguard. Scholes won the race to the ball and
when Taylor crashed into him the referee had little option
but to award a penalty and to dismiss the goalkeeper.’
Times:
‘Ruud Van Nistelrooy had demons to exorcise. The deadly
Dutchman finally nailed a penalty midweek in Stuttgart, but
it was overshadowed by defeat. Here, against Arsenal, he had
missed from the spot two weeks ago, his third penalty
failure in succession, and it might have crossed his mind
before he stepped up and banished the ghost of those
penalties past, burying a bad week for Manchester United
too. Two more goals from Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs capped
a consummate display by the champions. They will have felt a
need to produce the kind of performance they did.
‘Most significantly, victory against a Birmingham side who
lost their goalkeeper, Maik Taylor, for the challenge on
Scholes that brought the penalty, brought them to within a
point again of leaders Arsenal after the Gunners’ high-noon
high at Anfield. But it also closed the week in style, a
week when Sir Alex Ferguson used words such as “terrible”
and “surrender” to describe their efforts in the Champions
League, apt terms for some inept defending. All the talk
that he would blame it on Rio proved misplaced, Ferdinand
retaining his place and John O’Shea being the only casualty
of that stumble in Stuttgart.
‘But United always have the will to climb back on their
feet. Steve Bruce, their former captain, had put it
succinctly. “When beaten, they’re like wounded animals,” he
warned, and his players took heed, opening cautiously but
remaining composed and containing United’s assaults until
the moment when Van Nistelrooy put Scholes through with a
superb pass and the little dynamo chipped the ball forward
as Taylor made his challenge, a failed one which effectively
sealed the game.
‘Bruce, then, was proved right. United had inflicted on
Birmingham a first Premiership defeat of the season and
scored more goals than the visitors had conceded in their
six previous games. In a difficult week for United, even
Ferdinand remained untroubled at the back and they made a
real statement to their rivals for domestic honours this
season. To exorcise those European demons, however, they
will have to wait.’