Manchester United strolled into the Carling Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night with a convincing 3-0 win at Aldershot.
The result in itself was not a surprise, but it will provide some relief for United after their 6-1 mauling at the hands of Manchester City over the weekend. Many players also performed well and allowed Sir Alex Ferguson some depth if he wants to make some changes to his team selection next time out.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia all found themselves on the score sheet in a performance that Sir Alex Ferguson described as disciplined and professional. This is a long way from his assessment of the weekend’s loss to City, when the United manager described their performance as “suicidal.”
United dominated the opening stages with Berbatov at the heart of most of their attacks, and it was the Bulgarian striker who would open the scoring after 15 minutes. Tom Cleverley, who had returned from injury, created the goal by swapping passes with Park Ji-Sung and setting up Berbatov to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead.
Aldershot provided determined opposition and threatened the United goal with a few long range efforts, before Jermaine McGlashan drove into the area and blazed a shot over the crossbar.
The home crowd were roused by their teams effort, but Michael Owen burst their bubble by giving United a 2-0 lead just four minutes before half-time. Berbatov broke down the right flank and cut back for the veteran striker to slot a neat finish past Ross Worner in the Aldershot goal.
There was little respite for Aldershot after the restart when Valencia gave United a 3-0 advantage. The impressive Cleverley was again the creator, as he cut the ball back for Valencia to smash home from 25 yards.
Berbatov remained a threat and fired wide before forcing a good save from Worner with a curling free kick.
Aldershot continued to create chances and Luke Guttridge fired wide before having a free kick well saved by Ben Amos as United rounded out a 3-0 win.
After the game Ferguson delivered hefty praise to the star performers on the night, in what could be a very clear message to the players who were so disappointing against City.
“They are always giving me nudges,” Ferguson said in a post-match press conference. “Berbatov had a great game tonight, and Park Ji-Sung, as he always does, had a tremendous work rate and passing ability. The big bonus was to bring back Tom Cleverley. He is an outstanding footballer.”
With so many players performing well at Aldershot, it would not be a surprise to see some changes to the United starting lineup for this weekend’s Premier League trip to face Everton at Goodison Park.
LINEUPS
ALD – Worner, Herd, Straker, Jones, Rodman (Bubb 46), Morris, Vincenti (Collins 72), Guttridge, McGlashan, Rankine (Smith 82), Hylton.
MAN – Amos, Jones, Vidic, Fabio Da Silva, Fryers (Keane 60), Park Ji-Sung, Cleverley (Pogba 60), Valencia, Owen, Berbatov, Diouf (Morrison 70).
SCORING SUMMARY
MAN – Dimitar Berbatov (Park Ji-Sung) 15’
MAN – Michael Owen (Dimitar Berbatov) 41’
MAN – Antonio Valencia (Tom Cleverley) 48’
LiveSoccerTV Man of the Match: Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)
Attendance: 7,044
Last season’s Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia all found themselves on the score sheet in a performance that Sir Alex Ferguson described as disciplined and professional. This is a long way from his assessment of the weekend’s loss to City, when the United manager described their performance as “suicidal.”
United dominated the opening stages with Berbatov at the heart of most of their attacks, and it was the Bulgarian striker who would open the scoring after 15 minutes. Tom Cleverley, who had returned from injury, created the goal by swapping passes with Park Ji-Sung and setting up Berbatov to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead.
Aldershot provided determined opposition and threatened the United goal with a few long range efforts, before Jermaine McGlashan drove into the area and blazed a shot over the crossbar.
The home crowd were roused by their teams effort, but Michael Owen burst their bubble by giving United a 2-0 lead just four minutes before half-time. Berbatov broke down the right flank and cut back for the veteran striker to slot a neat finish past Ross Worner in the Aldershot goal.
There was little respite for Aldershot after the restart when Valencia gave United a 3-0 advantage. The impressive Cleverley was again the creator, as he cut the ball back for Valencia to smash home from 25 yards.
Berbatov remained a threat and fired wide before forcing a good save from Worner with a curling free kick.
Aldershot continued to create chances and Luke Guttridge fired wide before having a free kick well saved by Ben Amos as United rounded out a 3-0 win.
After the game Ferguson delivered hefty praise to the star performers on the night, in what could be a very clear message to the players who were so disappointing against City.
“They are always giving me nudges,” Ferguson said in a post-match press conference. “Berbatov had a great game tonight, and Park Ji-Sung, as he always does, had a tremendous work rate and passing ability. The big bonus was to bring back Tom Cleverley. He is an outstanding footballer.”
With so many players performing well at Aldershot, it would not be a surprise to see some changes to the United starting lineup for this weekend’s Premier League trip to face Everton at Goodison Park.
LINEUPS
ALD – Worner, Herd, Straker, Jones, Rodman (Bubb 46), Morris, Vincenti (Collins 72), Guttridge, McGlashan, Rankine (Smith 82), Hylton.
MAN – Amos, Jones, Vidic, Fabio Da Silva, Fryers (Keane 60), Park Ji-Sung, Cleverley (Pogba 60), Valencia, Owen, Berbatov, Diouf (Morrison 70).
SCORING SUMMARY
MAN – Dimitar Berbatov (Park Ji-Sung) 15’
MAN – Michael Owen (Dimitar Berbatov) 41’
MAN – Antonio Valencia (Tom Cleverley) 48’
LiveSoccerTV Man of the Match: Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)
Attendance: 7,044
