Steven Spielberg's first film was called Duel and was about a
car driver, played by Dennis Weaver, who becomes convinced that a
trucker is trying to kill him. Each time he tries to accelerate
away, he relaxes a little but then glances into his wing mirrors to
see the big brown tanker, belching diesel smoke, blaring its horn
and coming ever closer to running him off the road. This morning,
Roberto Mancini will understand the feeling.
When news came through from Goodison Park that Darron Gibson had
put Everton ahead, the Stretford End was more animated than it had
been at any stage of a drab, predictable encounter, settled by two
penalties. It seems astonishing but Manchester City and Manchester
United are now separated only by the six goals Mancini's side
scored here in October.
Sir Alex Ferguson played down the significance of the evening,
smiling that it had all been part of a wider plan that one of his
former players should score against Manchester City. "Obviously,
today is significant but we have to remember that it is the last
day in January," he said. "I always see March as the important
month and we have to play City in April."
That the match was decided by two penalties will raise a forest
of eyebrows outside the confines of Old Trafford, although referee
Mike Jones might have awarded four. There was a first-half handball
from Robert Huth and a foul on Patrice Evra that could have been
punished by two more spot-kicks. For the record, the Stoke manager,
Tony Pulis, thought Manchester United's first penalty "debatable"
but considered the felling of Evra to be a stonewall spot-kick.
The loss of his two frontline goalkeepers, Anders Lindegaard and
David de Gea, before a ball was kicked meant United began this
match with 11 injured footballers, although, significantly, they
are starting to trickle back.
Ferguson thought Wayne Rooney, Luis Nani and Ashley Young would
be fit to face Chelsea on Sunday. He also said farewell to Ravel
Morrison, who but for a disastrous private life might have been one
of his last great youth products but is now bound for West Ham. "He
is better out of Manchester," Ferguson said. "He has great talent
but it is how he deals with it that's important."
It must be likely that another youth-team graduate, Ben Amos,
will be keeping goal at Stamford Bridge, although he will not enjoy
a quieter game than he did here on his Premier League debut. Pulis
selected four forwards and gave them licence to shoot at the United
rookie. They carried out his instructions so poorly that Amos made
just one save, a header from Cameron Jerome that he required two
attempts to gather.
The tannoys reminded Old Trafford endlessly that they were
watching "the Barclays Premier League champions" which amid all the
analysis into why United have been so lacking in grandeur is too
often forgotten.
Ferguson and Muhammad Ali both turned 70 recently and this
season Ferguson's United sides have resembled the late-era Ali;
often pressed against the ropes but surviving on experience,
cunning and flashes of long-remembered skill.
Before United broke through on a cold often listless night,
there were moments of the old brilliance. Paul Scholes met an
awkward lay-off with impeccable technique, his foot right over the
ball, sending it slamming into the advertising hoardings. There
were also a couple of Dimitar Berbatov's sublime little
touches.
Nevertheless, this was not an electric night, epitomised by the
empty seats that dotted the Stretford End, although when the
breakthrough did arrive it was with a burst of controversy. There
were seven minutes of the first half remaining when Jermaine
Pennant challenged Park Ji-sung in the area. At first it seemed he
had got the ball, although by making his tackle from behind he
risked a penalty that Pulis greeted with both hands on track-suited
hips.
United have made a habit of missing from the spot this season
and in Rooney's continuing absence it fell to Javier Hernandez to
take the penalty. Thomas Sorensen has a formidable record in these
kinds of situations but the young Mexican sent the keeper the wrong
way for his seventh goal of what has been a subdued season.
Eight minutes after the restart, came the second penalty, this
time taken by Berbatov after Antonio Valencia had gone down under
pressure from Jonathan Walters. Sorensen chose right but the ball
squeezed between his fingertips and the post.
The result, however, was much the same. United were two goals up
against a side that had not won here since Tommy Docherty was in
the home dugout. Realistically the game was over and the old chants
swept around Old Trafford: "Stand up for the champions."
Match facts
Substitutes: Manchester United Pogba 5 (Hernandez,
72). Stoke Jerome 5 (Crouch, 57), Fuller (Walters, 75), Delap
(Palacios, 75).
Booked: Manchester United Scholes.
Stoke Wilkinson, Walters, Huth.
Man of the match Berbatov. Match rating 7/10.
Possession: Manchester United 60% Stoke 40%.
Attempts on target: Manchester United 7 Stoke
3.
Referee M Jones (Cheshire). Attendance 74,719.
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