Manchester United got their Premier League campaign up and running with ease with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Newcastle at Old Trafford on Monday night.

Veteran Paul Scholes was inspirational, playing a key role in the Man Utd’s dominance from start to finish. Dimitar Berbatov grabbed the opener on 33 minutes, settling the nerves after an uncertain opening from the hosts.

The breakthrough allowed The Red Devils to relax before Daniel Fletcher added to their lead shortly before half-time. Alex Ferguson’s men continued to dominate after the break, but had to wait until five minutes from time before their third goal.

The wait was worthwhile, though, as two veterans combined in Scholes and Ryan Giggs, the latter of which volleying in from a difficult angle. The win ensured Man United lie fourth in the Premier League table after the opening weekend.

Just ten minutes into the game and Newcastle could have and should have taken a shock lead. The Toon earned a corner which Joey Barton delivered right onto the head of the unmarked Andy Carroll who could only steer wide.

United regained their composure but struggled to created a clear-cut chance amid a series of offsides. Newcastle remained a threat at the other end and Carroll tested Edwin Van Der Sar with a snapshot on 18 minutes.

Rooney tried his luck from distance soon after, but a deflection took the sting out of his shot making Steve Harper’s task all the more easier in the Newcastle goal.

James Perch, a summer signing from Nottingham Forest, was the first player in the book on 21 minutes as he tripped up Nani, who was aiming to burst through on goal. From the resulting free-kick, Rooney blasted into the wall.

United began to up the pace of their game around the half hour mark and Rooney perhaps should have done better with a left-foot half-volley after Dimitar Berbatov teed up the England striker with a cushioned header.

Rooney’s effort sailed over the bar and moments later Paul Scholes played a delightful through ball but Rooney lost possession when trying to cut inside onto his left foot.

However, the home side didn’t have long to wait for their inevitable opener. Scholes was the provider as he slipped an angled through ball towards Berbatov. Toon defender Jose Enrique got a toe on the pass but inadvertently teed up the Bulgarian, who buried the ball low into the bottom left corner.

United has a 33rd minute lead, but switched off in the aftermath of the goal with Carroll dispossessing John O’Shea on the flank, only to scuff his cross with two teammates eagerly waiting.

Seven minutes before the break, Joey Barton, sporting a moustache he has vowed not to shave until the Magpies earn their first Premier League win of the season, opted to shoot when better placed to cross, much to the annoyance of his team-mates.

United ensured the game was all but won soon after, as Fletcher shot low and hard on the turn after collecting a miss-kick from Rooney. The goal deflated the away side, who at that stage were crying out for the half-time whistle.

Second Half

Both sides upped the physicality of their play early in the second half and both Scholes and Fletcher found themselves in the book within ten minutes of the restart.

Rooney continued to look out of sorts but his strike partner Berbatov was a constant menace and almost grabbed his second when put through one-on-one with Harper.

The Bulgarian kept his composure but Harper was sharp off his line as Berbatov was forced into rushing his shot, consequently slipping the ball wide of the far post.

Rooney’s night came to an end after 63 minutes when he was replaced by Mexican prodigy Javier Hernandez. The youngster was eager to make an impression and looked sharp, narrowly missing out on making it three ten minutes into his Premiership debut after a late flag for offside.

Shola Ameobi’s introduction on 72 minutes injected new life into the Magpies, with Carroll finding a partner alongside him more beneficial, but still they struggled to cope with the dominance of Man Utd.

A masterful second half performance from Scholes allowed United to continue to dominate and it was him who pulled the strings again as he set up a fellow Old Trafford legend – Ryan Giggs.

Giggs, a 71st minute sub for Nani, drifted into the box unnoticed. Unnoticed by all except Scholes, his long-time teammate and lover, who picked him out with a pinpoint pass which the Welshman volleyed across the face of goal and into the far bottom corner.

If anything, the score was generous on Newcastle, who barely strung together a move in the second period. United’s dominance was only lacking in a killer final instinct, of which is unexpected during the first game of the season.

Giggs’ goal in the 85th minute was the final nail in the coffin for the Toon as the home side kept possession from the closing stages for a comfortable three points.

Manchester United players, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, have declared themselves fit ahead of the club’s crucial week.

United take on Bayern Munich in the quarter final stage of the Champions League. United are looking to make it to their third final in the same amount of years and had been worrying over the fitness of both.

Rooney is likely to start in attack and play the game by himself while it is a little unclear over whether Ferdinand will take up his regular starting place along side Nemanja Vidic in the heart of the defence.

Ryan Giggs said: “I can’t believe it’s 11 years ago [since the two teams met]. It was one of the greatest nights of my life and for many fans too. This will bring back a lot of happy memories.”

“We will settle for the same score as in 1999 too but hopefully not leaving it as late as we did then. I am a little bit surprised about our overall record but it has always been tight. We have won the European Cup three times. They have won it on four occasions so you are talking about two clubs with massive history; full of experience and full of great players so hopefully it’s going to be a great spectacle.”

“The team we played against in 1999 was really powerful. It had strength all the way through. Now Bayern have a lot of trickery with Franck Ribery and Robben, and some other individual match-winners. But our European record in recent times has been good and if we play to the best of our ability we really fancy ourselves.”

United have focused a lot on the two Bayern wingers, which could pose them the greatest threat. There are no easy games at this stage of the competition and United are likely to adopt some very simple tactics.

Ribery and Robben will play on either wing and will swap over regularly. United are going to have to play two very wide players with a strong work ethic, as well as someone in the middle of the pitch who can double up.

This is the only way they will soak up Bayern’s attacking pressure. They have some very good players of their own, which they will be hoping the German side are worrying about.

There is a huge amount of pressure on Rooney to lead the front line in the same manner as he did in Italy, when United dumped out former European champions, AC Milan.

United would probably take a low scoring result right now if it meant that they managed to get an away goal in the bank. This is the most important thing they’ll have to achieve tomorrow night.

Bayern have to go for it on their own ground but this United team is wise and experienced enough to know how to handle this situation exactly. They will want to race into the final and win their fourth crown.

Manchester United veteran, Ryan Giggs, has vowed to help the club beat Liverpool this Sunday and win the title with a perfect run in.

Giggs was recently out of action when he broke his arm but Sir Alex Ferguson has already confirmed that the Welshman is expected to play some part in the huge game this weekend.

Giggs will bring an extra experience to the United team, which should help them get over any run in jitters. This is something that many have said Giggs keeps his place in the United side for.

He said: “We didn’t play well here last year against Liverpool and they deserved the victory. Hopefully that won’t be the same this week. It’s a massive game, purely because it is Liverpool. It is towards the end of the season so there is so much riding on it.”

“No matter how the teams are doing, it is just a massive rivalry because of the history between the two teams, they are two successful teams. There is lots of quality on the pitch so you know need to perform whether you are at Anfield or Old Trafford.”

“We let ourselves down last year. Hopefully that won’t be the case. We are in good form and scoring goals. As a United fan, for me it comes into it, growing up seeing Liverpool win everything.”

“We are trying to win the league this year and whatever records you break or whatever things you do in history comes after. At the moment you want to win the game to try and help you win the league.”

Although Manchester United have been playing fairly well in recent weeks, while Giggs has been injured, a large part of this is down to the goals of Wayne Rooney. It is too naïve to rely on one player and Giggs will probably be slotted straight back into the team.

He brings a calm to the United midfield, which is sometimes lacking and which is something that sometimes costs the team important goals. There is plenty of quality in the squad but in reflection sometimes you need a war horse to calm everything down.

The left winger and central midfield player does not seem to show any signs of slowing up either. His consistent weekly performances see, to earn him an ongoing contract at the club as he remains a valuable asset for Sir Alex Ferguson.

The one thing that Giggs has to be praised for is the passion he has. Many players would have retired at earlier stages in their career but Giggs will keep on going for some time yet.

There are key players that he will want to mould and shape to help the club and to help that particular player. Nani is one such example and if he turns out to be half the player Giggs is in a few years then the champions will be laughing.

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has said there is good news on the horizon for club and fans as players are making quick recoveries from injury.

Owen Hargreaves and Ryan Giggs have both been on the sidelines of late and both are close to full returns to the team. Hargreaves has been out for a long time with a troublesome knee and Giggs broke his arm in a match just after the New Year.

United will need all of their playing staff fit and firing if they are going to have any chance of winning another title but things are looking good as they have missed players at regular points through the current season.

Ferguson said: “Ryan will be fit for the Liverpool game. His performances in training have been fantastic. He is getting another plaster on today but we will be getting a fresh player back, which is good.”

“For weeks we had to try and work out the best games for him to play in, in terms of freshness and rest. Now he has had a month’s rest. Owen Hargreaves went to see a specialist on Thursday and that’s why he didn’t play but there’s nothing wrong and he’s training.”

“He’ll play in the next game, he has to play in the next game because he’s ready to play. Roy Hodgson has great experience, the kind of experience you need in international management. He would be ideal for that type of thing.”

“But I don’t think you can’t pre-empt that. I am sure if Fabio does well at the World Cup, he will want to stay on as England manager. Why would he not want to? It is the hardest challenge for him because the expectation is high and he looks to me to be the type that relishes that. Roy has brought his experience and authority to the club. He has formed a team that no-one likes to play against. They are very well organised and they play with great discipline. That is down to the manager.”

United will be going for a little bit of revenge on Sunday after the drubbing that Fulham gave them in the Premier League match at Craven Cottage. Fulham ran out 3-0 winners on that occasion.

It was an occasion when United were having to mix up their defence every single week and now that they have a settled side, it is likely that they could get a result in front of their own fans on their own ground.

Hargreaves probably won’t start but if things are going well during the game he will get thrown on at some point. He is likely to get a standing ovation because he has been a loyal player to the club during his injury when he could have packed the game in or gone elsewhere.

United need the win and for once there are no shortage of players who want to put their hand up and be counted.

David Beckham’s lasting top-flight career at AC Milan proves that he still has what it takes to compete at the very top level.

This is according to Ryan Giggs, a dominant figure in the Manchester United team, while Beckham played the game in England. Giggs is now United’s most experienced player and is wary of the threat David Beckham will have when the two teams meet this week.

Beckham made the big money move over to the Los Angeles Galaxy a couple of years ago and has been playing on loan in Italy in order to maintain his levels of fitness.

Beckham is arguably the greatest dead ball player of his time and this is something that his former club will need to keep a close eye on if they are to progress to the last eight of the Champions League.

Ryan Giggs said: “We are different in the sense he has been in the limelight, front page and back, while I prefer to keep myself to myself. But I still speak to him. He has not changed as a person.”

“He has always loved football. He has always been dedicated and that is still the same now. Like myself, Becks looks after himself. He is naturally fit and is a natural athlete, so I am not surprised he is still going at all. In fact I reckon he will keep going for another three or four years.”

“We had a couple of chances to meet when he was at Real Madrid but it is great that it will finally happen and great for Becks to come back. It will be fantastic for the fans to see him again because he was a great player for United and still is a great player for England and Milan and in America as well. I hope he doesn’t do anything nasty to us. He is a quality player and has always risen to the occasion. Hopefully he will enjoy it – but not that much.”

AC Milan are one of the more under rated sides in the Champions League this season. They have a lot of quality and experience on the field but the over all age of the side is something that many pundits are saying will hold them back.

Beckham will probably want to make a big impression on his return to Manchester as the circumstances surrounding him leaving the three time European champions were less than perfect.

United need to be careful that they do not run around the pitch and give away a lot of silly free kicks. Beckham only needs once chance and he would love to stick it to United despite his admiration and love for the club that raised him.

Many people write Beckham off but his passing is the best in the game. The only thing he lacks is the pace to play at the real top of football for much longer. If United can keep the tempo of the tie up then it could all be too much for him.

Now that the crying is all over with, all the arrests have been made and life is back to normal for most Manchester United fans, what’s next for the Red Devils? Before going on though, I must mention the Barcelona supporters who were killed in Nigeria, by some lunatic who ran them over while celebrating their team’s victory. Our sympathy goes out to all of their family and friends.

On the pitch, we see that manager Sir Alex Ferguson has blamed the Champions League loss on poor defending, while Portuguese superstar and the team’s top marksman Ronaldo has blamed bad tactics. Well, they’re both right, but the players and manager need to take a good look in the mirror and watch a tape of the game to see how lifeless and disappointing they really were. At least they both acknowledged that Barcelona was the better team on the night.

But, will United realistically bounce back next season, or was this the last kick at the can for a while now? Well, a lot of things really depend on who goes and who stays. Ronaldo has again been rumoured to be heading to Real Madrid and has also been rumoured to have said he wants to stay at United.

This should basically be the team’s decision as he’s under contract until 2012, but is there really a buyout clause in this contract that will allow the player to head elsewhere. United will have to think this one over long and hard before making a decision. Is Ronaldo really that good and does he inspire his teammates?





Well after watching him since he broke in as a rookie, I must say he has matured quite a bit, but still seems to be very inconsistent in his play. I also think he hit his peak last year with 42 goals and it’s highly unlikely he’ll reach that number again. Perhaps the time is right to sell him before his play and goal tally slips even further. Take the money and run while the offer’s still on the table.

If he does go though, how will this affect the team and who will replace his lost goals. Well, United can either bite the bullet and go with what they have for a year or two until some of their youngsters like Macheda develop, or they can go out and spend on new players, which of course is the likely scenario.

And if Ronaldo does leave, what happens with Tevez, can you afford to lose them both at once? And where does Nani fit in, or doesn’t he? Owen Hargreaves should finally be ready to come back next season, but he’s not really an offensive threat. They also have Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes, who are all longer in the tooth these days. Next season could well be the last for all three of them. And let’s not forget Edwin van der Sar in net, he’s not going to last too much longer, but I think if Ben Foster can stay healthy, United looks pretty good in goal

While United have bought quite a few top-notch players over the years, they’ve also developed some pretty good youngsters of their own. I think it’s a good balance that has served the team well, and that’s why United hasn’t really been perceived as a team that has bought its way to championships.

This will be a very important summer for the club, but I will be somewhat surprised if they can repeat this year’s successes again next season. At least they have something to aim for though, as they would become the first English team to win four straight league championships.

Italian Serie A team Juventus fired manager Claudio Ranieri with only two games to go in the season and replaced him with former player Ciro Ferrara. Juventus is only a point in front of fourth-place Fiorentina and could still miss out on the automatic Champions League berth for next year after going winless in their last seven league games.

Ranieri took over from Didier Deschamps in 2007 when the Turin team was promoted back to Serie A after being demoted to the second division for match-fixing. Club chief executive Jean Claude Blanc said Ferrara’s appointment is for the last two games of the year.

“The next two games are our future,” Blanc said at a news conference. “It is not our style, but we cannot miss out on Europe. We wanted to shock the players so they’d take the right path with the right man at the right moment.”

Ferrara was a famous centre-back for Juventus, and is also an assistant to Italian coach and ex-Juventus manager Marcello Lippi, but this will be his first time managing a club on his own.

Juventus finished in third place last season and beat Spanish side Real Madrid home and away in the Champions League, but their winless streak has shown no signs of ending. They are currently three points behind second-placed AC Milan.

Over in England, Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic said he was surprised to be named the club’s player of the year by his team mates and the club’s fans. The 27-year-old Serbian international won both awards for his fine play alongside Rio Ferdinand in the centre of United’s defence this season.

Vidic, who moved to United from Spartak Moscow three years ago, has been an important figure in Manchester’s Premier League triumph and their run to the Champions League final.

“It’s a great night for me,” he said on Manchester United TV. “It has been a really good year. I am surprised I got it but I have really enjoyed it.”

Vidic also chipped in with a few goals this year and scored the opening goal in United’s 2-0 second-round second-leg win over Inter Milan in the Champions League.

“To be honest I don’t have so many individual awards,” Vidic added. “That’s why I am a bit confused and my speech is not the best. Next time my speech will be a bit better.”

Meanwhile, United keeper Ben Foster will be out of action for the next nine weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his thumb. This means he will certainly miss the Champion League Final against Barcelona in Rome on May 27.

The 26-year-old will also miss the last match of the season against Hull City, along with England’s World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan, and Andorra on June 6th and 10th.

Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was scheduled to start against Barcelona on May 27 anyway, but Foster hoped to be on the bench for the cup final.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson stated: “It is big blow for Ben as not only will he miss the Champions League final but also England’s summer internationals. Ben has tried to continue the season with this injury but it got so critical that an operation was the only way forward.”

Foster has been injury prone at United since being loaned out twice to Watford. He has also had major knee surgery and has only appeared in nine games for United this season. His biggest match was in the penalty shoot-out win against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup final.

Manchester United took another step towards retaining their Premier League crown as they cruised passed a helpless Middlesbrough side 2-0 at the Riverside stadium. Goals from Ryan Giggs and Ji Sung-Park were enough to get United the three points as Middlesbrough now look odds on to be relegated from the Premier League.

With many Boro fans calling for manager, Gareth Southgate, to go for broke before the match their performance was anything but. It was only a matter of time before United’s slick and neat passing football imposed itself on the game and allowed in marksman who were clearly not going to show a single bit of mercy.

United have now put the pressure back on Liverpool ahead of their midday kick off against Newcastle and look a certainty to retain the Premier League title and add yet another trophy to the growing collection of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Middlesbrough on the other hand will be down in the dumps. They have to put this behind them as quickly as possible and focus on winning their remaining matches. If they can do this then they stand a chance at league survival but the performance of Southgate’s side yesterday was hardly inspiring.

So many times United were allowed to pass out of trouble with players dropping off to pick up the ball left, right and centre. For side in the position that Boro are the logic of the performance is bizarre. This is not to take away from United’s quality but Boro maybe should have risked losing four or five nil in a hope to eradicate United’s dominance.

Chants echoed around the Riverside asking Southgate if he knew what he was doing and it may well turn out the case they should have replaced him earlier in the season instead of showing him faith. Boro are going down if they play like this again.

Although they may have mustered a few good efforts in goal the performance was generally flat and that of a Championship standard side. The lack of urgency in the build up to United’s second goal was remarkable and something that will have to be addressed in training this week.

The one thing they will be buoyed by is the fact that should they go down their squad is young enough and inexperienced enough to be able to stay together. Stuart Downing and one or two of the strikers are maybe the only players that will put in a transfer request and have to be sold to cope with the financial impacts of the drop.

It was the perfect preparation for United ahead of their Champions League clash with Arsenal on Tuesday. Many Boro fans would have been hoping that Sir Alex would have named a weakened side for the game, but this was not to be. Every player he put out warranted a first team slot and it was just a case of when and who would score United’s goals in the game.

It is difficult for Boro to pick themselves up from this. They would have been hoping for United’s reserve side but the result will offer hope to their relegation rivals. Maybe Boro should start planning for next season.

There was no fooling around with the big boys in Spain today (May 2nd) as Barcelona completely ripped apart Real Madrid in all aspects of the game, except yellow cards and fouls, and handed them their heads on a plate in a 6-2 demolition job. To make things worse, the shredding took place in front of 80,000 fans at the Bernebeu in Madrid. This should more-or-less end Madrid’s chances at catching Barcelona and taking a third straight Primera Division crown, as they are seven points back with four games remaining.

Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi both scored a pair with Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique chipping in one each. It was Real’s first loss since Barcelona beat them at the Nou Camp back in December.

Madrid has been on fire since then by earning 52 points out of a possible 54 points, but were stopped dead in their tracks today. Barca can sew up the title next weekend if they beat Villarreal and Madrid loses to Valencia.

Higuain actually gave Madrid in a lead when he scored his 19th league goal in the 14th minute, but about five minutes later Barcelona was up 2-1 and just kept on coming with attack after attack. Messi put Barca up 3-1 up in the 36th minute, but Real made a game of it by bringing it back to 3-2 in the 56th minute. It didn’t last long though as Henry made it 4-2 just over a minute later.

That seemed to be the killer blow and Messi made it 5-2 in the 75th minute and Pique added to the embarrassment in the 83rd with Barcelona’s 100th league goal of the season.

In other Spanish games Numancia crawled off the bottom of the standings by beating Malaga 2-0.  Meanwhile, Seville won 2-0 at Villarreal with goals from Luis Fabiano and Freddie Kanoute.

In the English Premier League, Manchester United stayed on track to retain their title with a 2-0 win away at a woeful Middlesbrough, with Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park scoring. I don’t know how Gareth Southgate keeps his job there. He must have some compromising photos of somebody, because he just doesn’t have what it takes to be a big league manager. So it’s no surprise that Middlesbrough are in spot and almost guaranteed to go down into the Championship League where they belong. United are now six points clear of second place Liverpool and Chelsea, with the same amount of games played with Liverpool and a game in hand on Chelsea.

Chelsea managed to catch up to Liverpool with a 3-1 win at home over Fulham in a London derby. Arsenal embarrassed Portsmouth 3-0 at Fratton Park and Portsmouth had Noe Pamorot sent off. Tottenham managed to keep their home record looking pretty good with a 1-0 win over cellar dwellers West Brom. That doesn’t really say much though. Manchester City beat another less-than-mediocre team with a 3-1 win over Blackburn at home. Each team scored on a penalty. West Ham beat Stoke 1-0 at The Britannia and in another barn burner; Wigan and Bolton drew 0-0 at the JJB Stadium.

Reports have emerged this morning suggesting that Liverpool and Manchester United are likely to slug it out in a possible transfer war this summer in order to gain the services of Tottenham Hotspur winger, Aaron Lennon.

Lennon’s performances have slowly been getting more consistent and he has been one of the first names to be put down each week by Harry Redknapp. However, these improved performances could back fire for Spurs as they now look set to receive a number of bids for one of their best players.

Lennon has also been in and out of the England side under manager Fabio Capello but looks set to finally hold down his place as his end of season form continues to get better and better.

Manchester United will want to sign the winger as it will allow the transition of Cristiano Ronaldo into a striker to be completed. With the retirement of Ryan Giggs also likely to happen in the next couple of seasons as well as the inexperience of the Portuguese star, Nani, he could be just the player that Sir Alex Ferguson is looking to bring in.

Liverpool also have a strong case as they don’t have an out and out candidate to fly up and down the right flank in every game. Numerous players have often done the job as manager, Rafa Benitez, often draws criticism for playing Steven Gerrard out there and out of position from the middle, which is undoubtedly his best spot.

If a bidding war breaks out then United may well just have the edge but this depends on the future of one or two of their players. If Carlos Tevez decides to pack his bags and move to Spain then it could in effect finance a bid for Lennon making the move a virtual certainty. However, Fergie may want to replace a striker for a striker, which would pave the way for Liverpool to make a bid for a player that they desperately need.

Spurs are reportedly asking around the £20 million mark for Lennon which, is a price United have a better chance of raising. Liverpool will have to sell first to have any realistic chance to snatch him but the players that will make way from the Liverpool squad look likely to be equally realistic to their cause causing Benitez a massive headache.

Harry Redknapp won’t want to let Lennon leave as he has already targeted a Champions League spot for next season. However, football continues to prove that every player has their price and based on the assumption that Manchester City won’t sneak in on the move and offer a stupid sum of money for Lennon then their city rivals, United, look like the most obvious destination for Lennon.

No doubt Liverpool will have a good go at buying him but the Berbatov affair showed that regardless of any amount of late bids once Sir Alex gets his nose in and is interested then the player he targets is rarely persuaded to go elsewhere. Lennon could well be wearing a United shirt at the start of next season.