Chelsea vs Manchester United

Ball Harambee By Bagga Wilks

In the quarter-final of the F.A. Cup at Old Trafford, Manchester United and Chelsea gave soccer fans a special rendition of what Pele calls, the beautiful game. Prior to the Manchester United/Chelsea game, the other F.A. quarter-final game, we witnessed an example of how ugly the game can be played when Milwall and Blackburn played to a nasty nil all draw.

The Manchester United vs Chelsea game started with great tempo. For the first forty-five minutes, Manchester United played like the league leaders on their way to another EPL championship.

Garrick, Cleverly, Rooney and Kagawa controlled mid-field and before Chelsea could blink, Chicharito was on the scoreboard and Rooney from a free kick had Cech retrieving the ball from the back of the net.

For the first half, Chelsea was outplayed and outnumbered in mid-field. Nani, Rooney and Hernandez seemed unstoppable as they kept Chelsea on the back foot.

But the game is not for the swift but for those who can endure it to the end. In the second half, Manchester United lost their dominance. Their mid-field faded. The much maligned Chelsea manager, Rafael Benitez made a deft change in the second half. He brought in Hazard for the ineffective Victor Moses. The aging Lampard was replaced by Mikel and that allowed Ramires to push forward.

The Chelsea mid-field took control of the game and the substitute Hazard wreaked havoc on the Manchester backline. It was Hazard who opened the Chelsea score with a curling beauty that beat DeGea. Later the rampaging Brazilian, Ramires, teamed up with playmaker Juan Mata and Chelsea was level. In the waning minutes of the game Juan Mata should have scored but De Gea made a game saving stop with his outstretched legs.

The ninety minutes of soccer was simply scintillating. Ferdinand and Evans, Manchester’s two central defenders, were outstanding. David Luiz was heroic and indefatigable as Chelsea’s central defender Hazard coming on in the second half changed the game. He showed incredible guile and at the age of twenty-two has a great future in the world of soccer.

Milwall and Blackburn will go at it again as will Manchester United and Chelsea in the span of ten days.

In the other F.A. match up, Manchester City ran rough-shod over Barnsley. Wigan shocked Everton, scoring three goals in the first half in the space of three minutes. Wigan and Manchester City wait in the wings.

The semi-final and final at Wembley will provide us with more renditions of the beautiful game.

Who 's Backheel Was Better?

Between Gold Cup & MLS there has to be a couple gems to be found on the pitch. Even though, one would expect that the usual suspects would provide the sparks. This match-up of better backheels is between Manchester United young dynamo Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez and Portland Timbers DEFENDER Kevin Goldthwaite. Let us know who had the better backheel! The videos are Below:

Chicharito


Goldthwaite

Winning Championships and the Management Factor: Man U 4-2 West Ham

Coaches are not on the pitch playing the game but they are a huge factor in the final result. A soccer game is two forty-five minute halves and what adjustments are made at half-time can determine the final outcome of the game.

At the end of the first half, West Ham was leading the English Premier League leaders, Manchester United, two goals to zero. Avram Grants’ men had another forty-five minutes to secure three points, an upset victory, and to put them in a more competitive position to avoid relegation. Grant’s team began the second half with no adjustments. They had secured the lead by the referee granting them deserved penalties. But even before the first-half ended, Manchester was already asserting their superior class. West Ham’s best chance of winning was to insert another player who could withstand United’s relentless attacks.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who has to be considered one of the more astute managers in the game, made adjustments in the second half. He inserted “Chicharito” Hernandez and Berbatov to join with Wayne Rooney in the attack. Ferguson not only makes the right moves at the right time but he selects players who are match winners, very much aware that although mid-field play is dominant, having players who are specialized goal scorers is critical to winning matches and winning championships. Rooney scored a hat trick in the second half and “Chicharito” converted the fourth. West Ham went down to defeat 4-2.