Manchester United wasted the chance to close on the English Premier League leaders when a sloppy second half cost them in a 1-1 draw at Everton. They could and should have been 3 or 4 goals clear at half time !!
Midfielder Darren Fletcher put United in front on 22 minutes and they really should have had the points in the bag before half time, but a second-half header by Marouane Fellaini gave Everton a deserved point.
United remain five points behind leaders Chelsea and Liverpool who face each other in the weekend's big fixture at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was critical of his side's second-half display, although he also accused the referee Alan Wiley of failing to protect his players.
"We didn't deserve much at the end and it was a case of hanging on," Fergie told Sky Sports.
"They unsettled us in the second half and we started to give the ball away."
United striker Wayne Rooney, hoping to score his 100th goal in club football against his former side, was booked and later substituted after infuriating Everton fans by kissing the United badge on his shirt in front of them.
"The referee booked him for nothing and then the Everton fans were egging him on," Ferguson said. "I don't think he protected our players. Somebody will get a bad injury one day."
The first half was all United, with Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo causing problems for Everton's defence. It was a Giggs pass that allowed Fletcher to take the ball away from Joleon Lescott and shoot past Tim Howard. Former United keeper Howard denied Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Giggs in quick succession while Rooney was denied just before half time.
Everton got their unexpected equaliser after 63 minutes when Fellaini showed tremendous strength to head a cross from former United player Phil Neville past Edwin van der Sar. United defender Rio Ferdinand was lucky to get away with a mistake minutes later when his slip allowed in Ayegbeni Yakubu but van der Sar turned his shot against the post....Back To Home Page
Midfielder Darren Fletcher put United in front on 22 minutes and they really should have had the points in the bag before half time, but a second-half header by Marouane Fellaini gave Everton a deserved point.
United remain five points behind leaders Chelsea and Liverpool who face each other in the weekend's big fixture at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was critical of his side's second-half display, although he also accused the referee Alan Wiley of failing to protect his players.
"We didn't deserve much at the end and it was a case of hanging on," Fergie told Sky Sports.
"They unsettled us in the second half and we started to give the ball away."
United striker Wayne Rooney, hoping to score his 100th goal in club football against his former side, was booked and later substituted after infuriating Everton fans by kissing the United badge on his shirt in front of them.
"The referee booked him for nothing and then the Everton fans were egging him on," Ferguson said. "I don't think he protected our players. Somebody will get a bad injury one day."
The first half was all United, with Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo causing problems for Everton's defence. It was a Giggs pass that allowed Fletcher to take the ball away from Joleon Lescott and shoot past Tim Howard. Former United keeper Howard denied Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Giggs in quick succession while Rooney was denied just before half time.
Everton got their unexpected equaliser after 63 minutes when Fellaini showed tremendous strength to head a cross from former United player Phil Neville past Edwin van der Sar. United defender Rio Ferdinand was lucky to get away with a mistake minutes later when his slip allowed in Ayegbeni Yakubu but van der Sar turned his shot against the post....Back To Home Page
No comments:
Post a Comment