Another Shut-out fer VDS

Edwin van der Sar kept his 14th successive league clean sheet in the 3-0 win over Fulham and can break the European record for minutes without conceding a goal against Blackburn this weekend.

Some reports had suggested the Dutchman would set a new mark after an hour of Wednesday's game. In fact, he'll have to keep Rovers at bay for 89 minutes at Old Trafford on Saturday to eclipse Club Brugge stopper Dany Verlinden's record of 1,390 minutes, set in 1990.

Van der Sar barely had a save to make against Roy Hodgson's side, thanks in part to another commanding performance from Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in front of him.

That said, the United keeper breathed a sigh of relief when Fulham striker Bobby Zamora's second-half top-poke rolled inches wide of his post.

Sir Alex Ferguson said of the latest shut-out on MUTV: "It’s really amazing. Tonight it was down to the performance of Ferdinand and Vidic. They were really solid and determined and they were up against a bit of a handful in Zamora.

"He is a very strong, powerful and quick player who has two good feet, so they had a job to do and they did it well.

"He had a great header in the first half when he almost scored, he had a toe-poke in the second half just past the post so the game wasn’t without its threats to us. We’ve handled it okay."

Big Gap Now is NO Guarantee - SAF

Sir Alex Ferguson may have won a remarkable 10 Premier League titles - but he still can't forget the few title races he's lost.

Such memories could stand United in good stead this season, as complacency becomes the main threat to an eleventh modern-day championship being chalked up on the honours board. Referring to the fact Chelsea now trail the Reds by 10 points, the boss told MUTV:

"It’s fair to say that Chelsea have an uphill fight to overcome us. But you can never be dead sure. Things can happen. You'll remember we were 12 points ahead of Arsenal back in 1997/98 and then we lost the league.

"We had a lot of injuries that season, though. Hopefully with the squad we’ve got now, we can cope with injuries like we have done in the last few weeks. That’s been a development at this football club. We’ve got such a big squad, we can make changes."

Wayne Rooney's recent absence through injury is the perfect example; the Reds won all seven games in his absence with alternative strikers from Carlos Tevez to Danny Welbeck contributing goals. Now, of course, he's back - on the teamsheet and the scoresheet.

"I was pleased, it was a nice goal," said Sir Alex. "He came in late, which I've seen him do many times, and scored with his first touch. So he’s back and hopefully he stays back.

"He’s 100 per cent - we’re at the stage of the season where we won't take chances. If they’ve got slight injuries, they won't play. If they do, it could exacerbate the problem."

Source by : http://www.manutd.com/

United 3 Fulham 0

Goals from Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and the returning Wayne Rooney brought United a tenth straight win in all competitions, and with it a handsome lead in the Barclays Premier League.

So now at last the table truly reflects the Reds’ advantage. With the same number of games played, United are superior to nearest rivals Liverpool by five points and nine goals.

The champions' superiority in this particular contest was rarely in doubt, even with Sir Alex Ferguson making seven changes to the side that booked a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals and a possible rematch with Fulham on 7 March.

Edwin van der Sar returned in pursuit of his 14th consecutive league clean sheet and there were also recalls at the back for John O’Shea and Nemanja Vidic. Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes rejoined the midfield while Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez were reunited as the front two.

Cristiano Ronaldo therefore started wide where he produced two crowd-pleasing flicks in the opening moments for right-wing partner O’Shea, one leading to a shot across Mark Schwarzer’s bows from the Irishman.

The stunning first strike came from the opposite flank, however, when Michael Carrick’s left-wing corner was volleyed in vintage fashion by Paul Scholes. Schwarzer dived to his right and got his hands to the howitzer but could only watch in horror as the ball spun away to his left to give Scholes his richly deserved goal.

Fulham created one half-decent attempt to equalise when right-back John Pantsil floated in a cross and Bobby Zamora headed just wide. Pantsil was possibly Fulham's best player on the night, although he later tarnished his performance with an awful foul on Ronaldo.The only other player booked was Ji-sung Park; it seemed a harsh call by referee Andre Marriner as the Korean just caught Fulham's Zoltan Gera on the heels as he tried to break.

Between the first and second goals, Ronaldo stepped over the ball and then stung the goalkeeper’s palms with a powerful shot; Tevez’s ‘goal’ was rightly disallowed for offside and Berbatov had a close-range effort cleared off the line by Aaron Hughes and a header tipped over the bar by Schwarzer.

The Bulgarian wouldn’t be kept at bay for long, however; when O’Shea stretched to knock Scholes’ clever pass across goal, United’s number nine nipped between the indecisive duo of Schwarzer and Hughes to tap the ball over the line. It was a simple finish, embarrassingly so for the inept Fulham defence, but the play that preceded it was superb - a spell of keep-ball in which more than 20 passes were threaded together.

Berbatov almost doubled his tally moments later when he poked fractionally wide from Tevez’s pass and Scholes also came close to a second when he drilled a daisy-cutter to Schwarzer’s right and although the Australian could only parry it, he gathered the ball before Park could pounce. Schwarzer was beaten again in the final act of the half but Berbatov was deemed to be offside before heading in.

The same combatants crossed swords again 12 minutes into the second half when Berbatov’s shot was pawed over the bar by Schwarzer after neat play on the edge of the box by Scholes and Park.

Berbatov made way for Rooney’s return on the hour mark and the substitute needed only two minutes – and just one touch - to make it 3-0 to United. Evra’s cross from the left landed perfectly for Park and although the Korean’s shot was going wide, Rooney ghosted in behind a defender to steer it home first-time.

Fulham had little to play for now except the distinction of ending United’s remarkable run of clean sheets. But although Zamora went close for a second time in the match when he toe-poked a shot past the post, van der Sar was largely a spectator – and a very satisfied one at that, just like the joyful majority in the 75,437 crowd.

Schwarzer's watch was always the busier, right until injury time when another United substitute Darron Gibson - so impressive in the FA Cup win at Derby - sent the final attempt fizzing inches wide. Though insignificant to this match, his shot seemed very much like a warning - of much more to come from this exciting and evolving United squad.

Source by : http://www.manutd.com

Sir Alex shocked at Scolari exit~

Sir Alex Ferguson is shocked by Chelsea's decision to sack Luis Felipe Scolari but says it's "a sign of the times."

Speaking live on MUTV from Malta, the United manager said: "I'm very surprised. It's a shock that one. He only took the job seven months ago.

"Scolari's a man of great experience. He took Brazil to the World Cup final and won it and he was the obvious choice to replace Avram Grant seven months ago.

"Really it's a sign of the times, I'm afraid. There's absolutely no patience in the world now.

"Football seems more volatile now. You can't always blame the press but they play a part. The way tabloid journalism is today, they're competing against the internet and competing against Sky News so therefore there is sensationalism every time there's a bad result. We've all been subjected to that over the years.

"Having lost the European Cup final, there were still expectations for Chelsea to do well this year. It's really only in the last month that they've had a bad spell. So I feel the judgement [to sack Scolari] is really based on the last month, not the previous six months. It is a surprise."

Sir Alex Ferguson is in Malta to help fans there celebrate the 50th anniversary of their supporters' club. Look out for more special programmes on MUTV throughout this week.

Source by ManUtd.com

Scolari Sacked !

Chelsea have sacked manager Luiz Felipe Scolari in the wake of their 0-0 draw at home to Hull City.

The Blues have dropped 16 points at Stamford Bridge this season and went out of the Carling Cup to Burnley on their own patch.

The London side have recently dropped to fourth in the Barclays Premier League prompting the club to opt for change, with coach Ray Wilkins taking temporary charge.

Only Option

A statement on the club web site confirmed: "Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club today (Monday) with immediate effect.

"The Chelsea board would like to place on record our gratitude for his time as manager.

"Felipe has brought many positives to the club since he joined and we all feel a sense of sadness that our relationship has ended so soon.

"Unfortunately the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.

"In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now.

"The search for a new manager has already started and we hope to have someone in place as soon as possible.

"While that continues Assistant Coach Ray Wilkins will take charge of the team on a temporary basis."

New Record

Brazilian Scolari, 60, was appointed last summer as the replacement for Avram Grant.

He led his country to World Cup glory in 2002 before taking charge of Portugal for Euro 2004, leading them to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2006.

Scolari twice turned down approaches about the possibility of becoming England manager and during Euro 2008 it was confirmed he would take charge at Chelsea for the start of this season.

He led Chelsea to a 4-0 win over Portsmouth in his first Barclays Premier League match and followed that with a 1-0 victory at Wigan Athletic - the first of 11 consecutive away successes, a new Premier League record.

Scolari suffered his first league defeat on 26th October as Liverpool ended their 86-match unbeaten home league record with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

A month later Chelsea crashed out of the Carling Cup beaten on penalties by Championship side Burnley and in December they only secured qualification for the Champions League knockout stages in the final match after beating CFR Cluj 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

The New Year has already brought defeats by title rivals Manchester United and Liverpool as well as seeing them held 1-1 at Stamford Bridge by Southend United in the FA Cup.

The failure to beat Hull City at Stamford Bridge coupled with a negative reaction from the fans proved to be the final straw as the London side bid to salvage their title challenge as well as their Champions League and FA Cup campaigns.

Source by Premier League.com