March 12, 2010
English Premier League- Manchester United Leads the League Provisionally
By Stephen Lars
Manchester United managed to place itself at the head of the English League after beating the Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 last Saturday, in another round of the Premier League.
This match took place at the Molineux Stadium. For this game, Manchester United couldn’t count on the participation of its star striker Wayne Rooney, who had suffered an injury during a friendly game between the English and Egyptian national teams last week.
Rooney is not the only one missing. Michael Owen was also injured and is out for the rest of the season. The absences prompted Alex Ferguson, United’s manager, to change his entire game plan. To strengthen his team, Ferguson played the Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov in the principal role of striker.
Despite their superiority, the Red Devils had to work a bit harder than usual to defeat the Wolves, who from the start gave a strong fight.
With several players in the middle of the pitch, the home team tried to stop the advance of its opponents. Even when United had control of the ball, the Red Devils had difficulty entering their rivals’ area.
The match thus developed evenly for both teams. While United focused on the attack, the Wanderers defended themselves quite effectively – they seemed able to guess the moves of their opponents.
With each of the visitors’ advances, the hosts responded wisely with an attack. Both teams performed well, creating opportunities to score. It was this battle that dominated the first half, although neither team managed to open the score.
In the second half, the champions of England seemed to suddenly realize that a win would put them in first place of the Premier League. They reinforced their game strategy with more direct attacks and more intense and constant plays.
For its part, the host team was not daunted by the superiority of its rivals, responding with a tidy defense that coped well with the onslaught of heavy attacks.
But the United players were firm in gaining their three points from victory. They continued their powerful attacks with no mercy.
They advanced until they were finally able to enter their rivals’ area. Well located, midfielder Paul Scholes took advantage of a mistake in the Wolves’ defense at minute 72 to score his 100th goal in the Premier League. The ball headed straight for the back of Marcus Hahnemann’s net, with the goalie unable to do anything to stop the powerful shot.
With the score 1-0 in their favor, United immediately sought a second goal, but a bad decision from Korean midfielder Park Ji-Sung – located in front of the goal – turned an opportunity to make 2-0 into a pass. The Wolvehampton defense quickly closed in, protecting its area and removing the danger to its goal.
The game ended 1-0, and Manchester took its 3 points to place itself at the head of the English Premier League with 63 points. The team is followed by Chelsea and Arsenal with 61 points each. United players will have to await their next meeting against the Blues to determine whether or not they will be able to keep their leading position.
About the Author
Stephen Lars has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.