After a couple of dodgy performances, United faced Aston Villa in the oldest cup competition in world football, the prestigious (or rather the not-so-prestigious-anymore) FA Cup.
Which should be good news for Fergie and the lads because United have got a fantastic record against Villa and a switch in focus from the Premiership will probably help them snap out of the mini slump of form they're in.
The good news is, they were no where near as bad as they were in the last 2 matches. The bad news is, the sharpness is still missing.
Match highlights
It was a cagey, tactical sort of match at most times, both teams playing cautiously and not really going for it. Which is kind of funny with Capello watching from the stands. He probably felt like he was watching a match back home in Italy and wondering what the fuss is all about regarding the Premiership. There were some brilliant passages of play from United, but it came in fits and the fluency is not quite there yet.
Some of the performances from the players were quite disappointing as well. Notably Saha, Carrick and Park. I don't know what exactly is wrong with Saha, but he just looked completely clueless out on the pitch, kept losing the ball and generally didn't produce an ounce of positive play. The same could be said about Park, who came back with a bang against Birmingham, but struggled to get into the game at Villa Park. He ran around a lot but this time more like a headless chicken. Now Carrick probably didn't perform as bad as the other two, but he is way, way below what we know he is capable of and that is what's most disappointing about him.
Maybe I'm being a bit too critical. Park after all, just came back from injury. Him sucking for a match or two should be expected. Saha and Carrick, on the other hand, has got some good minutes under them by now and needs to play better than that. I realise the both of them are the kind of players who need to play consistently to be at their best. They're not impact players who can come off the bench and make things happen.
Rooney on the other hand is such a player. The boy's a special talent and he can change a game at any given moment. United are a completely different team when Rooney and Ronaldo are on the pitch, as evident by the sucking early in the season when the both of them were missing.
Ronnie has been most excellent, carrying us on numerous occasions but he can't do it all the time. Especially when he has to deal with constantly having 2 or 3 defenders closing him down every time he goes near the ball. But with Wazza on the field as well, opposing defenders can't afford to do that.
When he came on, instantly there was more threat when we had the ball. Villa, who had played rather decently up to that point, struggled to adjust to the additional threat of Rooney and it resulted in the opening goal. Lovely link up and a peach of a cross from Giggs. Ronnie, as always, there to slot it home. 19 goals in all competition, an astonishing feat for a winger, he really has a knack for scoring goals.
After that, Villa had to gamble and chase the game, although they never really threatened during the entire match. But when you commit players forward, you leave vast amounts of space and time for your opponents to take advantage of. And against players like Ronaldo and Rooney, a second goal was almost inevitable. Ronnie breaking at speed, the deflection and Rooney with a fine finish.
Not a vintage performance from United, but I'm sure Fergie would be very glad to get the victory and save themselves from the additional burden of a replay, which was looking likely until Rooney's intervention. With the amount of games coming up, a replay is the last thing United need.
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