Manchester United 3-0 Fulham: Wayne Rooney Double Sends Red Devils To Premier League Summit
Manchester United returned to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win against Fulham at Old Trafford this afternoon. Wayne Rooney scored twice in the second half before Dimitar Berbatov rounded off the scoring in the final stages.
The Red Devils had an early chance to take the lead, Darren Fletcher exchanged passes with Berbatov and the Bulgarian forward slipped a beautifully weighted pass into the right-hand side of the penalty area. Mark Schwarzer came out to close the angle and Fletcher played the ball inside to the oncoming Rooney. He went to shoot first time but mis-kicked under pressure from Aaron Hughes and the ball squirmed back to the ‘keeper who collected gratefully.
Fulham responded a few minutes later with a fine individual effort by Clint Dempsey. Simon Davies closed down Gary Neville and stole the ball from the United fullback. It fell to the American midfielder 35 yards out and he went for goal, hammering the ball inches over the crossbar to Edwin van der Sar’s left.
The Cottagers were defending well in the opening stages, working hard to contain Manchester United’s attacking flurries. They were closing down well and restricting the number of opportunities on goal, making Manchester United work to create chances.
United opened up the Fulham defence in the 25th minute, Berbatov dribbled inside and passed to Rooney on the edge of the penalty area. The Englishman quickly shifted the ball out to Nani on the left flank who whipped a cross into the front post area. Berbatov had continued his run and met the ball with a firm header, but sent it over the bar from close range.
Rooney tested the ‘keeper in the 30th minute with a stinging drive on goal. Michael Carrick played the ball into Rooney on the edge of the Cottagers penalty area and he tried to move the ball onto his strike partner Berbatov. The Bulgarian was closed out but the ball came back to Rooney and he went for goal immediately, lashing towards the left-hand side of the goal. Schwarzer responded with a quality diving save, getting both hands to the shot and pushing the ball to safety.
United were almost caught out by a long ball over the top as half time approached. Danny Murphy spotted Bobby Zamora peeling off the shoulder of his marker and floated a pass over the top of the United defence. The England hopeful spotted van der Sar off his line and attempted a first time lob, it was a good idea but his execution was off and it looped harmlessly over.
Rooney tried his luck from long range before the half was out. He worked half a yard and curled the ball towards the top left-hand corner. It was a good effort, but it went just wide of the target and Schwarzer looked to have it covered.
United opened the scoring with their first attack of the second half. Rooney collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and spread it out wide to Nani on the left. The Portuguese winger sent a low cross into the centre where Rooney arrived unmarked to slot home into the bottom right-hand corner with his left foot.
The hosts continued their push forward and had Fulham in disarray in the 54th minute. Antonio Valencia crossed into the box from the right flank towards Berbatov, but Hughes managed to get there in front of the United front man to flick it on to the back post where Nani collected. The winger tried to play in Rooney but the ball ricochetted off a couple of Fulham legs before coming to the United striker. He went for goal but had his shot blocked by Brede Hangeland and Fulham managed to clear.
Rio Ferdinand came close to extending his side’s lead in the 65th minute from a corner kick. The cross was behind the United skipper but he adjusted brilliantly, swinging his right foot at the ball and diverting it towards the top right-hand corner of the goal. It flashed inches over the cross bar, but there was a man on the post.
Both sides made changes at this point, Dempsey coming off for Fulham to be replaced by Erik Nevland before Valencia made way for Ji-Sung Park.
Fulham had a golden chance to level the score in the 74th minute. Murphy’s pass deflected off Nevland and ran through to Zamora who burst clear of the United back line. The Englishman dallied on the ball and allowed Nemanja Vidic time to recover, chasing back to put in a quality sliding challenge to deny Zamora a shooting opportunity.
Park reinvigorated the United attack, dribbling into the left-hand side of penalty area in the 78th minute. He flicked the ball to Berbatov with the outside of his right foot and the unmarked Bulgarian headed wide of the right-hand post.
The hosts continued to look for a second with Park playing a key part in their next attack. The South Korean ran inside from high on the left flank and played the ball forward to Fletcher. The Scot skipped inside a Fulham defender and hammered goal wards, forcing Schwarzer into a wonderful left-handed save.
United’s second goal was all about Berbatov’s skill. He brought the ball under control beautifully on the left flank from a long pass forward. The Bulgarian was shepherded by two Fulham defenders but beat them easily and dribbled towards the byline. He looked up and saw Rooney arriving into the centre of the box and slipped the ball to his strike partner. The Englishman made no mistake, slotting home into the bottom left-hand corner of the Fulham goal to put his side 2-0 up.
The Red Devils had a third before the game was done. Rooney sprayed a precise pass to Park on the right flank who controlled quickly before launching a swift cross into the near post area. Berbatov got there before the Fulham defender and headed past Schwarzer at the near post: 3-0 to Manchester United.
