Match Report: Portsmouth 0-1 Manchester United
An under strength Manchester United claimed a precious win at the notoriously difficult Fratton Park thanks to a Darren Fletcher goal.
Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed back Carlos Tevez, while Anderson returned from the Olympic Games (yesterday!) to ensure the continued loss of Ryan Giggs, and the absence of Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick, was not a blow.
United deservedly took the lead on 32 minutes when lovely work on the left hand side - a constant highlight of the first half - from Tevez and Evra saw the Frenchman's drilled ball go in off Darren Fletcher, Sol Campbell and Distin. Whose goal? Maybe a Campbell own goal but Fletcher will be keen to claim the goal that would put him top scorer at the club. It was just reward for the Scot's workrate in the first half, which saw him work with under pressure with Brown on United's right side.
Brazilian Anderson fizzed in a wonderful pass that Rooney expertly controlled, turning, and firing narrowly wide from 20 yards, just before the break.
Anderson's logic defying fitness levels was perhaps of marginally less belief than referee Chris Foy's decision not to send off Papa Douba Diop when he punched the ball away from Wayne Rooney in the dying seconds of the first half - in fact, the Senegalese midfielder escaped any punishment whatsoever, just moments after receiving a yellow card. The scenario had yet to play its final scene as Diop again escaped any punishment in the final moments of the match following a bad tackle on Tevez.
The second half was one of few chances but, again, United created arguably the better openings. There were many plusses for United alongside the result and the stand out display of Anderson - Evra's magic work down the left hand side, Brown and Fletcher in a very surprising confident combination down the right hand side, Possebon making an impressive cameo after the decision to rest Anderson after 70 minutes, Rooney's impressive forward work, the fantastic defensive work of a patchwork Vidic, and of course the always understated work that is the genius of Paul Scholes.
United head into a mammoth Premier League double header with renewed optimism - and with the increasing body count being replenished, the cause for excitement can only grow.
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Source:(Yolkie)