Manchester United 1 v 0 Aston Villa
Old Trafford, Manchester
20th August 2005
Another Saturday morning kick-off gave United the chance to move all the way to the top of the Premeirship, after two games, and put pressure on their title-rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, who played each-other the next day.
With Ronaldo not having played for Portugal midweek because of injury, our Portuguese starlet wasn't expected to start, but it seems that Manchester United need him if they are going to win games against the likes of Villa.
From the very start the Birmingham-based team put up all the stops, with a defensive 4-5-1 formation, causing United trouble in getting through to even have a chance at a shot on goal. With Park Ji Sung constantly cutting inside, the Reds lacked width, and it was only when Ronaldo came on on 60 minutes that they gained this. Park had had an energetic game, but ultimately failed to get the ball into an attacking position in the final third. His one chance, when he cut into the area for a shot, saw him strike the ball staright at Sorenson.
Ronaldo arrived in place of Park, and immediatley began to woo the fans. Clever step-overs and his constant ambition to run at defenders and keep attacking led to the tempo reaching its usual OT level, and gave Ronaldo the chance to impress down the left.
His biggest cheer came possibly from balancing the ball on his foot whilst waiting for Heinze to run up for the throw-in, but it wasn't all showboating! Ronaldo made a key-contribution to the goal, rifting to the right and crossing in for van Nistelrooy to bang home from a yard out, and with the keeper beaten by the cross, which had deflected off Mellberg.
More mature performing came in teh dying minutes. With the score at 1 - 0, United couldn't afford to lose the ball, and Ronaldo ensured that they didn't, dribbling and jinking neatly into the corner and winning throw after throw to run the game out.
Aston Villa go home broken, and United have maybe given teams who choose to come here trying to all-out defend something to think about.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O'Shea (Heinze 59), Fletcher, Keane, Scholes, Rooney (Smith 78), van Nistelrooy, Park (Ronaldo 59).
Subs Not Used: Howard, Richardson.
Booked: Rooney, Scholes.
Goals: van Nistelrooy 66.
Aston Villa: Sorensen, Hughes, Ridgewell, Mellberg, Samuel (Djemba-Djemba 20), De la Cruz (Solano 73), McCann, Davis, Barry, Whittingham (Moore 73), Angel.
