David steps up, United don’t quit and Hernandez has Chelsea ‘on toast’
UNITED FANS could be forgiven for thinking simply yesterday going into Stamford Bridge; win if we can, don’t get trounced, close the gap. There was going to be a lot of focus on this game and more often than not in big game situations Manchester United deliver, it is the way of the team we all love and it has been right back to those Babes we remember today. Under the spotlight, the boys done good, yes, doubters, even the goalkeeper. In the cold light of day the team can be proud with what they delivered. We were three goals down without it ever really looking deserved. Chelsea will dissect their own performance, and should, because deserved or not they had us on the ropes and left with a point. But they didn’t give us the path back into the game, look at the second half, we bull dozed our own path back.
“Torres could have built a B&Q Warehouse AND watched the Dances With Wolves extended version given the space and time he had to cross the ball but it was a classy strike.”
Mathematically there’s still a gap between us and City, and Sir Alex did view it as two points lost rather than one gained and yes statistically he is correct but there’s a lot to be said for that one point; it could hold the answers to the rest of the season, as a game of football, it contained our entire season thus far from lapses (Paddy Evra, wake up) to just plain being on the wrong end of quality (Mata). Unlike in previous games we can all mention we were not the shambles you would expect of a team losing by such a score line in the second half; Sturridge’s goal saw a deflection as did Luiz’s. The Mata strike was absolute quality and you can only applaud that, the cross from Fernando Torres was begging to be hit and hit it was. Torres could have built a B&Q Warehouse AND watched the Dances With Wolves extended version given the space and time he had to cross the ball but it was a classy strike.
That’s as far as the inquest will go because the rest of yesterday was beautiful. The questions United fans were asking themselves at three down were all about to be answered.
David De Gea’s performance in the whole game defended those of the opinion that he is a superb shot stopper from distance. The biggest issues David’s got will be solved by the confidence he will gain from making sure Daniel Sturridge didn’t get on the score sheet and Juan Mata didn’t get there twice. It is by no means the end of the journey for the boy, but for the cameras, for the doubters, for United fans and for himself he may well have proved he is ready to at least turn that corner.
You could be forgiven for thinking that just as United had clawed their way back level, it was all going to end horribly, it’s a mad season this one so it could well have happened. Juan Mata tried to make it so, but a magnificent leap and stretch from our number one kept the score line level and hopefully earned a period of silence from those that doubt David. Write him a thank you card, go one, for a string of quality saves which meant the attacking efforts were not in vain. (It’s good when one department helps out the other, a lesson England’s batting order could learn next time their bowler’s dig them out of trouble but, I digress).
GTS makes no apologies for revelling in the beauty of yesterday and abandoning for a moment what it actually meant in terms of the league. The day before the anniversary of the Munich disaster, that United gave such a never-say-die performance and a few critics were silenced, is as fitting a tribute to those who left us, as there could be. Well, we could have won I suppose but that’s the kind of comeback we keep for European finals.
We can even forgive Wayne Rooney’s hair (I mean, seriously, who pays that money for it and then does that to it, Cleverley we can understand but come on).
Watch Ryan Giggs’ gorgeous cross, Javier Hernandez’s majestic leap to meet the ball with his head and send United level, it was poetry in motion. Hell froze over after the game when Sir Alex admitted that Hernandez probably should have been in from the start as he caused Chelsea problems and ‘had them on toast’. United celebrated that goal not just because of what it brought them in that game but for what it can mean for the games to come.
“I think we played so well apart from a period of ten minutes after half time, we got off to a terrible start and lost two goals in that period. It’s not easy coming back from three goals down, that’s a massive effort from our players. I thought we were the far better team.” – Sir Alex
A thing of beauty is a joy forever, and let’s hope there is more to come next weekend when Liverpool come for a visit.
In a bit.
Given to Score 