Man United found an uneasy passage to the last eight of the Champions League, surviving a fretful conclusion to see off Marseille courtesy of a Javier Hernandez double strike. Further injuries at the back blighted an otherwise jubilant night at Old Trafford – here’s the notes…
Alex Ferguson was without Nemanja Vidic at the back as the Serb missed out with a calf injury. Reports last night suggested that Vidic would be sidelined for three weeks – Ferguson avoided confirming this post-match. The absence of Vidic meant that Wes Brown and Chris Smalling took up the central defensive roles with Patrice Evra skippering the side. Nani returned from his shin gash to take up his role on the flank, with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick also earning midfield starts. Antonio Valencia completed his comeback from long-term injury by replacing a tiring Nani on 61 minutes.
Hernandez has now notched 16 goals in United colours in his first season – a superb return from the Mexican. Alex Ferguson was, not surprisingly, eager to lavish further praise on his fledgling goal-poacher following last night’s haul…
“We thought he was a young lad who was going to progress and maybe have to get used to our training and English football, but he’s been an absolute star and a real bonus for us…His movement is fantastic, he’s always on the move, and his timing of runs is terrific. He’s always on the last defender.”
For Fantasy Managers, the blossoming partnership with between Hernandez and Wayne Rooney appears to cast serious doubt over the involvement of Dimitatr Berbatov. Ferguson went on to pick out the effectiveness of his current strike pairing, offering further evidence to suggest that they have become established as a first choice option…
“They’re a good combination. Their partnership has been developing really well. Where Wayne has played in the last couple of games has really threatened teams. He’s got such power and speed with ball.”
Berbatov has started just one of the last four league games and, following this latest brace from Hernandez, he looks set to be frozen out again when Bolton arrive at Old Trafford on Saturday. Over 29,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Managers have already transferred Berbatov out of their squads in the gameweek, with over 70,000 doing the same in the previous gameweek. Hernandez, at just 6.4 in the FPL, has so far seen over 9000 transfers in but could attract more interest ahead of the Bolton clash.
The injuries sustained by John O’Shea and his replacement, Rafael, were covered in our earlier article. United have this morning offered little new information on their situation but have at least posted some official comment. As indicated previously, Ferguson now faces the prospect of facing up to the Bolton attack with a patched-up back four with Patrice Evra his only available first-choice defender.
Paul Scholes will sit out of Saturday’s clash with Bolton through suspension while Darren Fletcher and Ji-Sung Park will be remain doubts having missed last night’s tie through illness and a hamstring injury respectively. Valencia could see more action against the Trotters, although, at this stage, he would seem likely to start on the bench once again.
United’s progress will see them face a Quarter-Final first leg tie on April 5/6. That will follow a gameweek 31 trip to Upton Park in the Premier League on April 2, while the second leg on April 12/13 will follow the gameweek 32 home clash with Fulham. Fantasy Managers will need to be wary of the threat of rotation around these fixtures then – although right now, Ferguson’s options are severely limited in defence and midfield by a string of injuries. The Berbatov situation up front is certainly one to monitor however – it’s possible that the Bulgarian will be given league starts with Hernandez used for the European ties – or vice versa of course.
