They were odds-on favourites to hand out a hammering. With back-to-back 5-0 wins over the festive period, the smart money was on Man United to sweep Blackburn aside this lunchtime….
Many Fantasy managers sat back in anticipation of another goal frenzy, handing the armband to the likes of Nani and Wayne Rooney, with the champions heavily backed to turn Steve Kean’s strugglers over with ease. Last season’s 7-0 scoreline served a reminder of the potential on offer at Old Trafford today but the visitors failed to read the script, chalking up a stunning victory. In keeping with the tone of a frustrating last couple of gameweeks, the Ewood Park outfit took advantage of a United backline plagued by injuries, edging the champions in a 3-2 thriller.
Nani picked up a single point, having been booked. It was a point more than Rooney, though, who sat out the proceedings, watching on as Dimitar Berbatov again took the opportunity of a rare start to get amongst the goals. The Bulgarian’s brace took his tally to 5 in the last two matches, further frustrating Rooney’s owners in particular.
The omission of Rooney came out of the blue. Nothing was mentioned by Sir Alex Ferguson in yesterday’s press conference and having been afforded a brief sub appearance against Wigan, the assumption was he’d be a definite starter. Post-match, the United boss offered an explanation:
Wayne hasn’t trained well this week, he’s missed a few days and we’re hoping that he trains today, tomorrow and, by Wednesday, he should be okay. It’s little strains here and there.
With doubts over the availability of Robin Van Persie, many had chosen to overlook the Gunners skipper as captaincy material for fear of rest and rotation. Arsene Wenger’s confirmation that the Dutchman would play against QPR only came after the gameweek 19 deadline; those who took the armband off him were left to rue the decision.
The Dutchman bagged the winner in a narrow win over QPR and again looks a good chance of picking up bonus for his display. In a gameweek with just one clean sheet in eight matches so far, and with Chelsea and Spurs’ leading lights failing to turn up, Van Persie’s current captaincy haul of 12 points seems relatively substantial.
It’s over to City, Sunderland, West Brom and Everton now to salvage what is left of a forgettable gameweek. No point in writing it off just yet; it’s a fair assumption that, after today’s results, we can be prepared to expect the unexpected. You only need to ask Steve Kean.
