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ItalJockey
Starting Member
USA
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 Posted - Aug 19 2001 : 9:57:29 PM
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MONDAY AUGUST 20 2001
Van Nistelrooy sinks Fulham
BY MATT DICKINSON, FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT
Manchester United 3 Fulham 2
THE summer conference of Premiership chairmen was off and running some weeks ago when it was interrupted by the roar of a helicopter landing on the lawn outside. A few minutes later, the doors were thrown open and Mohamed Al Fayed strode in like a visiting potentate. His team made a similarly grand entrance to the top flight yesterday before Ruud van Nistelrooy slammed the doors shut.
The Holland striker’s two goals in three minutes — four in total in a busy week for club and country — killed off Fulham’s challenge at Old Trafford but not before they had proved that they will be a wonderful addition to the FA Barclaycard Premiership. Twice they took the lead through the brilliance of Louis Saha and, even faced with the onslaught of a United comeback, attempted to entertain. “Stress? Me, never,” Jean Tigana, their manager, said. He talks, and his team plays, with an infectious smile.
Tigana claimed that his team deserved a point from their first game in the top division since 1968, and Sir Alex Ferguson could only concur. The United manager’s delight with Van Nistelrooy and Juan Sebastián Verón was marred by his anger at more sloppy defending, and added credence to his pre-match revelation that the big regret of the summer was failing to lure Lilian Thuram.
The France defender opted for Juventus ahead of United and, from the evidence of two successive Sundays, he could be the missing link which will ensure that, when it comes to the big European nights, the English champions continue to fall just short. After their torture by Michael Owen, Jaap Stam and Gary Neville were outmanoeuvred by Saha and Barry Hayles, and Ferguson ended up throwing on Wes Brown for the final 11 minutes, such was his concern at a late slip. “It is not as if we are being sliced open with great passing or dribbling,” Ferguson said. “They are just coming through us and we will have problems until we get it right.”
Ferguson spoke of “sluggishness” among his back line and it was exposed after just three minutes when Fulham’s campaign got off to a remarkable start. Saha had drifted away from Neville but he still had plenty of work to do when Sean Davis picked him out with a well-judged chip. The ball was dropping over his shoulder but Saha managed to control it and, as Fabien Barthez stood in no-man’s land, the striker lobbed it over him for a wonderful goal.
It is a measure of United’s attacking potency that they should twice come went close to an equaliser in the first 20 minutes, even though they were short of their best. Edwin van der Sar arched his back to save brilliantly from David Beckham’s dipping shot and Paul Scholes hit the crossbar after a 70-yard dash by Ryan Giggs. Phil Neville, who had started as an unlikely accomplice to Verón in the centre of the field, made way to allow an early reshuffle in which Scholes dropped deeper and Andrew Cole came into a more conventional attack.
Within a few seconds of the substitution, United were level but the goal owed less to the change in tactics than a large dose of fortune. Steve Finnan’s tackle on Giggs 20 yards from goal looked legitimate on first viewing and numerous replays failed to show the illegality as Giggs turned away with the ball. Tigana was sanguine even though the decision allowed Beckham to score from a free kick via the underside of the crossbar. “When you play the big teams, the referee is under a big pressure,” Tigana said. “I know beause I have played for big teams and I have taken advantage before.”
Ferguson tried to “settle down” his side during the interval but whatever he said appeared to have made little difference as Fulham quickly regained the lead. Again it was Saha’s pace and precision that was their undoing as the forward outpaced Gary Neville and slid a low shot past Barthez. “France has Henry, Trezeguet and many great strikers,” Tigana said, “but Saha has the qualities to get into the side.”
Even with Verón such a captivating presence at the heart of the United midfield as he glided around the field replete with feints and flicks, the champions could not quite eradicate the glitches. But there is nothing more dangerous than a Ferguson team with its backs to the wall. The weight of attacking power is too strong for most teams to resist and, having taken the lead for the second time, it was probably inevitable that Fulham would begin to retreat too deeply. United took advantage as Van Nistelrooy pounced for his first Premiership goals.
His performance had been solid but unspectacular but he took his only two chances of the game, which explains why he is worth more than £18 million. Lifting the first over Van der Sar after a clever overhead pass by Cole, he prodded in the second from close range when Hayles caused confusion by heading Beckham’s deep cross back into his own area. “We always know we can score and it got us out of jail,” Ferguson said. “It is a great quality but one day we will get caught.”
It was an unsettling day at the office for United and yet Roy Keane was suspended, Dwight Yorke not even on the bench and there is sure to be improvement from Stam, who seems unsettled by the recent furore over his book.
A narrow victory for United but a win all the same; Fulham won plenty of friends but no points.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-1-1): F Barthez — D Irwin, G Neville, J Stam, M Silvestre — D Beckham, J S Verón (sub: W Brown, 80min), P Neville (sub: A Cole, 35), R Giggs — P Scholes — R van Nistelrooy (sub: L Chadwick, 76). Substitutes not used: O G Solskjaer, R Carroll.
FULHAM (4-4-2): E van der Sar — S Finnan, A Melville, A Goma, J Harley — S Malbranque (sub: A Quaddou, 88), B Goldbaek (sub: A Stolcers, 80), S Davis, J Collins — L Saha, B Hayles (sub: K Betsy, 84). Substitutes not used: K Symons, M Taylor. Booked: Goma.
Referee: P Jones.
Old Trafford man-to-man marking
MANCHESTER UNITED
(4-4-1-1)
FABIEN BARTHEZ: Stood no chance with Saha’s goals and showed his class with a typically flamboyant first-half save to deny the forward a hat-trick 6
DENIS IRWIN: Age may finally have begun to take its toll on the defender, who looked particularly susceptible to pace 5
GARY NEVILLE: Less than comfortable in his preferred role in the centre of the defence, he will not look back fondly on either of Saha’s goals 5
JAAP STAM: Not the display he would have wanted in order to appease his manager after his controversial comments 5
MIKAEL SILVESTRE: Less than convincing in defence but played an important part in the winning goal 6
DAVID BECKHAM: Nowhere near his best but the free kick that put United back on level terms was a genuine classic 7
JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON: A number of elegant touches offered great encouragement, but he would have prospered more alongside Roy Keane 6
PHIL NEVILLE: Made no impression in an unfamiliar midfield holding role 5
RYAN GIGGS: Produced some magical moments with his dribbling skills, but never really hurt Fulham 6
PAUL SCHOLES: Far more influential after he was pushed back into midfield. Yet to show that he can thrive in the tailor-made position behind Van Nistelrooy 6
RUUD VAN NISTELROOY: Aggressive, direct and blessed with a goalscorer’s knack, he has given United a new dimension 8
Substitutes used: Andrew Cole (for P Neville, 35min): His presence was enough to unsettle Fulham, but he failed to fight his way out of Van Nistelrooy’s considerable shadow 6
Luke Chadwick (for Van Nistelrooy, 76); Wes Brown (for Verón, 80).
Substitutes not used: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Roy Carroll.
FULHAM
(4-4-2)
EDWIN VAN DER SAR: Made a world-class save to deny Beckham in the first half and exuded authority 7
STEVE FINNAN: That rare bread: a full back who can defend and attack. Unlucky to be punished for a tackle on Giggs that led to United’s first goal 7
ANDY MELVILLE: Had the unenviable task of containing Van Nistelrooy and deserves credit for restricting him to only two opportunities, albeit two too many 6
ALAIN GOMA: Acquitted himself well but, like Melville, had no answer to Van Nistelrooy 6
JON HARLEY: Frustrated Beckham for long periods and also pushed forward well to help the attack 7
STEED MALBRANQUE: A promising debut, summed up by the vision and technique with which he set up Saha’s second 7
BJARNE GOLDBAEK: Worked tirelessly but lacked the class to impose himself fully on a midfield which was there for the taking 6
SEAN DAVIS: Looked entirely at home in such exulted company. The “Davis for England” chants will gain in volume over the coming months 8
JOHN COLLINS: Not able to dictate as he did in his prime, but his vision and experience make him invaluable 6
LOUIS SAHA: Superb. Took his two goals with remarkable composure and gave Stam and company a runaround that they will not forget in a hurry 9
BARRY HAYLES: Caused the United defence problems, but never threatened to score 7
Substitutes used: Andrejs Stolcers (for Goldbaek, 80); Kevin Betsy (for Hayles, 84); Abdes Quaddou (for Malbranque, 88).
Substitutes not used: Kit Symons, Maik Taylor.
Referee: P Jones: Allowed the game to flow, a rarity in itself these days. But may have made the wrong call on a couple of marginal incidents
Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard terms and conditions. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from The Times, visit the Syndication website.
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