Blackburn 0-0 Man Utd

Manchester United were dealt a blow in the race for the Premier League title as they were held 0-0 by Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men came into the game on the back of a poor run of results, having lost to Chelsea at home last weekend before being dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

And it was to get no better as a resolute Rovers side stood firm to contain United and restrict them to few opportunities, as the champions looked lightweight up front without Wayne Rooney.

The best chance of the match fell to Antonio Valencia towards the end of the first half - the Ecuadorian was fed through by Dimitar Berbatov but his shot was well saved by Paul Robinson.

United toiled after the break but could not find a telling breakthrough, putting Chelsea in the driving seat in the hunt for domestic glory.

Not for the first time recently, Dimitar Berbatov was a disappointment and the fact Rio Ferdinand was feeling his groin towards the end suggested a problem Fabio Capello will not want.

There are no worries for Chelsea though, who still lead the Red Devils by a point, with a game in hand, knowing the main danger to their championship aspirations now lies much closer to home, at Arsenal.

Although United had not actually lost their last three games, that is how it felt.

Even Sir Alex Ferguson spoke in those terms ahead of the clash, a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich apparently not enough to take away the feeling of desolation an away-goals Champions League exit.

In such circumstances, a rip-roaring response would normally be anticipated, the players sent out to represent Ferguson eager not to let their manager down.

On this occasion, such urgings fell on deaf ears.

Although they gradually took control, on a sunny afternoon, the first half took on the air of a pre-season contest.

On Blackburn's part, the lack of urgency was understandable given their position firmly wedged in mid-table.

For United it was an altogether different story. After all, they are still supposed to be playing for the title.

Indeed, while it might only be because Chelsea were on FA Cup duty on Saturday, the prize for victory was a place at the top of the table.

Despite their torpor, United should have been in front at the break.

Valencia was the recipient of both clear-cut chances.

The first was created by Federico Macheda, making his first Premier League start of the season.

Valencia charged on to the young Italian's neat pass with purpose and let fly with a powerful effort that was heading for the bottom corner until Robinson made a fine low save.

Berbatov was the architect of the second. Ferguson had little choice other than to declare his trust in the Bulgarian given Rooney was missing with an ankle injury.

But it was a largely unhappy afternoon for United's £30.75million record signing, who was reduced to arm-waving and head-shaking as his meaningful contribution until he threaded a pass through to Valencia.

The South American eagerly latched on to the chance but again Robinson denied him, this time at close quarters.

As there was no immediate injection of focus or direction after the interval, so Ferguson decided to sacrifice Giggs, who admittedly had been fairly anonymous.

Outstanding earlier this season, the Welshman has struggled for form since recovering from his broken arm.

His replacement, Darron Gibson, is at least prepared to shoot, as he proved in midweek.

The Irishman's aim was a bit askew. But at least he tried as United's season began to crumble around them.

That Scholes chose to play on as Berbatov was down and apparently injured after a crunching collision with Nelsen seemed to tell its own story about the discontent in the United camp.

Friction between Edwin van der Sar and Ferdinand would be less easy to understand, although there was a clear lack of communication between the pair as, under no pressure, England's new captain booted a ball out for a corner the keeper was about to collect.

Berbatov's unhappy afternoon continued when he failed to test Robinson, having been set up by Neville and then fired wide after a long throw from the full-back bounced straight through the Blackburn defence.

It was almost an epitaph for his entire United career, and when Neville's late scuffed effort rolled wide, the vast travelling support knew their season was destined to end in disappointment.

Source: Sky Sports
Date Published: 12 April 2010

Latest Forum Comments

Have your say on Blackburn 0-0 Man Utd in the United Online forum

I just think we were beaten by a better team on the day, and our big players didn't show up. Xavi and Iniesta ran rings around our midfield. Yes, we missed Fletcher, but we were also playing against a side with a patched up back-four and we hardly gave them any defensive problems whatsoever.

- Menace

I thought the simple reason they outplayed us was that nobody seemed to want to put a foot in. Fletch was a huge miss that day, Anderson was really poor as his replacement. Fletch or Hargreaves being available might have made a big difference. Besides, would it not be the gaffer's business to stamp any dressing room stupidity out?

- Jonesy

I agree but shouldn't we be comparing ourselves with the likes of Barcelona? Yes Chelsea and Liverpool may need to do some rebuilding shortly and Arsenal are probably more potential at the moment but if we stand still because those teams aren't that great then it gives the likes of Man City and Arsenal a real chance to actually over take us and we've already seen a lot more surprises in the Premier League this season because that gap is closing. It's good for the neutral but considering we've recently been ahead of all the other teams in England, it's frustrating to see us in the current situation. This could of course be a knee jerk reaction as I don't think we're that bad and if we'd had Van Der Sar, Vidic and Ferdinand fully fit all season then I think we'd have been clear in the title race by now and wouldn't have given silly goals away earlier in the season. It's a big IF though and we obviously need more creativity and an alternative to Rooney bringing in during the summer but I don't think we're as bad as a lot of people are making out at the moment.

- Dave

I really hate football right now. Playing three guys in their mid 30s wasn't the problem on Sunday (it certainly has been a problem in games against top, high tempo opposition - particularly Chelsea at OT). Our difficulty, much as I don't like to admit it, is our frontline is very much Rooney or bust. Berbatov is a wonderful talent and does look quite good playing with Rooney, and even to a lesser extent with Owen at times, but he plays far, far too deep so in effect we were playing a 4-5-1 with a rookie 18-year-old striker. We did also miss both Rafael/Evra's attacking instincts from full-back. But I really don't think we've been that much worse this year than last. Valencia may not score as many goals as Ronaldo but he has vastly improved the supply line from wide areas; Nani is playing much, much better and our goal tally is better than last year. But for Rafael's red card, we may well have matched last season's Champions League final plac.e We're not a million miles away from Chelsea either. A viable, mobile alternative to Rooney up front and an ingenious midfielder in the mould of Scholes are the key to making major improvements next season. So we better hope the takeover bid proceeds both well and swiftly. Maybe finishing third and (Carling Cup aside) trophy-less will be the perfect backdrop to rouse some of the more complacent supporters to opposing the Glazers.

- Neil

yeah i agree they weren't the problem on Sunday but i just don't think they should all be starting games together anymore. i still have no idea why we didn't go with gibson and fletcher considering how well they both played against bayern munich.

- Shaun

i dont think giggs, neville and scholes should all be starting games together.

- Shaun

Such a disappointing performance. The last four games have seen our season implode and highlighted how much we rely on Rooney. I feel so much for Berbatov as it clearly is his dream to be playing for United and things just haven't worked out. I was so happy when we signed him, but maybe it would be best for everyone if ties were broken this summer. He doesn't deserve to be booed, but he simply does not fit into our high tempo style of play, he slows everything down, and that's just not how we play, no matter what formation we use. I'm not expecting too much in the summer, but we need some creative magic in midfield. If nothing happens then hopefully Hargreaves and Anderson can hit their top form next season. I think we will struggle to finish in the top 2 now.

- Menace

completely agree with the tevez comment above, we've missed him a lot in recent weeks.

- Shaun

apprently utd away fans were singing abuse about berbatov today like 'your not fit to wear the shirt' and 'fergie get him off fergie fergie get him off' anyone there confirm this? i really cant believe our fans would.

- birchy

Gutted and Angry. Really poor performance that lacked any title fight. Yes some players put it in and tried but overall we didnt deserve anything today. We look void of any confidence, City must be licking their lips at the chance to put the final nail in the coffin next week. Its going to be an interesting summer with our unknown shopping limit. lets hope our scouts have been working double time and we can bring some quality in on the cheap. we seem to lack the drive, energy, creativeness and control so much this season and i really cant see how thats going to chance when we rely sooo badly on 1 player.

- birchy