Burnley 1 - 0 Manchester United

Robbie Blake, centre, celebrates his early goal for Burnley

Sir Alex Ferguson discovered the true cost of his decision to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid as Robbie Blake's first-half goal sent his toothless champions to defeat at Turf Moor.

Blake, the journeyman forward who cost Burnley just £250,000 when rejoining the club from Leeds United in 2007, marked Turf Moor's first top flight fixture for 33 years with a goal to fit the occasion, scoring with a blistering 18th minute volley.

But despite the romance of Burnley's famous victory, United only had themselves to blame.

Michael Carrick's missed penalty, Michael Owen's painful search for form and Wayne Rooney's frustration almost earning a red card as a result of a brutal late challenge on Tyrone Mears were the sorry tale of United's evening.

And it was a night when the absence of Ronaldo was telling. The Portuguese would certainly have fancied his chances from the penalty spot and, as Burnley tired late in the game, he would have relished the opportunity to put Owen Coyle's team to the sword.

For all of his faults, Ronaldo was deadly against lesser mortals. United are simply not the same without him.

Burnley chairman Barry Kilby had declared prior to this game that his club were the 'Sandinistas of the Premier League' due to this determination that Owen Coyle's team strike a blow for the little man against the established order, but the top tier of English football is no easy place to break the mould.

Stoke City afforded Burnley a reality check by sending the promoted outfit to an opening day defeat at the weekend and United, with a recent record of 17 successive victories against promoted teams, would surely emerge unbowed from Turf Moor.

But the champions were strangely impotent in the first-half as Burnley, spurred on by the bearpit atmosphere, dominated and deservedly took the lead through Blake's stunning volley.

Ferguson's starting XI certainly encouraged Burnley to be adventurous. With Ji-sung Park and Anderson deployed on both flanks, United lacked the attacking instinct of Nani and Antonio Valencia. How they could have done with Cristiano Ronaldo.

The home side took advantage and £3 million record signing Steven Fletcher and Chris McCann both went close with efforts inside the United penalty area before Blake scored Burnley's first top-flight goal since 1976.

United, missing the injured Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of their back four, allowed Martin Paterson to collect Wade Elliott's pass twelve yards from Ben Foster's goal, but the England goalkeeper blocked Paterson's initial shot.

The danger was not cleared, however, and after two scuffed United attempts to kick the ball to safety, Blake opened the scoring with a vicious right-foot volley from close range that arrowed past Foster at the near post.

Turf Moor shook with Blake's goal, but the noise levels did not subside and Burnley capitalised on the raucous backing by continuing to push United onto the back foot.

Fletcher attempted to beat Foster with scissor-kick on 23 minutes before United finally gained a foothold in midfield, with Wayne Rooney dropping back to orchestrate attacking forays.

Rooney twice shot wide from 25 yards, prompting ironic chants of 'You're not Robbie Blake!' from the Burnley supporters, but United were not seriously testing goalkeeper Brian Jensen.

Owen, in front of the watching Fabio Capello, directed a glancing header wide from a Wes Brown cross before the United forward's pass to Patrice Evra on 45 minutes led to referee Alan Wiley awarding the visitors a penalty as a result of Blake's rash challenge on the French full-back.

Here was United's chance, yet instead of grasping the opportunity to score his 100th United goal, Rooney allowed Carrick to take the spot-kick. Bad decision.

Jensen's penalty shoot-out heroics against Chelsea in the Carling Cup last season underlined his ability to outfox opponents from 12 yards and the Dane made easy work of saving Carrick's penalty.

Burnley's challenge in the second-half was merely to hold out. Without Ronaldo, United lack the lethal pace on the counter attack that so often rescued them in the past, but in Rooney and Ryan Giggs, they still possessed the players capable of killing the home side with a pass.

And as United pushed Burnley deeper and deeper, the cracks began to show in Coyle's team. Graham Alexander, at 37 the Premier League's oldest outfield player, was tiring in midfield and the back four found itself under increasing pressure.

Park had a shot blocked, Rooney sent another long range strike off target and Jensen kept out Park's low drive from 20 yards with a fine diving save.

Ferguson withdrew the ineffective Owen and sent on Dimitar Berbatov, but Burnley merely stiffened their resolve and midfielders became defenders as the clock ticked towards a nervous finale.

And despite their obvious fatigue, Burnley held on to record their first victory over United since 1968.

Red Devils plan to David Silva

Valencia midfielder David Silva has drawn the interest of English champions Manchester United. The Manchester Evening News have reported that the Red Devils plan to make a bid for the Spanish international.

United head honcho Sir Alex Ferguson could finally be dipping into the cash from the Cristiano Ronaldo sale, with a deal looking to be in the region of £20 million.

With Silva's sought-after teammate David Villa off the market, United face competition to acquire the 23-year-old's signature, as bitter rivals Liverpool have shown a keen interest as well.

The rumourmill is still abuzz despite the midfielder repeatedly declaring that he wishes to stay at the Mestalla.

"I don't know anything about the rumors and I insist that I have a contract with Valencia that I wish to fulfill," Silva said.

MU claimed their 3rd successive BPL title

United captain Gary Neville leads the celebrations

Manchester United claimed their third successive Barclays Premier League title today after a goalless draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson's side needed only a point to seal the trophy in the day's lunchtime kick-off and a steady if unspectacular performance delivered just that, making it 11 Premier League crowns in total for the Scot and 18 top-flight titles for the club overall.

United were rarely troubled by an improved Arsenal side, for whom Andrey Arshavin looked lively and Robin van Persie went close late on.

But the hosts held firm at the back and finished the job to move seven points clear of Liverpool, who travel to West Brom tomorrow but can no longer catch Ferguson's team.

Squad the key to United success

When the in-depth analysis of Manchester United's latest title success is done the conclusion will be much the same.

United won their 18th championship because their squad was far superior.

It is a fairly obvious statement. Nevertheless, it is one other clubs must take heed of.

In the same way Arsenal and then Chelsea raised the Premier League bar with their flying starts, so United have nudged it slightly further skywards by amassing more quality than any other squad in English football history, and quite possibly Europe too.

How else could United come within one FA Cup semi-final shoot-out defeat to Everton of completing a full season, with not a round missed in every competition they entered?

Cristiano Ronaldo might not agree with the way Ferguson makes his substitutions and Carlos Tevez is not always so keen on the choices his manager makes when the Red Devils teams are picked.

But from a detached viewpoint, Ferguson has assembled two complete teams that are almost impossible to differentiate from each other. No longer does the term 'first-choice side' apply.

True, there are some; Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Edwin van der Sar, who would definitely command a place in the biggest games.

How though do you choose between Rafael, Gary Neville, John O'Shea and the currently injured Wes Brown to complete the defence?

Where do you even begin to start picking between the competing talents of Michael Carrick, Anderson, Paul Scholes, Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher in central midfield, not to mention the more sparingly-used PFA Player of the Year Ryan Giggs? And don't forget Owen Hargreaves, who is hoping to be fit and raring to go by next August.

Then up front, Ferguson can select just two, and on occasion only one, of Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney.

The antics of Ronaldo and Tevez during the derby win against Manchester City might have been the first signal of cracks in Ferguson's delicate strategy beginning to appear.

After all, though the 1999 treble-winning strike force of Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is often hailed as the perfect example of squad rotation, in the years afterwards, when Cole and Yorke suddenly found themselves on the bench, it very quickly broke up.

However, the template is now in place.

If Ronaldo and Tevez do move on, replacements will come in. Franck Ribery has already been spoken of as a potential big-money recruit from Bayern Munich. Wigan's Antonio Valencia has also been watched. And when Ferguson is assessing Tevez's contribution and whether to keep him, the emergence of Federico Macheda is bound to play some part in his thinking.

Indeed, it promises to be a big summer at Old Trafford.

Quite aside from the issues over the more sulky members of his squad, Ferguson realises the contributions of Van der Sar, Giggs, Scholes and Neville cannot be relied upon much longer.

That is not to say there will be a massive influx of new players, more added responsibility being given to the likes of Ben Foster, Anderson and Rafael, who have been groomed as replacements, plus a demand that Nani shows considerable improvement.

Ferguson himself will still be there. For how much longer though? How many more summers will the most successful manager Britain has ever known spend plotting the downfall of major rivals, or swatting away emerging ones?

These questions provide United's challengers with reason for optimism, reason to doubt an unprecedented fourth successive title - and what, to Liverpool's horror, would be a record-breaking 19th - will end up at Old Trafford.

Yet on Merseyside and in west and north London, the problems are greater.

Liverpool, for all the massive improvement made this season, still appear too heavily reliant on Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, two brilliant footballers with questionable fitness records.

Ferguson felt Chelsea had gone beyond the age of improvement last term. They have not got any younger and major surgery is required for a new manager. Arsenal have talent but neither the experience, nor the depth.

They are major structural faults, immediate issues for messrs Benitez, Abramovich and Wenger to solve. In contrast, Ferguson's problems are fairly minor and centred around individuals, so many of whom have been moved on without affecting the success United enjoy.

True, if Tevez, or more importantly Ronaldo, left there would be a big hole. But it is not that long ago much the same was being said about Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Keane. Before that, Paul Ince and Mark Hughes.

Eric Cantona's legacy was immense but most of United's triumphs under Ferguson have been achieved without the talismanic Frenchman. And that is why Ferguson can allow himself a brief moment of relaxation, toasting another year of glory with a glass of his favourite red.

Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea

By the time Florent Malouda got the goal his fabulous performance deserved, Arsenal's supporters were already streaming for the exits, finished off for another season after finally losing the faith.

They were beaten by a team assembled for magic money, Arsene Wenger's latest barb at their big-spending neighbours after Chelsea handed out the mother of all beatings in Arsenal's backyard.

Gone backwards? More like gone at all levels.

Blues brothers: The Chelsea players celebrate Alex's goal

Key battles were not lost, they never even started. Mikael Silvestre versus Didier Drogba? No contest. Cesc Fabregas versus Frank Lampard? Forget it. Robin van Persie versus John Terry? An embarrassment.

It was a humbling experience for Wenger and his team, five days since Manchester United marched on to their territory and trampled all over them in the Champions League semi-final second leg.

Once Alex scored with a header in the 29th minute, they were done for, the shattered confidence draining the life out of their tired little limbs, barely able to string a pass together as Nicolas Anelka, an own goal by Kolo Toure and Malouda's 86th-minute strike saw them off.

They have not lost this badly in a home league game since 1977, when an emerging Ipswich side turned over Terry Neill's team at Highbury, crashing four past the Gunners as the glory years began under Bobby Robson.

Judging by events of the past five days, Arsenal's golden era has also gone, consigned to the time capsule that was buried under the main entrance when Arsenal made the �350million move to the Emirates in August 2006.

They occupy fourth position in the Barclays Premier League this morning, where they will remain until the final ball of the season is kicked against Stoke City on May 24, readying themselves for what is becoming an annual date with the Champions League qualifiers.
Match Facts

After this they need a summer to recover, to recharge the batteries and remind themselves that playing for Arsenal remains a great privilege. Their supporters deserve better, certainly better than this.

For 25 minutes they gave it a go, with Theo Walcott the most threatening Arsenal player, bounding his way past Chelsea's defenders and even poking his England team-mate Ashley Cole in the eye, much to the delight of the home support.

With a new 50,000-a-week contract in the post, he needed to show more composure in the opening minute, blasting his effort over Petr Cech's crossbar when Robin van Persie put him through.

So far so good as Arsenal peppered Cech's goal, with Abou Diaby sending another effort wide and Walcott steering an inviting chance to the right of the post. It appeared to be game on until Fabregas clipped Drogba's heels, earning an inevitable booking after motioning to referee Phil Dowd that the most unpopular striker in the history of English football had taken yet another dive.

From Drogba's subtle free-kick, Chelsea took the lead when Alex rose above the pathetic challenge of Silvestre to plant an excellent header beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski in the 29th minute.

Arsenal looked for a leader, someone who could drag them back into the game but Chelsea, inspired by the mazy dribbles and the ghosting runs of Malouda, were unstoppable.

Anelka scored their second just before half-time. It was too easy for the former Arsenal striker as he set himself up on the edge of the penalty area, fizzing a shot with the outside of his toe which spun away from Fabianski and into his bottom left corner.

Stretch too far: Arsenal keeper Fabianski can't get near Anelka's swerving shot

Chelsea's supporters, still hurting from the perceived injustice against Barcelona on Wednesday evening, lapped it up, reminding the opposition-of last month's mismatch at Wembley when they met in the FA Cup semi-final.

It got to Arsenal's players, notably Toure when he sent Cole's cross at the start of the second half beyond the stranded figure of Fabianski, a pitiful sight for this once great defender.

The believers, the survivors still in the stands, were given hope when Nicklas Bendtner's header in the 70th minute beat Cech, a well-taken effort which met with the approval of Arsenal's dwindling support.

Moments later their hopes of a comeback were destroyed when Anelka's angled effort rebounded off the post and Malouda restored Chelsea's three-goal advantage.

That was the signal for Arsenal's supporters to desert the stadium, turning their backs on the team as Chelsea's interim manager Guus Hiddink showed a playful side to his character by blowing kisses at them as they left.

After this, it might as well have been the kiss of death.

Benitez issues a quick guide on....

Manchester Utd 1 Liverpool 4:
Benitez issues a quick guide on the way to defeat United

After watching his fast Spanish striker expose the weaknesses he had identified in Manchester United's defence, the 'fat Spanish waiter' was understandably satisfied.

It was Rafa Benitez, after all, who dismissed Arsene Wenger's declaration that United had become 'untouchable'. Benitez who insisted four weeks ago that the champions of England, Europe and the world were not the invincibles Arsenal's manager would have us think.

Kop that: Rafa Benitez masterminds a stunning victory over Manchester United.

United's heaviest defeat at Old Trafford in 17 years was quite a way for Benitez to prove his point and now he only hopes that others, Wenger included, will copy the blueprint of his tactical masterplan.

If Liverpool are to have any hope of catching United, they need the teams still due at Old Trafford to follow the example of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard and use a deadly combination of pace, power and skill to unlock Sir Alex Ferguson's record-breaking back line. As well, that is, as unsettle United's midfield with someone as destructive as Javier Mascherano.

Until Saturday, United were unbeaten at home in the Barclays Premier League this season, having conceded just five goals. Teams were turning up convinced they had no hope of securing even a point. But United are not impenetrable, no team is, and Benitez is now urging others to take note.

In Liverpool's favour is the fact that there is pace in abundance in the teams that United still have to host between now and the end of the season. Aston Villa are at their best when they get the ball out to their wingers and so are Tottenham, while Manchester City and Arsenal also have quick players capable of terrorising Nemanja Vidic and Co.

Man of The Match: Fernando Torres celebrates after hitting the first of Liverpool's four goals.

'I think United have weaknesses,' said Benitez. 'They have quality, a lot of quality in attack, that is the main thing that they have. They are strong in defence because they have plenty of possession. But when they don't have the ball and you move the ball quickly and play behind the defenders, you know you can beat them. We knew that they are really good at playing between the lines with penetrating passes.

'So we needed to stop these passes and put the midfielders under pressure every time they were going to receive the ball; and after that try to play simple and go forward quickly, because it's an offensive team and they are always high.'

Before this encounter, Vidic was a contender for Footballer of the Year. But the manner in which he was terrorised by Torres before receiving a straight red card for his professional foul on Gerrard has probably ruined any chance of that.

Benitez saw something in Vidic that he knew Torres could exploit. 'That was one of the ideas,' he said. 'We knew that maybe with Fernando's movement we could create problems for the defenders.'

Holding court in an Old Trafford press auditorium Ferguson has long refused to appear in after Premier League matches, Benitez was in his element. He had endured the Spanish waiter taunts from United fans and soaked up insults from Ferguson. 'Disturbed' and 'ridiculous' was how Ferguson described him after that outburst in January, adding last Friday that he will need to read 'Freud' to understand his rival.

Smacker: Steven Gerrard¿s TV kiss after his strike from the penalty spot.

Reminded of all that, and the idea he was 'cracking up' in January, Benitez did something on Saturday he so rarely does. He smiled. 'I can guarantee you that I was calm and I am calm,' he said. 'But I had to defend my club and that is what I did.

Seeing red: Nemanja Vidic is given his marching orders.

'I read Freud in school and university but now I try to improve my English. Maybe he will understand me if I say something again but I have a lot of respect for him. We shook hands after the game because he was not talking bad blood. He is a fantastic manager at a big, big club. But I was not worried about myself. I was thinking only about my club. I think Liverpool has been the best team in Europe in the last five years. It is a fact.'

The fact is, though, Liverpool have lacked the consistency of United in the title race. Against their main rivals they have been terrific. Home and away wins against United and Chelsea as well as a draw at Arsenal. The kind of form that usually secures the championship. But precious points have too often been dropped at Anfield.

'It's football and it's difficult to explain why we have dropped points when we have,' said Benitez. 'Still we need to be more consistent against the other teams.'

This performance will give them the confidence to achieve that consistency. Not least the fashion in which they fought back after Pepe Reina's reckless foul on Ji-sung Park invited Cristiano Ronaldo to score from the penalty spot.

Four-midable: Andrea Dossena (left) is congratulated by his team-mates after rounding off Liverpool's magnificent victory.

First came that wonderful equaliser from Torres, then Gerrard's penalty for Patrice Evra's foul on the Liverpool captain, before Fabio Aurelio punished Vidic for his red-card challenge with a fine free-kick and Andrea Dossena outsprinted John O'Shea in pursuit of a Reina kick and sent an audacious lob over Edwin van der Sar.

Contrary to Rio Ferdinand's opinion, the red card was not 'debatable' and contrary to a view expressed by Ferguson, United were not the better team. Not on Saturday anyway.

Manchester Utd 2 Blackburn 1: Injury to Evans puts Fergie on the defensive

Sir Alex Ferguson flies to Milan today for Manchester United’s biggest game of the season, facing the horrendous prospect of playing a central midfielder in the heart of his defence at the San Siro tomorrow night.

Either Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick could play alongside Rio Ferdinand after Jonny Evans was injured against Blackburn on Saturday. Ferguson faces his old foe Jose Mourinho in the first leg of a last 16 Champions League tie with Inter, desperately hoping to improve a record of just one win against the former Chelsea and Porto manager.

But Ferguson admitted last night that he faces a ‘nightmare’ in defence, with Nemanja Vidic suspended and Evans joining Gary Neville, Wes Brown and John O’Shea on the injury list.
Wayne Rooney celebrates after putting United in front against Blackburn

If O’Shea or Evans do not win their fitness battles, Ferguson may have to call on someone to play out of position alongside Ferdinand as United try to keep Serie A player of the year Zlatan Ibrahimovic quiet.

Ferguson said: ‘I just hope we can get two centre backs out for Tuesday because at this moment it’s very doubtful. Jonny Evans is unlikely to play.

Chelsea are out of the title race, says Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed Chelsea's dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari has "played into the hands" of Manchester United and rendered the title race a two-way fight between his reigning champions and Liverpool.

The United manager delivered a brutal assessment of Roman Abramovich's decision to sack the World Cup-winning coach seven months into his Stamford Bridge tenure. The dismissal, he claimed, not only illustrated the short-term mentality that exists at Chelsea but increased United's chances of landing a third ­successive league title.

Ferguson, writing in the match programme, said: "I must say I was shocked that Chelsea should part so soon with a manager of such great experience and proven success as 'Phil' Scolari. Their haste is a reflection of the sad way the game is going, with everyone from owners, the board members, the supporters and the media demanding instant success and showing absolutely no patience in the pursuit of their ambition.

"Looking at the Chelsea situation from United's point of view, I think they have played into our hands and that the title race now is going to be between ourselves and Liverpool. However, I shall be keeping a wary eye on Aston Villa, who seem to have picked up the baton from Arsenal."

United moved five points clear of second-placed Liverpool with victory over Fulham last night and 10 points clear of Guus Hiddink's new charges in fourth. Afterwards Ferguson appeared to soften his stance on Chelsea's title prospects, though he also claimed the strength in depth of the United squad made a collapse at Old Trafford highly unlikely.

"You can never be dead sure but it is fair to say Chelsea have an uphill fight now," the United manager said. "Things can happen. I remember being 12 points clear of Arsenal in 1998 and losing the league after we had suffered a lot of injuries. But we have got the squad to cope with injuries like that now."