Park Eyes United Stay

Park Eyes United Stay



South Korean winger Park Ji-Sung has reiterated his desire to stay at Manchester United, and believes that he has a bright future at the club.

The 27-year-old was thrilled to put his name on the scoresheet in yesterday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea after enduring a torrid few months.

After recovering from injury and playing a considerable part in helping his side reach the Champions League final last May, the ex-PSV Eindhoven man was dropped from the panel altogether for the Moscow showpiece.

He subsequently re-injured a fragile knee on international duty over the summer, and that meant he was prevented from making the trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games in August.

With the Champions League snub in mind, Park reflected on the clash in London yesterday and stated that he still had a long career in front of him at Old Trafford

He told the press: "It has been a hard time for me. I have to show my abilities so I don't suffer that experience [being omitted from a squad] again. This was a chance to do that and I need to take them because I still believe I have a big future at Manchester United."

Although he is still regaining some part of his match fitness, the Korean coped admirably in his wide position yesterday. Park was forced to pin Jose Bosingwa in his own half while trying to make an impression at the business end. Overall, he was pleased to have made a contribution.

He continued: "I was quite pleased with my performance. My fitness is coming back now. I have been in the gym a lot and prepared as much as I can, so I am pretty much recovered."

Park also commented on the performance of Mike Riley during yesterday's fixture; the referee admonished seven bookings to Manchester United players and only one to Chelsea. Although no protests were made at the final whistle, inkeeping with the 'Respect' drive of the Premier League, Park was quick to vocalise the perceived persecution felt by his side.

He stated: "It was unfair. The Chelsea players did the same tackles but the yellow cards went to us. A couple of their men deserved them as well."

Ferguson defends booked players

Ferguson defends booked players



Manchester United manager boss Sir Alex Ferguson saw seven of his players booked in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Chelsea but did not feel it was a dirty match.

Ferguson also refused to be drawn on the performance of referee Mike Riley.

"It was a competitive game but I did not think there was one bad tackle in it," said Ferguson.

"People are saying what is going on here but it is difficult to say anything about the referee. I do not want to get involved."

However, United will now face questions from the Football Association as an investigation is automatically triggered when one side has six players cautioned and they could be fined up to £25,000.

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari was quick to suggest any punishment meted out to United on the pitch was deserved.

"That is what the referee is there for," said Scolari. "If players do not respect him, it should be yellow and red cards. It doesn't matter who you are - Liverpool or Manchester United, whoever."

The FA is also likely to assess the clash between United defender Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea's Didier Drogba, which left the striker needing treatment.

That incident was the last of the match as Riley blew the whistle for full-time after the pair collided in the air.

Matters continued to be aggravated off the pitch as United's team coach was attacked after leaving Stamford Bridge.

A bottle was hurled from the pavement, cracking the windscreen, although no-one was injured, with United officials eager to play down the incident afterwards.

"There was an incident but the matter is now in the hands of the police," said a club spokesman.

As for the game itself, Scolari was relieved to escape with a point after injuries to Deco and Ricardo Carvalho.

Deco injured a thigh in the warm-up and Carvalho suffered a knee injury early on.

Scolari said: "The game is one of the best games we've played this season, because we have many problems.

"After we lost Deco, Manchester controlled the game for 15 minutes and they played better than us.

"They made a goal - and after this, we improved. We had more chances than them but we missed some chances in front of goal.

"At half-time I said we wanted Lampard and Ballack more up front, nearer the strikers - and we put Drogba on."

Ferguson admitted he was disappointed not to be leaving London with a victory after his side led for much of the game.

"I feel we have missed a good chance, obviously. If we had had a bit more energy, we would have been OK," he said.

"We started to drop off the pace a bit in terms of the speed we were playing at.

"That was a bit of a disappointment because it allowed them to regroup at half-time.

"We started to give the ball away in the second half and that got them back into the game. They had a couple of chances, but that's about all they had."

Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd

Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd



Salomon Kalou's late equaliser preserved Chelsea's long unbeaten home league record and earned a deserved point against Manchester United.

Ji-Sung Park put United ahead in the 18th minute after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech fumbled Dimitar Berbatov's shot.

United lost keeper Edwin van der Sar to injury in the first half and Chelsea took control of a disjointed game.

Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka wasted great chances before substitute Kalou headed in with 10 minutes left.


It stretched Chelsea's unbeaten sequence in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge to 85 games, but Sir Alex Ferguson will be frustrated that his side failed to build on a perfect start and lost their way as the game went on.

Chelsea will be delighted and relieved with a point - but they should have claimed all three after dominating the second half.

United opted to keep Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, where he was joined by Carlos Tevez as Berbatov and Wayne Rooney were paired up front.

Chelsea were forced into a reshuffle of their own when Deco injured a thigh in the warm-up, although they were hardly weakened by the subsequent inclusion of Michael Ballack.


United opened with real purpose, Darren Fletcher scrambling a finish wide and Rooney hooking just off target after a poor clearance from Cech.

Chelsea had a chance of their own in the eighth minute when Joe Cole ran clear after appearing to use his hand, only to shoot wide.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side suffered a serious blow three minutes later when defender Ricardo Carvalho departed with a knee injury, with Alex coming on as substitute.

United's ambition was rewarded with a deserved opener after 18 minutes, when Park pounced from close range after Cech could only parry Berbatov's shot.

Van der Sar had been having a mixed afternoon, his mood not helped by a knee injury sustained in an accidental clash with Florent Malouda.

And it was no surprise when he limped off and was replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak after 31 minutes following another fumble.

Kuszczak was quickly in action to block a long-range effort from Alex, but the game was degenerating into a scrappy affair littered with stoppages.

Chelsea made another change at the interval, sending on Didier Drogba for Malouda, while United waited until nine minutes after half-time before sending on Ronaldo for Paul Scholes.

Joe Cole wasted another great opportunity after 65 minutes, shooting straight at Kuszczak after being released by Ballack's superb pass.

And Anelka was guilty of a shocking miss seven minutes later when he was set up by Joe Cole, but he failed to even apply a touch only three yards out with the goal at his mercy.

But Chelsea were building up a head of steam and it was no surprise when they drew level with 10 minutes left.

Rooney was booked for a crude lunge at Ashley Cole, and the punishment was doubled when Kalou headed Jon Mikel Obi's free-kick beyond a static Kuszczak.

And it took a desperate block from Gary Neville seconds later to deny Kalou, bravely deflecting his shot over the top as United hung on for a point.


Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Carvalho (Alex 12), Terry, Ashley Cole, Obi, Joe Cole, Ballack (Kalou 74), Lampard, Malouda (Drogba 46), Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Bridge, Belletti, Ferreira.

Booked: Obi.

Goals: Kalou 80.

Man Utd: Van der Sar (Kuszczak 32), Neville, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Fletcher, Hargreaves, Scholes (Ronaldo 55), Park (O'Shea 75), Berbatov, Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Brown, Giggs, Nani, Tevez.

Booked: Scholes, Ferdinand, Neville, Berbatov, Rooney, Evra, Ronaldo.

Goals: Park 18.

Att: 41,760

Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).

Roma v Man Utd

Roma v Man Utd




CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL FIRST LEG
Venue: Stadio Olimpico.
Date: Tuesday, 1 April.
Kick-off: 1945 BST.

Roma skipper Francesco Totti has been ruled out of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg after suffering a thigh injury on Saturday.

Totti, Roma's top scorer with 14 goals, is set to be replaced by Mirko Vucinic.

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar looks set to return to the side after missing the 4-0 win over Aston Villa with a groin injury.

Mikael Silvestre has overcome a knee ligament injury, but Nani and Louis Saha are both ruled out by injury.

French defender Silvestre has not played since suffering the injury against Everton in September.

His return boosts Sir Alex Ferguson's squad after Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs complained of knocks after Saturday's emphatic win over Villa.



Totti suffered his injury in Saturday's 1-1 Serie A draw at Cagliari but hopes to return for the second leg at Old Trafford.

In his absence, Roma will look to Vucinic, who has scored four goals in the Champions League this season and was rested for the match against Cagliari.

Central defender Juan has a foot problem so Christian Panucci looks set to cover with MarcoCassetti, Max Tonetto and Cicinho battling for his right-back slot.

The two sides met twice last season at the same stage of the competition, with Roma winning 2-1 in Italy before suffering a humiliating 7-1 thrashing in Manchester.

They have already played twice in this season's group stage, United winning 1-0 at home before the teams drew 1-1 in Rome.

The matches have been marred by violence between supporters and both clubs have been working on ways to avoid further problems.

Italian authorities are providing free transport to the stadium for United fans in a bid to keep them away from any possible trouble.

They have also introduced a voucher system for ticket collection in a bid to stop touts.


Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Evra, Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Brown, Ronaldo, Anderson, Rooney, Giggs, Park, Vidic, Carrick, Scholes, Pique, O'Shea, Silvestre, Kuszczak, Tevez, Eagles, Heaton, Welbeck.


BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads

AS Roma and Manchester United have met four times before in European competition.

Last season, on 4 April 2007, AS Roma won 2-1 at home in the CL quarter-finals, but Manchester United recorded an emphatic 7-1 victory at Old Trafford six days later, to progress to the semi-finals. It was AS Roma's heaviest ever European defeat and the biggest ever victory margin in the CL knock-out stages.

In this season's group phase, the Red Devils beat the Italians 1-0 at the Theatre of Dreams on 2 October, through a Wayne Rooney goal in the 70th minute. The return match in Rome on 12 December, ended 1-1 through goals by Gerard Pique and Alessandro Mancini.

European history

In the 1960-61 season, AS Roma won the Fairs Cup, their only piece of European silverware. They have also reached two other European finals; the 1983-84 Champions Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Liverpool, and the 1990-91 Uefa Cup final, which they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Internazionale. Roma have never reached the semi-final stage of the CL in their history.

Manchester United have won three European trophies - the 1967-68 Champions Cup, 1990-91 Cup Winners' Cup and 1998-99 Champions League. Last season, after knocking out AS Roma 8-3 on aggregate in the CL quarter-finals, United were eliminated themselves by AC Milan in the last four, losing 5-3 on aggregate.

Current European form

AS Roma have not lost any of their last six Champions League matches and are undefeated at home in nine in this competition.

Manchester United are unbeaten in eight Champions League matches, since the 3-0 loss to AC Milan in last May's semi-final second leg in Italy. United are one of three unbeaten teams in this season's Champions League. Chelsea and FC Barcelona are the others.

Player and disciplinary info

Simone Perrotta (AS Roma) is suspended for this match. Mirko Vucinic, Marco Cassetti, Cicinho, Daniele De Rossi and Max Tonetto (AS Roma) are all one yellow card away from suspension. Nani and Patrice Evra (Manchester United) will also be suspended upon receiving a yellow card.

Francesco Totti has made more appearances (36) and scored more goals (11) than any other AS Roma player in Champions League history. Vucinic leads Roma goalscorers in this season's Champions League campaign, with four.

David Pizarro and Daniele De Rossi are the only AS Roma players to have appeared in all eight of their club's CL matches this season.

Portuguese defender Antunes (Roma) celebrates his 21st birthday on the day of the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo is joint top scorer in this season's Champions League having netted six goals.

Rio Ferdinand will play his 50th Champions League match if selected. Ferdinand made his competition debut on 13 February 2001, for Leeds United against Anderlecht (2-1).

Nani is the only Manchester United player to have appeared in all eight of his club's CL matches this season.

Other miscellaneous facts

AS Roma drew 1-1 at Cagliari on Saturday with Francesco Totti scoring. Roma are second in Serie A, trailing leaders Inter Milan by four points.

Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, and top the table, five points clear of Chelsea.

Concern over quintet

Concern over quintet



Fingers will be crossed for five United players ahead of Tuesday's trip to face AS Roma in the Champions League.

Michael Carrick, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand were all withdrawn in a triple substitution during Saturday's 4-0 win over Aston Villa. United then played the last five minutes with ten men after Ryan Giggs also left the field.

"I had to make the changes because of injuries," said Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Carrick, Rio and Patrice Evra all had injuries and then Giggs got injured towards the end. With the rain continually coming down, the pitch was starting to prove very heavy and that can be a problem with hamstrings. Hopefully they'll be all right (for Rome)."

The fifth player causing fresh concern for the manager is Edwin van der Sar. The Dutchman missed the Villa match, leaving Tomasz Kuszczak to start in goal with Ben Foster - who is ineligible for Europe - on the bench.

"Edwin van der Sar may be a doubt for Tuesday," admitted Sir Alex.

"He’s got a groin problem again, it’s happened two or three times in the last few weeks. We'll see how he is over the next few days. Not risking him today gives us a better chance."

Man Utd 4-0 Aston Villa

Man Utd 4-0 Aston Villa




Man Utd's Patrice Evra congratulates Wayne Rooney after his first goal


Manchester United stretched their lead at the Premier League summit to six points with a stunning display.

Cristiano Ronaldo's outrageous flick started the agony for Aston Villa after 17 minutes and he provided Carlos Tevez with a simple second before half-time.

Wayne Rooney rounded Scott Carson for a third after 53 minutes and he slid home the fourth with 20 minutes left after more superb creativity from Ronaldo.

Shaun Maloney missed Villa's best chance, but United were outstanding.



Cristiano Ronaldo opens the scoring on 16 minutes at Old Trafford with a cheeky flick


United's football was mesmeric, despite atrocious conditions, and Martin O'Neill's fast-fading side could easily have been on the end of an even heavier beating.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson took a precaution ahead of the Champions League quarter-final visit to AS Roma by resting goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who was suffering from a slight groin strain.

Tomasz Kuszczak returned in goal, but spent much of the evening admiring a virtuoso United attacking display.

Ronaldo had already tested Villa keeper Carson before he produced a finish that was brilliant even by his own sky-high standards to give United the lead after 17 minutes.

Villa could not clear a Ryan Giggs corner, and when Rio Ferdinand chested the ball towards Ronaldo, he produced an outrageous flick between the legs of Martin Laursen to beat Carson.

Ronaldo turned creator as United extended their lead after 33 minutes, producing a perfect first-time cross to provide Tevez with a simple headed finish.




Ronaldo then crosses for Carlos Tevez to add a second for the Red Devils before half time

Villa were facing a long and arduous 90 minutes, and their situation was not helped when striker John Carew limped off with a groin injury before half-time, to be replaced by Maloney.

Rooney should have sealed the points for United after 48 minutes when he was put clear by Tevez only to shoot wide - Maloney then wasting an equally good chance for Villa in a similar position seconds later.

England striker Rooney made amends for his miss after 53 minutes when he took another flamboyant touch from Ronaldo to round Carson and score with ease.

Kuszczak was called into action after 55 minutes to save from Maloney's curling angled drive, but it was a minor inconvenience to a United side threatening to run riot.

Ferguson made a triple substitution in the 61st minute, sending on Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and John O'Shea for Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and Ferdinand.

Hargreaves was in on the action instantly with a perfect cross that Tevez somehow headed wide, before Rooney struck the outside of the post with a measured finish.

Ronaldo and Rooney were irresistible - and combined once more for United's fourth in the 70th minute.

Rooney slid in a right-foot finish after being played in by another stunning touch from Ronaldo.




Wayne Rooney scores twice in the second half and almost bags a hat-trick to complete a comprehensive win

• Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson:


"The players reached a peak last week and we've continued that.

"They realise now it's a race to the line, we need consistency and real focus and we showed fantastic energy.

"The title doesn't feel that close for us, but there is great confidence in the way the team is playing and that's great at this time of the year."


• Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill:


"If you could ever try to set the benchmark, that's it.

"We came up against a team on top of their game; we have to admit they were splendid.

"There were things there to give us heart. The scoreline was pretty strong, but we had one or two chances that could have made it more respectable."



Man Utd: Kuszczak, Brown, Ferdinand (Hargreaves 62), Vidic, Evra (O'Shea 62), Ronaldo, Carrick (Anderson 61), Scholes, Giggs, Tevez, Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Foster, Park.

Booked: Vidic.

Goals: Ronaldo 17, Tevez 33, Rooney 53, 70.

Aston Villa: Carson, Reo-Coker, Mellberg, Laursen, Bouma (Osbourne 80), Agbonlahor, Petrov, Barry, Young, Harewood (Salifou 69), Carew (Maloney 41).
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Knight.

Booked: Bouma.

Att: 75,932

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

O'Neill: United are class act

O'Neill: United are class act





Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill was left awestruck by United’s “terrific” performance in the 4-0 win over his side on Saturday.

O’Neill, unlike some managers that bring their teams to Old Trafford, refused to shut up shop and try to frustrate the Reds. You may ask why if it means losing so comprehensively. But the Villa boss says United’s performance is something every team should aspire to.

“That is why Manchester United are a class act,” he said. “We lost at home to Sunderland last week and I was very down. We’ve lost 4-0 at Old Trafford, but I’m actually OK.

“We went at it with everything we had. I think that’s why Manchester United enjoy playing against us. We try to play and we don’t try to close the game up.

“You have to go and play. Isn’t that the enthralling part of football? What’s the point in coming to Old Trafford and putting ten players behind the ball and have them break you down eventually? Having witnessed Manchester United’s performance, that’s what you have to aspire to. It really was terrific stuff.

“I thought we had quite a bit of possession of the ball. The difference was that we didn’t close them down enough and prevent them having time and space on the ball, because that is when they will cut you open. They are a very fine side, there is no question about that.”