EPL: Manchester United v Portsmouth

• sand king

  27 Jan 08, 08:42

  Wednesday 30th Jan 2008
  
  ~EPL~
  
  VS
  
  Channel 27 : 4:00am - (Live) - (Thur Morning)
  
  Manchester United: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Evra, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Hargreaves, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Eagles, Rooney, Saha, Simpson, Tevez, Neville.
  
  Portsmouth:
• F.raon.I.R

  28 Jan 08, 01:27

  guess a few man will be rested for this match?..
  home game.Plus portsmouth's team strength weaken
• Sienx

  28 Jan 08, 08:56

  the last time they met resulted in ronny getting sent off and a 1-1 draw..
  
  hope this time they can win by few goals
• 4getmenot

  28 Jan 08, 17:44

  Originally posted by F.raon.I.R:

  guess a few man will be rested for this match?..
  home game.Plus portsmouth's team strength weaken

  r u kidding? Portsmouth are setting their sight on the uefa spot next season, no way are they gonna sit back and let us have an easy time..

  SAF knows, with the second half of the season, they is no time for us to be in a relaxed mood., 
  Arsenal are only behind us by goal difference, we need every 3 pts we can get becuz we might dropsome points in the other fixtures..

• F.raon.I.R

  28 Jan 08, 17:55

  i mean the team strength's gonna weaken as they are losing a few players to the Africian nations cup.I nv stated that they gonna let us have a easy time thrashing them....

• 4getmenot

  28 Jan 08, 18:10

  Originally posted by F.raon.I.R:

  guess a few man will be rested for this match?..
  home game.Plus portsmouth's team strength weaken

  your statements says otherwise leh... :D

• Dead_Man_Inc

  29 Jan 08, 18:54

  so we have to stay overnight on wednesday or thursday to watch this match?

• plsthanks

  29 Jan 08, 23:04

  got online links?

• Hoo.chathong

  30 Jan 08, 08:54

  checked with scv. confirmed is not broadcast on CH27. It's on HD303...

• scorchio

  30 Jan 08, 14:38

  Can any1 comfirm the timing whether it will be shown on tv ?

   

• Hoo.chathong

  30 Jan 08, 15:05

  No live coverage for tomorrow morning game. Confirmed by StarHub.

• sand king

  30 Jan 08, 15:37

  wth..... wtf............. stupid moonhub....

  when got replay?

• Hoo.chathong

  30 Jan 08, 15:47

  no live also means no replay...there are total of 380 matches n moonhub can only broadcast 370 matches..part of da deal. 10 matches excluded are play 2morrow...fark

• scorchio

  30 Jan 08, 17:14

  time for online streaming...
• soccerbest

  30 Jan 08, 18:08

  go to http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com  to watch live stream

• Dead_Man_Inc

  30 Jan 08, 18:26

  sian no live coverage...

  now thinking if  i should stay up and watch anot

• marcuszzz

  30 Jan 08, 18:30

  still got live streaming but poorer quality than Tv though =(

• Dead_Man_Inc

  30 Jan 08, 23:16

  i think i will stream from the net

• soccerbest

  31 Jan 08, 06:43

  2-0 win!!!!!Ronaldo on absolute fire thats 19 goals in the league, 27 in all.

• zocoss

  31 Jan 08, 08:20

  

  Unstoppable: United boss Sir Alex Ferguson described Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick as 'the best I've ever seen'

  Man Utd 2-0 Portsmouth

  The King! Ronaldo's free-kick screamer hailed as the 'best ever' by Ferguson

  Not everyone deserves a bonus, as disgraced MP Derek Conway's sons would no doubt concede. But if Cristiano Ronaldo is paid what has to be a huge amount of money every time he scores a goal for Manchester United, not even Malcolm Glazer's bankers could complain.

   

  Ronaldo scored his 26th and 27th of an already remarkable season and he deserves far more than the financial rewards that come with such an astonishing return for a player who, technically anyway, is a midfielder.

  Sir Alex Ferguson again compared him to George Best in his pre-match programme notes, noting how close he was to the late, great Ulsterman's club record of 32 goals in a season for a winger.

  In that same season (67-68), Best was also crowned European footballer of the year and don't bet against Ronaldo emerging top of that particular poll as well if he continues like this.

  On the evidence here he will sail past Best's long-standing mark.

  Probably in the space of another six or seven games given the fact he has reached 27 in just 28 appearances.

  Against Portsmouth he did more than simply secure the three points that take United back to the summit of the Barclays Premier League.

  He entertained his audience with a breathtaking performance, creating chances for others as well as demonstrating a ever-more clinical edge to his finishing. Not that he was alone in thrilling a packed Old Trafford. This was vintage United, from the movement and the passing to the apparent telepathy that has developed between Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and anyone else who wears red on this pitch.

   

  So much for Arsene Wenger's theory that United's trip to Saudi Arabia would have a negative effect.

  

  Slipped through: Cristiano Ronaldo beats David James to score the opener at Old Trafford after breaking the Pompey offside trap

   

  For a Portsmouth side again punching above their weight this season under the careful guidance of Harry Redknapp, it was a nightmare. They were under pressure before Ronaldo struck his first goal in the 10th minute and beaten by the time he added a second three minutes later.

  There was nothing they could do against players so talented and so in tune with one another. David James might have done his best to protect his goal in front of a watching England boss Fabio Capello, but experienced defenders like Sol Campbell suffered in the company of Ronaldo and his colleagues.

  Ferguson might have said he had no desire to 'put pressure on the lad' when he dared compare Ronaldo to Best but he also said how much the young superstar thrives on such pressure — and so it proved. Two goals in three first-half minutes. Extraordinary.

  Both were beautiful in their execution. The first came after a clever one-two with Nani and was concluded with the sight of Ronaldo slipping the ball through the legs of James. The second left those same legs rooted to the spot, so perfect was the free-kick he then guided over the Portsmouth wall and into the former England goalkeeper's top left-hand corner.

  Not that a watching Capello could have criticised James when there not a goalkeeper on the planet who could have done much about either goal. Sometimes you just have to recognise sporting genius, as well as the fact that you simply can't win.

  To United's credit, and the concern of their shellshocked visitors, they were not content to leave it there. They wanted a third, and both Ronaldo and Rooney threatened.

  Portsmouth offered little in response, other than a clear determination to stop this turning into a demolition job. They were struggling to do that, though, a reckless challenge by Sean Davis on Paul Scholes inviting Ronaldo to have another go from distance.

  Again Ronaldo struck it well but James made the kind of save that would have impressed Capello on what, after all, was the 37-year-old's 500th Premier League appearance.

  But James, along with the rest of his colleagues, would have been relieved to then see Wes Brown meet a Nani corner with an effort that flew over the crossbar.

  Had Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs also been involved, and not rested, it actually could have been that much worse for Portsmouth. But Redknapp should not fret too much. Still better to be manager of Portsmouth than be in charge of a Newcastle side that so meekly conceded three goals at Arsenal the previous evening.

   

• Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson:
  "David Beckham's strike rate was pretty good, Eric Cantona used to take them too but Ronaldo's strike rate is phenomenal. "That without doubt must be the best (I've seen in the Premier League). From that distance he is going to hit them. No keeper in the world would save that. "The boy practices. It's a delight to see, terrific."

  "I think it was a fantastic performance - one of the best this season. I can't believe it was only two. We missed a few chances, but at the end of the day you've got to think about the performance."

   

• Portsmouth assistant manager Tony Adams:
  "United were exceptional, especially in the first 45 minutes. From our point of view, we didn't play that well and we didn't keep the ball. "We didn't turn up in the first half but we did get into them more in the second half. "Their substitutes bench is phenomenal and it's a difficult place to come when you're not playing well yourselves. "Our players will grow and they will learn from this. We need to get back on track because we have a tough game against Chelsea at the weekend."

   

  ---

  Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Scholes (Anderson 62), Carrick, Park, Ronaldo (Hargreaves 73), Rooney (Tevez 73).
  Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, O'Shea.

  Goals: Ronaldo 10, 13.

  Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin (Hreidarsson 46), Pamarot, Lauren (Mvuemba 46), Davis, Diarra, Kranjcar, Baros (Hughes 78), Mwaruwari.
  Subs Not Used: Begovic, Pedro Mendes.

  Booked: Pamarot.

  Att: 75,415

  Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

   

  ---

  Player Rater man of the match: Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo 8.94 (on 90 minutes).