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Ferguson joy at Ronaldo's telling strike
Last updated at 13:22pm on 25.02.07
Fulham 1 Manchester United 2
At the final whistle, Sir Alex Ferguson threw his arms in the air then hugged assistant Carlos Queiroz as the Manchester United bench rose to acclaim a hard-fought victory secured by Cristiano Ronaldo's late moment of brilliance. This was a big, big win and they all knew it.
It had been what Ferguson called an "emotional" week,United clearly suffering the aftereffects of a draining experience against Lille.
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Effervescent and admirable Fulham,cannily set up by manager Chris Coleman, sensed it and went at United with pace and passion to produce an intense match. They could rightly feel aggrieved that they failed to win after taking the lead through Brian McBride.
When you have a player like Ronaldo, however, it is never a lost cause, no matter how ordinarily you have played. Indeed,Ferguson's modern United, with Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney — the last two scorer and creator of the equaliser — carry more than hint of Sir Matt Busby's holy trinity of Best, Law and Charlton.
Ferguson kept them all on the pitch, along with Paul Scholes and Henrik Larsson, and even added Louis Saha rather than settle for the safety-first of a point that would have been acceptable from a sub-standard display. Fortune favoured his bravery. A nine-point lead will leave Chelsea cursing.
It could even be 12 by the time the champions next play a Premiership game on Saturday at Portsmouth, with United at Liverpool for a lunchtime kick-off. Hence Ferguson's delight yesterday. He knows how tough it is about to become as what he has always called "squeaky bum time" arrives. "First, give credit to Fulham," he said.
"They were aggressive and got about us. Coming back from Lille, which was an emotional time, we were flat. I have to thank the goalscorers for digging us out of a hole."
Coleman, despite his frustrations with the result and referee Peter Walton for not awarding a late penalty, paid tribute to United.
"You look at a game like that and it looks like their name is on the title. They look like the best team this year anyway."
Sir Alex made a pre-match point by resting Gary Neville, publicly because he feared Fulham's height at set-pieces but more probably down to their altercation against Lille when Neville spoke out of turn to the manager. As it was, Coleman selected a side that was mobile and fluent, and United struggled to cope.
Michael Carrick and Scholes were outnumbered and outplayed in the centre of midfield, where the tenacious Michael Brown, elegant Alexei Smertin and potent Papa Bouba Diop dominated.
With Edwin Van Der Sar also strangely uncertain in goal,Fulham threatened an early lead. Smertin drilled a shot wide, Simon Davies was only just off target with a looping volley and Diop went close with a low drive from 25 yards. It come as no surprise when the home side went ahead.Smertin clipped a dangerous pass towards Davies that put Van Der Sar and Nemanja Vidic in trouble, the ball squirting off the goalkeeper for McBride to roll into the net via the inside of a post, Rio Ferdinand unable to keep it out.
Such is Ferguson's array of attacking talent, and their ability to spring from defence at pace, Fulham looked most vulnerable to conceding when going forward. United duly made good that threat out of nothing.
Giggs won the ball in midfield, sending Rooney clear on the left for a cross to the far post. When it arrived, Giggs had peeled cleverly away and planted a remarkable volley off the outside of his left boot into the far corner.
Surely United would assert themselves. Instead, it was Fulham who dominated the second half. Van Der Sar brilliantly saved a Davies shot on the turn and Tomasz Radzinski headed Brown's cross against the bar.Davies then found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat but shot too close to the Dutchman.
Ferguson paid Fulham the compliment of re-organising his defence,taking off Vidic and Patrice Evra.
Then in the 88th minute,came the moment that possibly decided the destination of the title.
There seemed no danger when Ronaldo received the ball wide on the left but he skipped bravely and cleverly past Moritz Volz and Clint Dempsey before cutting inside and fizzing in a fierce low shot, deflected home by Philippe Cristanval.
Even then Fulham would not lie down, claiming a penalty when Heidar Helguson collided with Van Der Sar. This, though, was United's day, one they may well look back on with relief and fondness in a couple of months' time.
