Sometimes injuries conspire to give those who might not otherwise get opportunities to show what they are capable of, that was certainly the case for fabulous, Fabio da Silva, who came into United's starting eleven at left-back to face Spurs in the FA Cup on Saturday evening.
United fans have been eager to find out exactly how good the other da Silva brother is following some superb performances by his twin Rafael on the opposite flank.
It has been worth the wait, because while he was on the pitch, Fabio looked at home in the first-team and he linked up well with Ronaldo, indeed it was the young Brazilian and not the Portuguese World Player of the Year who looked the more dangerous of the two, as he bombed forward beyond United's superstar talisman.
Fergie will be wary of giving the 18 year-old da Silva twins too much exposure too soon, both are still developing physically and are having to adapt to the rigours of the English game. There will be a degree of concern within United's backroom team that Rafael picked up that hamstring injury recently and against Spurs his brother Fabio sustained a calf-injury. Of the two injuries, the hamstring is the more concerning, as it might well go again if United are not careful. Ryan Giggs used to suffer with hamstring strains in the early part of his brilliant and long career. When Patrice Evra first arrived at the club, he really struggled to deal with the physical demands of playing in the Premier League. The Frenchman has since then worked on weights and built himself up, as a result the improvements have been noticeable as he has become a big fans favourite. The da Silva brothers may well have to follow Evra and the same training regime if they are to go to become United legends.
The only disappointment on an otherwise great debut by Fabio was his second-half injury, which meant he had to be replaced by another youngster Richard Eckersley, who didn't let anyone down and so he too can be pleased with his performance.
Danny Welbeck started up front on the right with Tevez alongside Berbatov. Ronaldo was operating in a three man midfield along with Carrick and Scholes. Welbeck, had arguably his best game for United. In most of his previous games the young striker has started up front, against Spurs he was coming on to the ball as opposed to playing with his back to goal and it appeared to make a huge difference as he looked more comfortable and dangerous, so much so that he was unlucky not to score after one scintillating run in which he beat three players only to be denied by Gunter's last minute block challenge.
Spurs had raced into an early lead, with a well taken headed goal by Pavlyuchenko, but that setback only served to stir United into action, the Reds were unlucky not to score a hatful before half-time.
Only some brilliant shot-stopping by Alnwick and the woodwork denied man-of-the-match Carlos Tevez, before Scholes brought the champions level with a somewhat fortuitous scrappy goal on 35 minutes. Just 60 seconds later, Michael Carrick and Berbatov linked up superbly as the Bulgarian scored as good a goal as you're likely to see this season. Berbatov's strike turned out to be the winner and after the shenanigans of the summer involving Daniel Levy, it made the result all the sweeter.
If Fergie was in any about the fans feelings concerning the future of Carlos Tevez, that will no longer be the case as once again they implored the manager to sign him on. Tevez, gave another all-action performance and was extremely unlucky not to notch. United need to do the right thing and sign the Argentine before someone else comes up with money.
United 2-1 Tottenham
Man of the match: Carlos Tevez
Today's top story: Fergie at war with the Sun
Danny Welbeck was MOTM for me. He is such a raw talent and nothing seems to faze him.
ReplyDeleteA great star for the future.