 Yaya Toure ends Red Devils' aspirations of a treble, as Scholsey sees red... Match Report - Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United Competition: FA Cup, Semi-Final Kick-Off & Date: 5:15pm, Saturday, 16th April 2011 Venue: Wembley, London (Neutral) Attendance: 86,549 Manchester United put a powerful first half display on show against Manchester City in The FA Cup Semi-Finals at Wembley, but a wasteful performance led to The Blues getting back into the game. Yaya Toure snatched City's winner following some calamitous defending, and if Wayne Rooney's suspension wasn't enough of a handicap from The FA - referee Mike Dean killed-off The Red Devils by showing Paul Scholes a red card late on in the second half... Sir Alex Ferguson rested Ryan Giggs, leaving him out of the squad as Dimitar Berbatov started alone in attack. Antonio Valencia, Ji-Sung Park and Luis Nani supported the Bulgarian striker, while Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick dropped further back in midfield. Nemanja Vidic captained the side, alongside John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra. Edwin Van Der Sar was, as usual, between the sticks. Among the 86,000+ strong Wembley contingent, United supporters were making themselves heard the loudest within the sparring rounds, as Sir Alex's side were dominant in possesion. It was, of course, the day City would put and end to The Red's FA Cup title challenge and go on to tear the '35 Years' banner down. But with kick-off, Roberto Mancini's men looked anything but in command. Berbatov, though, was wasteful. The 30-year-old Bulgarian forced a fantastic save from Joe Hart having been put one-on-one with the goalkeeper by Ji-Sung Park. That effort was close, but his second chance less than 30 seconds later was unforgivable. Luis Nani struck an inch-perfect grounded cross to Berba, only for him to mis-connect and fire the glorious opportunity over the bar - not the clinical striker we have come to watch over the past season.  Dimitar Berbatov flushes United's best chances down the drain At the other end, City fans were celebrating momentarily when they thought Gareth Barry's shot had hit the back of the net. It hit the side netting and the travelling Blues were left feeling slightly embarrassed. The official home side, City in this case, hadn't visited 'home' (or the new Wembley) ever before. In that time, United have played nine times on the relatively new London soil. But that didn't stop Mancini's side from waking-up and 'having a go'. Before Mike Dean's half-time whistle, Mario Balotelli had Edwin Van Der Sar in action with a blistering strike from 40 yards before Joleon Lescott fired over the top with his volley from a City corner. The sides went under the stands level at the interval. With the second half underway, it started the opposite way as the first half had - this time Man City took the initiative and attacked the United goal. The Blues may have held-out United's first half bombardment, but within 7 minutes of the second period, City put The Reds to the sword. Van Der Sar survived a deplorable clearance, as Michael Carrick regained the ball - but what the midfielder did was even worse. He gifted the ball to Yaya Toure, breathing down on the United box, who smashed it past Van Der Sar and into the net. A serious of unfortunate events, or just plain error ?...  Manchester City punish Michael Carrick's error, with Yaya Toure scoring in the 52nd minute ... the latter. But as City did the 'Poznan Celebration', United had a brief moment to reflect and attempt to rectify their terrible lapse of defensive concentration. Their plan clearly wasn't effective, as Mancini's mercenaries turned into players and protected their precious lead. But it wasn't through defending that they achieved the upper hand - instead wave of attack after attack put United firmly on the back foot. Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez and Oliveira Anderson replaced Antonio Valencia and Dimitar Berbatov respectively, but neither could grab the headlines as 'super sub'. They tried, indeed, but just couldn't hit the back of the net... And when Nani's free-kick was tipped onto the bar by Hart - the gods weren't helping Manchester United's fight. City were being far the more vicious team, with ref. Mike Dean booking Pablo Zabaleta, Mario Balotelli, Nigel De Jong and Vincent Kompany. However, it was Paul Scholes who was given the severest of punishments. The veteran midfielder and Zabaleta went in for the ball - both studs raised - but it was City's defender who came off the worst. Mike Dean reached into his back pocket. No complaints, but it was hardly consistent refereeing. Nevertheless, United have been known the defeat the impossible. But this uphill struggle proved too steep even for Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Army. Neither Dimitar Berbatov or Michael Carrick can be held accountable for the heart-aching loss, as Red Devils finally get to feel what it's like being a City supporter. But we have bigger fish to fry and despite losing our bragging rights - we have the Premier League and Champions League to tend to... Afterall, we are United.  Paul Scholes given a red card by Mike Dean in the 72nd minute. Game over... United Team: Edwin Van Der Sar, John O'Shea (Fabio Da Silva '84), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Park Ji-Sung, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia (Javier Hernandez '65), Luis Nani, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov (Oliveira Anderson '74). Sent-Off: Scholes '72 CommentsKas 16/04/2011 7:23pm
Berbatov.. Not gona blame him for the loss, but those two chances he missed may have just cost him his job at utd. borba 16/04/2011 7:24pm
Hernandez should of started he was hot from scoring the goal against chelese Dimitar was completely cold from not playing as much and it showed when he missed the two goals . the game would have been complete diffrent if Dimitar puts one of those In the back of the net Malik 16/04/2011 7:28pm
i said dat before he is not gud but many fans went nutts over ma comment..... i said dat b4 say it nw he is not gud loose da ball often...... cant play under pressure 2 gr8 opportunities missed..... go nutts over ma comment but u knw dat this loss is over him n carrick which i both said should be get rid off..... well carrick got better but berba u all saw him poeple say he is top scorer well get 1 game out in which he got 5 lest wid 16 hernandez got 11 in fever start then him......... it should be bye bye berba in summer............. borba 16/04/2011 7:28pm
we should have started the game with 4-4-2 and not 4-5-1 we play a lot better in 4-4-2 Gar 16/04/2011 7:29pm
Can't believe it,should have battered them... Migsy 16/04/2011 7:31pm
To be honest, city looked liked they wanted it more than us. We were awful in the second half and scholes should now retire. A true legend but he's damaging his legacy. We were never going to do the treble with this side, I just hope we can pick ourselves up, we could end up with nothing! Where was giggs? Injured I hope or it's a scandal he wasn't on the bench. Fuck city, they will lose the final anyway, it's all they know. Anyone would have beaten our shower today. Oh well, time to face the blue shit in the pub, Saturday fight night. borba 16/04/2011 7:35pm
Dimitars style of football does not fit the 4-5-1 he needs a strike partner he is great at holding up the ball and making sort passes Gar 16/04/2011 7:35pm
We really need a powerhouse in midfield,need another keane,robson etc.We also need another prolific striker to help out,Hernandez has covered a lot of cracks this year with his performances,spend some money.We need to strike fear in to opponents again,nobody fear the great MAN UTD anymore.... borba 16/04/2011 7:39pm
@migsy city will be luck if they get 1 trophy in 35 years compared to United they haven't won the final yet Malik 16/04/2011 7:39pm
Atleast 1 person agree with me dat we need a new striker...... as i said earlier HULK will be gr8 buy..... speed, power, gr8 shoot, freekick taker, scores regularly n heavy build...... just watch him play espacially watch his goal in 2nd leg europa quater final Gar 16/04/2011 7:44pm
Bet the FA is having an orgasm at the moment,especially Bernstein....TOSSER farhan 16/04/2011 7:49pm
it seems to me scholes just doesnt have that energy, determination and desire to paly anymore. do u guys see that???? whats ur opinion guys? Mayama 16/04/2011 7:50pm
Berbatov continue to dissapointing be in big game (except the hattrick against liverpool). Wrong tactic with only 1 striker and not giving Owen a chance toward the end. borba 16/04/2011 7:55pm
can somebody explain to me why Shcoles got a red card on tv it looked like a 50-50 ball and both players went with there foots high. Still cannot come to grips why he was sen off why we lost and farhan is right scholes looked like he didn't want to play. Saqib 16/04/2011 8:01pm
i partially agree with malik..... ya berba is not goin gud we need new striker.... but whole game was not his fault carrick played his part aswell...... we definately need 2 spend big we need power house players in midfield like sniejder, goetze or pastore....... n new striker n i agree hulk will be goodd buy n boy what a great goal it was in 2nd leg europa quater final by him borba 16/04/2011 8:03pm
Know I'm even more pissed we lost espn in fuken America showed highlights of United loss when does espn here in america all of a sudden have an intrest in real football and show highlights? Saqib 16/04/2011 8:05pm
i forget to mention 1 thing good freekick by nani he should practise them n go for direct goal............. Marty MUFC 16/04/2011 8:09pm
What can say, poor performance, no one in a red shirt had a good game. We miss a midfield players thats willing to a hard tackle in, battle and put their weight about. The only positive to take from today is the lads now know how it feels to lose a semi-final this season so they won't wanna feel that pain in the champions league. Where still in in the fight for competitions that at the start of the season would have been our priority so chin up and let's do the domestic and European double !!! Arfaan11 16/04/2011 8:22pm
Poor performance,it's fair 2 say we jus shot our selves in th back,hopefully we can pick our selves up 4 tues v newcastle Carl 16/04/2011 8:27pm
Feel sick to my fuckin stomach! Still can't believe it! Like I've said all season berbatov and Carrick and a lot ov others aren't united material! It was fuckin pathetic today! Were was the passion the belief the desire. I'll tell you were sat in the crowd and his name is Rooney, what a sorry lost state we looked without him today! Come what may in winnin trophies this year, we need a big big clear out and some fresh real talent playin next season, because let's be honest we've ridden our luck on so many occasions this season, and I'm hopin it gets us over the finishing line at least for the league, really hope them blue twats don't win it Gary 16/04/2011 8:29pm
Dose any1 no y rio got so pissed at full time? Kas 16/04/2011 8:30pm
Anyone know what happened between mario n rio at the end? mayama 16/04/2011 8:36pm
apparently balotelli said something and upset Rio, and you already know Rio always in a bad mood when we lost. borba 16/04/2011 8:44pm
Mario was trying to touch Rio's stuff Sean 123 Mufc 16/04/2011 8:56pm
of all night to lose on Saturday night same if it was Sunday you could go to Bed for the day, we need Sneijder , we should played four four two . Sean 123 Mufc 16/04/2011 8:59pm
Talking of Sneider he is 2/3 TO SIGN FOR MAN UNITED ACCORDING TO SKY BET Andy mara 16/04/2011 9:02pm
Simple. Fergie should have started with Hernadez . 4-4-2. carrick shite.. get rid!! united gave city too much room and we paid the price.. nani not at all playing to full potential.. fergason needs a boot up his arse and sign new players for the start of the new season. rooney was missed and scholes is past his sell by date! where was giggs? why did we give the blue scum so much respect on the ball? fergie has a lot to answer to when he should have kept a winning side from the previous win against chelsea. Dubstep 16/04/2011 9:40pm
Balotelli the wanka celebrated in front of us the prick thats y rio flipped borba 16/04/2011 9:45pm
Carrick played a bad pass in our own half that's what screwed us carrick paniced he lost the game for us borba 16/04/2011 9:59pm
look I have to admit we lost being in the fa final but at the end of the day we have champion league left and league trophy to win and a bunch of trophies in our cabinet. What do city have? That's right nothing only a fa final that they still could lose and still have nothing. Big I 16/04/2011 10:02pm
Michael Carsick give him away, ginger ninja we have loved you for years but it's time for your testimonial a poor poor showing for all and shows all our problems :-(((( onto the double now boys Jamie 16/04/2011 10:51pm
I agree with Carl we really need clear out, it's long overdue. Why he didn't Owen on instead of Anderson I'll never know. As for signings sneider is a must as is another winger. Our midfield is really struggling. And give micheal Owen a chance to show what he can do. Carl 16/04/2011 11:06pm
Cheers Jamie, I agree with u aswel, why did he take off oshea and put fabio on!!!! Why not Owen! A defender for another! I just don't understand it when were 1 down. Saqib 16/04/2011 11:53pm
im not fergie but i think carrick flecture gibsonn n bebe should be cleared out.... Saqib 16/04/2011 11:55pm
i meant should b given chance in 1st team Saqib 16/04/2011 11:56pm
plaese watch this link hulk classy goal in europa Sean 123 Mufc 17/04/2011 12:14am
well Diego FORLAN LINED WITH RETURN TO Man united in THIS MORING papers . but i rather Hulk he is younger and looks good Saqib 17/04/2011 12:23am
good 2 knw sean that u agree wid me im shouting ma lungs out for hulk sighning n berba sale from months nw but every1 just say he is top scorer but no one see he is not a big match player except 1 gud performance wid livepool he dnt have anythin in his cv....... Sean 123 Mufc 17/04/2011 12:26am
I HOPE THIS Hulk wont turn out like another Ozil summer .i could not go trough all that again Saqib 17/04/2011 12:32am
sean bro it wasn,t that ozil refused 2 sign it was lyk fergie didnt paid 13m for him he just offered 10m prob is dat glaziers dnt give money out 2 spend we need big spending like we did few years back when we got nani, andreson n hargreaves n we won champions league..... we need big spendings............ Sean 123 Mufc 17/04/2011 12:38am
Totaly agree mate we need signings but i am still upset we did not sign Ozil .we would be 15 points ahead right now in the League and we be in the Fa cup final . all Man united fans wanted Ozil fergie should of begged the Glazers to get him last summer Saqib 17/04/2011 2:57am
ya but for glaziers 3m is imp than class known as ozil i hope fergie dis time dnt become victim of events n force glaziers 2 put hands into their pockets i dont want dat we miss out on pastore goetze n sniejder.... we need atleast 2 of them n i new striker who got pace dribble body strength n power shoot lyk hulk i dnt knw hw many times i have 2 call up his name....... Man u 4 life 17/04/2011 9:14am
Ri get rid of carrick !!!! He is the worst player in man u history !!!! We need 2 sell berba carrick gibson and hopeful get 20 mill 4 all them !! Then we use tha 20 mill 2 buy David de gea caz vds is leavin :( then fergie should tell them glazers 2 giv um money r he will leave !! So he gets the money and buy sindier pastore and then hulk !!!!! We would win everthin !!!! Red boy 17/04/2011 9:17am
We was much the better team,they only looked near to our level for when scholes got sent of.carrick has been amazing recently,but did that pass,beva is prem top scorer but missed sitters.we was just very unlucky today that's all.hope shitty loose in final!! P 17/04/2011 10:22am
Berbatov is bad in big games? Name ONE person who thinks Man Utd vs Liv'Pool isn't a big game? Think!! Berbatov did what Bobby Charlton, George Best, Denis Law, Ole Solksjaer, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney didn't manage: a hat trick against Liverpool. TheEmperor 18/04/2011 1:14am
WTH do we have shit players like Valencia? And while Park Ji is a ball of energy his dribbling and passing skill is dog shit. manrud 18/04/2011 4:15am
this defeat was a one-off...man, i wish Scholes finishes off zabaleta, break his leg or something, you are a legend Paul! Comments are closed. |  
  Loading
    Categories/ArchivesHave A Story ?Find the best prices on Manchester United jerseys at soccerpro.com. We have Rooney jerseys and Chicharito jerseys too. Free shipping on all orders over $65. Only use the best bookmakers when doing football sports betting online.
 |
Man Utd News 24/7