FC Seoul 0-4 Manchester United: First Half Blitz

The crowds came to watch Rooney, Ronaldo and – to some extent, Park – in action and got exactly that. It was a game that was definitely – what the commerce department would term – a commercial success, as fans turned up in hordes. Thankfully I got to watch the game, after all. In fact, it was good that I didn’t miss the first half.

Here are my notes on the game.

• Sir Alex fielded an experimental looking team. The team had a 4-4-1-1 (or 4-2-3-1) formation to begin with. He started off with Vidic-Rio at centre-back and Slivestre-Bardsley as full backs. O’Shea and Carrick were in central midfield while Ronaldo started in the hole behind Rooney. Eagles started on the right. But most surprisingly, Evra started on left wing. Now I’ve always wondered if that might be an option Fergie might consider at some point, due to his attacking abilities and better defensive awareness.
• The first goal was initiated by an Evra throw in with Ronaldo topping it off with a powerful finish.
• Evra again was at the heart of the second goal, starting it from the centre of the park, with a neat flick on by Ronaldo onto the path of Eagles, who showed good composure to finish it off.
• The third goal was the result of a Rooney-Ronaldo combination, and Rooney fired to ball in to the ‘keeper’s near post. Although the ‘keeper ought to have done better than that.
• The cameras focused ever so often on the darling of the masses – Park Ji Sung. He is clearly HUGE in Korea. And he acknowledged the crowd during half time. Hopefully he returns sometime soon in our next campaign.
• The fourth goal game in the 60th minute, with Evra – who impressed a lot in the game – getting the goal he deserved with a great finish from a narrow angle.
• In all, a great day at the office with no injury worries, although we were disappointed at not seeing Nani even on the bench. Hargreaves might not be playing in the Asian leg of the tour, despite what he says. I suppose SAF wouldn’t want to risk him at any cost.
• Scholes came on in the second half, waded into tackles and picked up his customary yellow.
• While Rooney and Ronaldo were headline grabbers, there were also performances that deserved mention. Evra was good on the left wing and so was Eagles.
• Simpson came on in the second half for Bardsley and so did Evans for Vidic
• Going from the way he’s been playing so far, Rooney looks very very hungry to be back playing again. I think this could be the season where he comes into his own for real. He’s been working his socks off in both games, harrying defenders, running at them. Injuries aside, I predict great things for the lad this season.

So that should about do it. Here are the goals in case you missed the game.