Football: Fergie worried after Basel draw
Attacking United needed last-gasp equaliser to salvage points.
MANCHESTER:
Sir Alex Ferguson hinted that he may need to rein in Manchester United’s rampaging attacking play after watching his side scramble a 3-3 draw with FC Basel at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
After 17 minutes of Tuesday’s Group C encounter it looked as if United were set to lay on another goal-fest, with Danny Welbeck helping himself to a well-taken brace to put United 2-0 ahead.
But United, missing the absent Wayne Rooney, were rocked by a second half fightback from their Swiss opponents and although United were eventually rescued by a 90th-minute Ashley Young equaliser, Ferguson admitted he was concerned by the lax play which had allowed Basel back into the match.
“I think we’re playing with a bit of abandon at the moment and we have to think about that,” he said.
“We have to have a bit more concentration on that part. I think that we played too many players forward in the pitch tonight. Far too many. I thought there was carelessness about us throughout the game.”
Bayern dubbed ‘world-class’ after City rout
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes hailed the performances of stars Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger as ‘world-class’ after their 2-0 Champions League win over Manchester City.
Germany striker Mario Gomez scored twice to give Bayern their 10th straight victory, but France star Ribery and German play-maker Schweinsteiger both constantly tested the City defence on Tuesday.
“We chose just the right time to score and then played very confidently,” said coach Heynckes, who won the trophy in 1998 as coach of Real Madrid.
“At the beginning of the game we were nervous, but we changed things around midway through the first-half and came into the game.”
Tevez denies refusing to play
Meanwhile, City star Carlos Tevez denied refusing to come off the substitutes bench during his team’s defeat at Bayern Munich. City manager Roberto Mancini angrily said Tevez was ‘finished’ at the club after accusing the Argentinian of refusing to appear in the second half of Tuesday’s game with the Premier League team trailing 2-0. But Tevez denied Mancini’s comments.
“In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready to play,” said Tevez. “This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play.”
Real overwhelm Ajax
Nine-time European champions Real Madrid strolled to a 3-0 victory over Dutch giants Ajax to make it maximum points from their first two matches.
Goals from Portugual’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka – his first in the competition since 2009 – and French striker Karim Benzema sees them top the group two pooints ahead of Lyon.
The result left Aitor Karanka — who was running things from the touchline as Jose Mourinho served out the third of his three match touchline ban - happy with both the team and Kaka in particular.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2011.
Sir Alex Ferguson hinted that he may need to rein in Manchester United’s rampaging attacking play after watching his side scramble a 3-3 draw with FC Basel at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
After 17 minutes of Tuesday’s Group C encounter it looked as if United were set to lay on another goal-fest, with Danny Welbeck helping himself to a well-taken brace to put United 2-0 ahead.
But United, missing the absent Wayne Rooney, were rocked by a second half fightback from their Swiss opponents and although United were eventually rescued by a 90th-minute Ashley Young equaliser, Ferguson admitted he was concerned by the lax play which had allowed Basel back into the match.
“I think we’re playing with a bit of abandon at the moment and we have to think about that,” he said.
“We have to have a bit more concentration on that part. I think that we played too many players forward in the pitch tonight. Far too many. I thought there was carelessness about us throughout the game.”
Bayern dubbed ‘world-class’ after City rout
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes hailed the performances of stars Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger as ‘world-class’ after their 2-0 Champions League win over Manchester City.
Germany striker Mario Gomez scored twice to give Bayern their 10th straight victory, but France star Ribery and German play-maker Schweinsteiger both constantly tested the City defence on Tuesday.
“We chose just the right time to score and then played very confidently,” said coach Heynckes, who won the trophy in 1998 as coach of Real Madrid.
“At the beginning of the game we were nervous, but we changed things around midway through the first-half and came into the game.”
Tevez denies refusing to play
Meanwhile, City star Carlos Tevez denied refusing to come off the substitutes bench during his team’s defeat at Bayern Munich. City manager Roberto Mancini angrily said Tevez was ‘finished’ at the club after accusing the Argentinian of refusing to appear in the second half of Tuesday’s game with the Premier League team trailing 2-0. But Tevez denied Mancini’s comments.
“In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready to play,” said Tevez. “This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play.”
Real overwhelm Ajax
Nine-time European champions Real Madrid strolled to a 3-0 victory over Dutch giants Ajax to make it maximum points from their first two matches.
Goals from Portugual’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka – his first in the competition since 2009 – and French striker Karim Benzema sees them top the group two pooints ahead of Lyon.
The result left Aitor Karanka — who was running things from the touchline as Jose Mourinho served out the third of his three match touchline ban - happy with both the team and Kaka in particular.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2011.