Real Madrid 1 - 1 United

DDG

Rafael Rio Evans Evra

Rooney(Anderson) Carrick Jones Kagawa(Giggs)

Welbeck(Valencia) RVP

I was quite optimistic before the game and hence predicted a draw. We got a scoring draw which is quite a good result to take back to OT. Playing at the Bernabeu is no easy task and, although Real had the most chances, we had our fair share of dangerous attempts at Real's goal. Their goalie made a couple of decent stops. Added to that, RVP also had a misshit shot cleared off the line. 

Impressive Welbeck

On the 20th minute (and against the run of play) we got ourselves in front through a good header by our Danny Welbeck. The boy was absolutely fantastic tonight. He ran his socks off and had to be subbed off because he had no more fuel in his engine to keep playing at that tempo. One of my MEN of the match. He's one of the reasons why our team, although inferior to others on a man-to-man basis,   is at the top of the EPL and have done particularly well against a more fancied Real side. We've got players who are willing to to put that extra effort for the red shirt. Some players we have faced recently do whatever they do for their personal glory. They don't prioritize the team's needs. Our players seem to have their priorities in order. More of the same please. 

Now, where are our goalie's slaters? Today David had his best game in a United shirt. He produced some world class saves and was a huge factor in keeping Real at bay. Of the many shots Real had, only a few were what I'd call dangerous and De Gea didn't let us down. A man of the match performance . That'll do him the world of good. 

Warrior

Two other good performers were Jones and Carrick. Jones kept Ronaldo relatively quiet. Yes, our former player scored a goal but that wasn't really Jones' fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. Ronaldo's goal happened because of the sheer brilliance of the scorer himself. His leap was absolutely fantastic and Evra never really had a chance of getting to the ball. That goal reminded me of the goal he scored vs. Chelsea in the CL final in 2008. It was also nice of Ronaldo to celebrate with such dignity after scoring against the club which made him. Anyhow, that's another player Jones managed to keep quiet. Had it not been for Jones, Ronaldo would have probably got another goal to his name today. Well done! 

I love Michael Carrick. He's been slated time and time again but his critics seem to have taken a back seat in the last couple of years. People have become more appreciative of our midfielder. Carrick was (and has been) the heartbeat of our team. He completed the most passes and kept calm in situations were I almost shat myself while watching the game on my sofa at home. Class player.

Rafael and Kagawa were the players who least impressed me. I've still got to be convinced by Kagawa. He had a couple of good games in a United shirt but that's just about it. Anyhow, overall I'm quite delighted with the effort shown by our players. A draw at the Bernabeu is a good result. 

Bring on Reading on Monday.

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