RVP's form bring United to victory as the Reds go 12 points clear
Image retrieved from The Official Barclays Premier League Twitter Page
Starting Lineups
Manchester United: De Gea ; Rafael, Vidic, Evans (SUB Smalling 80'), Evra ; Valencia, Cleverley, Jones (SUB Carrick 57') Giggs (GOAL! 12') ; Rooney, Van Persie (GOAL! 45')
(Bench: Amos, Anderson, Hernandez, Nani, Welbeck)
Everton: Howard ; Neville, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines ; Mirallas Y (SUB Naismith 70'), Osman, Gibson, Pienaar, Fellaini Y ; Anichebe (SUB Jelavic 56')
(Bench: Mucha, Duffy, Oviedo, Hitzlsperger, Stones)
With Manchester City registering a shock loss against newly-promoted team Southampton, Sir Alex Ferguson knew he had to win against Everton. And despite a Real Madrid CL fixture in midweek, the Reds played a full strength team against Everton, taking the stakes of the game into heavy consideration, which paid off as they saw the Toffees off 2-0 at Old Trafford and placed themselves 12 points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
United pumped the pace quickly in the opening minutes of the first half, winning their first free kick at the edge of the box just before the two-minute mark. They kept the pressure going until Rooney made a brilliant pass to Robin van Persie who missed the empty goal as he hit the post. The Dutchman tried to redeem himself three minutes later, causing a scramble inside the box. Enter Ryan Giggs, who chipped the ball in to give United the lead.
Ryan Giggs shrugged his age away as his goal gave United the lead
Image retrieved from The Official Barclays Premier League Twitter Page
From that point on, United seemed content and stepped off the gas a bit, inviting pressure from the Toffees. Everton responded appropriately as attempts from Leon Osman, Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas all blocked away. The Reds have Vidic to thank, who remained stalwart in defense as the Blues dominated possession for a good amount of time.
But United caught David Moyes' side at the break when Rafael's through ball towards Robin van Persie paid dividends. The Dutchman made sure he made no mistakes this time round as he outsmarted keeper Tim Howard yet again for the goal just at the 45th minute mark.
Robin van Persie makes no mistake as he rounds Tim Howard to slot the ball into the empty net
Image retrieved from The Official Barclays Premier League Twitter Page
United start off the second half the way they did the first. They maintain good possession of the ball for a good amount of time but Everton's back line did well to parry the chances. A header from Giggs at the 65th minute was kept out by Howard but the keeper spilled it, causing a scramble in front of the net. Giggs tried to bring it in but they had to settle for a corner. The succeeding corner saw Cleverley pull off a Scholes-like strike from the edge of the box, which was superbly tipped out by Tim Howard.
Everton staged a few chances, but they had simply lost heart. The Reds saw the game off with Sir Alex Ferguson's side moving a whopping twelve points clear against noisy neighbors City.
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