Monday, January 19, 2009

Sir Alex singles out United defensive heroes

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Manchester United FC may have reached pride of place in the Premier League at the weekend but they could not have done so without the "miraculous" contribution of their record-breaking defence.

Ten in a row
That was the opinion of United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after the team equalled the Premier League record of ten successive clean sheets – set by Chelsea FC in the 2004/05 campaign – in the 1-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers FC. The fact that Saturday's success moved United top of the table for the first time this season was almost forgotten by Sir Alex as he paid tribute to his defenders.

'Miracles'
"The back four has performed miracles in recent weeks and it's a great achievement," he said of a rearguard which was last breached by Samir Nasri's 48th-minute goal in a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal FC on 8 November. Since then the English titleholders have registered eight wins – six of them by 1-0 – and two draws amid a run of Premier League shutouts made all the more remarkable by the injury absences of Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown.

'Magnificent'
"Nemanja Vidić's performances have been absolutely magnificent and we were delighted to get Jonny Evans fit for this game because he's maturing with every match he plays," Sir Alex explained. "The two of them have been fantastic in the last few matches and we've had a very good spell defensively."

Happy knack
If an ability to keep clean sheets is the hallmark of potential champions, so too is the Red Devils' knack of nicking late goals – with the latest example being Dimitar Berbatov's 90th-minute header at Bolton. "Late goals are always special and we were delighted to get another one," added Sir Alex. "It was a perfect time to score because there was no chance for Bolton to come back." United climbed a point above long-time leaders Liverpool FC, with both teams having played 21 games. Liverpool are next in action at home to Everton FC today.

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