United win to stretch lead

Manchester United continue to power their way towards the Premier League title after sealing a 2-0 win over Fulham. First-half strikes from Dimitar Berbatov - his 22nd of the season - and Antonio Valencia with his first since August allowed United to surge ten points clear of nearest challengers Arsenal.

Without the services of Wayne Rooney, following his two-match ban by the FA, United were forced to look elsewhere for their attacking prowess. In this instance it was the Premier League's top scorer and a man who bagged five in one game earlier this season.

Berbatov had only started one league game since that dismal defeat at Wolves over two months ago, the equally miserable loss at Liverpool. On home soil at least though, the Bulgarian is a man to be trusted.

It did look like he was cursing when Nani ran into a crowd of Fulham defenders on the edge of the area instead of playing a simple pass to the flanks. But  Nani squeezed a pass to Anderson, then flicked the return to his left for Berbatov. The Bulgarian survived a tight offside call and slotted his shot beyond Mark Schwarzer.

It was exactly what United were looking for so early in the contest and the points should have been wrapped up when Berbatov skipped past Carlos Salcido and Brede Hangeland by the touchline and burst into the box before rolling a pass back to Anderson. Goalscoring, though, is not the returning Brazilian's forte. Back after a nine-match absence with a knee injury, Anderson never looked like improving a return of two goals in 121 previous appearances and dribbled a poor effort wide.

Nani continues to impress
United did get their second though, just after the half-hour when Schwarzer inexplicably raced to the touchline to try and make a clearance he was never going to manage given Nani had the speed to get there first.

The Portugal winger showed his selfish streak by going for goal himself rather than present Valencia with a tap-in. Aaron Hughes did it instead, turning Nani's shot away with his head but merely offering Valencia the chance to nod home from two yards as a consequence. It was Valencia's first goal since the Community Shield and his return to action from a major knee injury suffered one month later is another reason Ferguson has been rejoicing.

After an enterprising start, Fulham had been overwhelmed. They retained enough spirit to bring an outstanding save from Tomasz Kuszczak, though, as substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen curled a shot goalwards from 25 yards. It was a confusing piece of play all round as, from their angle, the Fulham fans thought it had gone in and referee Mike Jones awarded a goal-kick rather than the corner which would have been due reward for Kuszczak.

Anderson and Berbatov were both denied by Schwarzer, the first after another uncharacteristic mistake from the veteran Australian. By the end, even John O'Shea was trying his luck, advancing from his right-back role to let fly from the edge of the area.

Paul Scholes had a go as well. They were both out of luck - just as Ferguson had been - but as they approach a week that starts with that Champions League decider with Chelsea and ends at Wembley against Manchester City, the overall United picture is rosy indeed.

UEFA Champion League Result : semi final 2011

> Manchester United  [1:0]  Chelsea
> Barcelona  [5:1]  Shakhtak
> Inter  [2:5]  Shalks
> Real Madric  [4:0]  Tottenham

Rooney hit with two-match ban

Wayne Rooney will miss this month's FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City after he failed in an attempt to reduce the severity of a two-match ban imposed following his four-letter reaction to scoring a hat-trick at West Ham on Saturday.

The Football Association opted not to release the outcome of yesterday's disciplinary hearing immediately following a request by Manchester United, who did not wish to suffer any disruption to their preparation for last night's UEFA Champions League encounter with Chelsea.

Rooney scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge but has now learned he will miss Saturday's Premier League encounter with Fulham at Old Trafford, then the Wembley meeting with City on 16 April, with the FA merely confirming their original punishment.

"A Regulatory Commission has suspended Manchester United's Wayne Rooney for two matches," read a statement issued by the FA this morning. "Rooney had admitted a charge for the use of offensive, insulting and/or abusive language, but claimed that the automatic penalty of two games was clearly excessive.

"The Commission did not accept the claim and Rooney will begin the standard two-match suspension with immediate effect. The charge relates to an incident during his side's fixture with West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 2 April 2011."

At least Rooney will be eligible to play in the return leg against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Tuesday. However, his absence is a blow to Ferguson, particularly for the City encounter given the 25-year-old's remarkable winner against them in February.

In a statement reacting to the decision, Rooney was clearly upset that he had failed in his appeal and would be missing the huge game with their local rivals. He said: "I am gutted to miss two matches, one of which is an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. "I am not the first player to have sworn on TV and I won't be the last.

"Unlike others who have been caught swearing on camera, I apologised immediately. And yet I am the only person banned for swearing. That doesn't seem right. Whatever, I have to accept that what's happened has happened and move on from here. That is what I intend to do."
Manchester United similarly expressed their "disappointment" at the ban shortly after it was confirmed. "Manchester United is clearly very disappointed with the decision," said a statement issued by the Old Trafford outfit.

"The club put forward a very strong case to have the punishment reduced, which was unsuccessful. Wayne apologised immediately after the match and the club now wishes to move to on to what hopefully will be a very exciting conclusion to the season."

Rafael: I always speak in the plural form

Despite Brazil’s reputation as a prolific exporter of footballing talent, cases of players leaving the country even before making their debuts in the professional game remain rare. Rarer still are those that move directly into the first-team squads at a club of Manchester United's stature.

Yet that was exactly the case with Brazilian twins Rafael and Fabio da Silva, who were plucked from the youth ranks of Rio de Janeiro outfit Fluminense. FIFA.com caught up with the gifted siblings to find out how things were going under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

“We came here when we were very young, so it’s normal that we’ve only started to get more opportunities now,” said Rafael, quickly answering on behalf of himself and his brother. “It’s funny isn’t it? I’m used to always speaking in the plural form. Even though we do have different experiences here and there, we go through so much together that it can get confusing at times.”

 Those guys are monsters. But what can I do? I just need to keep playing my football for Manchester United and who knows, maybe I’ll be able to overtake at least one of those two.

Rafael on the quest to earn a place in the Brazil squad at the expense of Maicon or Daniel Alves

 Not content with being side by side from birth, Rafael and Fabio shot to prominence together as youngsters at Flu, were both picked for Brazil’s U-17 squad and both defended their country at the 2007 edition of the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Seeming to match each other stride for stride, the pair then earned a switch to the Red Devils and made the move to Englandin July 2008, though their rates of progress since have been somewhat different.  

With Rafael brought into the United squad with a view to succeeding veteran right-back Gary Neville, who has now hung up his boots, left-back Fabio has had found his path blocked by a man still at the peak of his powers: Patrice Evra. Indeed, it was less than two years ago that the France international was voted the best player in his position by his fellow professionals, when earning a spot in the 2009 edition of the FIFA/FIFPro World XI.  

“It’s been a slow process, but we knew that’s the way it’d be," said Rafael. "And Ferguson is great at that: he knows exactly how much time to give each player out on the pitch.”

The United No21 admits that having initially simply savoured every first-team appearance, he is now determined to play in as many big games as possible, such as tonight's UEFA Champions League quarter-final, first leg against Chelsea.

“Of course when a game like this comes around you still get butterflies in your stomach," he conceded. "That never changes and it can even do you good. But I’m full of confidence at the moment. I want to play in every game, and especially ones like Champions League matches and English derbies.”

Though Rafael has benefitted directly from the denouement of Neville’s glittering career on the right of United’s back four, winning a spot in the senior Brazil side is another matter. Barring his way are the last two players to claim the right-back spot in the FIFA/FIFPro World XI: Barcelona’s Daniel Alves (2009) and Inter Milan’s Maicon (2010).

“Everyone is always saying that to me, and the worst thing is it’s true!” Rafael revealed, laughing. “Those guys are monsters. But what can I do? I just need to keep playing my football for Manchester United and who knows, maybe I’ll be able to overtake at least one of those two.”

                   We want to win titles here in Manchester, become Olympic champions in London and play in the 2014 World Cup.

Fabio on his and Rafael's ambitions

 Even so, Rafael’s emergence at Old Trafford has not gone unnoticed by Mano Menezes, who handed the player a maiden call-up for the July 2010 friendly against USA, in what was the coach's first match at the Brazil reins. Fabio, by contrast, was struggling to get even a few minutes on the pitch for United at the time, a situation that triggered a serious rethink.

“I arrived here at the age of 17 and was happy just being in the squad at a great club like this, and to be second-choice behind a player like Evra,” said the left-sided member of the duo, who are now 20. “But when I saw my brother getting called up to A Seleção, despite having Daniel Alves and Maicon as competition, I thought: ‘I want to play’.

“I looked around me and I saw that I’d let myself get comfortable. I was getting older and was content to be in the same situation as when I’d arrived. That’s when I said to myself, 'Now’s the time. I’ve been here for the last three and a half years, just training with these class players, and now I want to play'. I’ve got a different mentality now and scoring my first goal (on 26 February against Wigan Athletic, followed two weeks later by another against Arsenal) helped me get that clear.”

And as the interview concluded, it was Fabio's turn to speak for both twins when outlining their shared objectives for the next phase of their careers: "We want to play in the important games, win titles here in Manchester, become Olympic champions in London (in 2012) and play in the 2014 World Cup.”

Owen: I want to stay at United

"In an ideal world, I would extend my stay." ~ Michael Owen.

 Manchester United's former England striker Michael Owen said Monday he is hoping for a new deal when his contract expires in the summer.

But the 31-year-old, who has 13 goals to his credit from 37 appearances, admitted he was very much in the dark regarding manager Sir Alex Ferguson's thoughts. "I am not sure about my future yet - my contract expires at the end of this season," Owen told the club's website. "I've made no secret that, in an ideal world, I would extend my stay. I would love to play here for longer, but I will just wait and see what the club say. We've not held any talks yet."

And Owen said he was keen to face Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, United go into the quarter-final first leg match against Carlo Ancelotti's side anxious to end a dreadful run of results at Stamford Bridge. They have not won in 10 games at the ground - losing 2-1 this season - but Owen believes their luck could be about to change.

"Since I've been at the club the games at Stamford Bridge have been odd. We don't get outplayed there, that's for sure," said Owen. "Unfortunately, we haven't had many good results, though. I'm sure our luck will change at some point.
"In the league last month we were 1-0 up and put on one of the finest displays of football Stamford Bridge has probably seen from a visiting team," he went on. "I don't think many teams go to Chelsea and play like that. Then they got back into the game from nothing, really. Maybe we were a little guilty of contributing to our own downfall but we won't let that happen again."
Owen is pleased the second leg is at home with the winners facing either Inter Milan or Schalke in the last four. "We prepare for every game in the exact same way - we don't take any game more seriously or less seriously than any other," he added.  "The way we train, the way we travel, the way we recover, it's all the same. I don't think it will feel much different.
"We hope playing the second leg at Old Trafford will prove decisive," the player continued. "We also know that whoever progresses to the semi-final will get the same advantage there, so that's an added incentive. From that point of view, the draw's been kind to us. But it is going to be difficult to get past Chelsea over two legs."