Manchester United 5 Birmingham 0: Mathieson's verdict
REDS RIOT: United players mob Dimitar Berbatov (centre) after his early goalSir Alex Ferguson has bemoaned recently that in the eyes of fans and critics alike Manchester United have to be perfect.
This performance wasnt quite faultless but the perfectionists will be more satisfied.
The Reds boss believes his league leaders have suffered in the ratings because everybody feels United should be paragons.
If Wayne Rooney had scored in this impressive rout then the performance would certainly have come into the perfect category.
The Reds were at their easy-on-the-eye sublime best for much of the match, there was a classic goal for veteran Ryan Giggs, another hat-trick for Dimitar Berbatov and a clean sheet.
The only thing missing was Rooneys first Old Trafford goal from open play since he scored against Liverpool in March.
Last spring he converted against the Merseysiders when he followed up his own penalty miss by tucking in the rebound.
Then he had the Midas touch even when your spot kick is saved the ball runs kindly for you to finish and save your embarrassment.
You know you can do nothing wrong when fortune favours you in that way and the England striker must be wondering if he exhausted his quota of luck in last seasons sensational 34-goal haul.
What a difference 12 months make. Somewhere along the way there has been a shift of goal power from Rooney to Berbatov.
A year ago yesterday Rooney was taking Hull City to the cleaners with a five-star individual performance against the Tigers in which he claimed all four goals in the 4-0 rout.
At that point hed knocked in 20 goals. Berbatov was left out of the starting XI that day despite having scored the previous week at home against Burnley.
!
It was Rooneys season and the Bulgarian had to suffer some difficult comparisons as his sidekick made hay.
Now the boot is remarkably on the other foot.
Berbatov must know he is enjoying one of those campaigns blessed with that vital extra commodity of good fortune when you can slip on the grass yet still end up making an unlikely tackle that sets up a goal for the Reds!
Next Sunday the Bulgarian celebrates his 30th birthday and is on the brink of sweeping past Ruud van Nistelrooys 2002-03 achievement of three hat-tricks in a season with a trio of match balls already on display back home.
He is chasing down Denis Laws achievement of 42 years ago when the Stretford King was the last United player to score more than four trebles in a season.
But the Scots 1968-69 feat is eclipsed by his astonishing record-breaking seven hat-tricks in the 1963-64 season.
How Fergie must now be chuckling at those cynics who dismissed Berbatov as a last-minute over-priced transfer on deadline day in August 2008 when the Reds were forced to shell out 30.75m by Spurs to see off a late bid by City.
He is revealing the kind of goalscoring form Fergie admired that brought him 23 goals in his first two seasons in English football with Spurs.
Now sat on 18 goals for the season, those personal best figures are set to be overtaken and a potential golden boot might just sit next to those match balls on his mantelpiece.
If only Rooney could rediscover the potency of last term then the Reds would have that extra cutting edge that would no doubt see them steam ahead of all challengers in the title race.
Perfect
If ever there was a perfect illustration of the mad and rapid change in fortune as a striker then it came in the second and 47th minutes of Uniteds clinical destruction of Birmingham City.
When you are on a roll you are there at the back post to stoop ! and nod in from two yards John OSheas glancing back header from Giggs corner as Berbatov was after 95 seconds.
When you are in couldnt hit a barn door mode then you arrive at the back post and from two yards steer your header wide as Rooney did from Nanis cross just after half-time. It defies logic. The Gods have certainly deserted Mr Rooney.
Youd have expected an explosion of frustration from Rooney but as he hugged the post in despair his wry smile to the Stretford End suggested he knows at some point the floodgates will have to open again.
We hope the goals are going to come for Wayne. He is working his socks off. He produced some great football, said Ferguson.
And there could certainly be no complaints about the 25-year-olds all-round contribution as he played key roles in three of Uniteds five goals.
Berbatovs opener came just 25 seconds later than the start of his five-goal annihilation of Blackburn in November and Birmingham must have been fearing even that 7-1 scoreline might have been eclipsed.
But the Reds took another half hour before they got that critical second and it was the Rooney-Berbatov combo that engineered it after Roger Johnsons giveaway to Anderson.
The England forward released his sidekick, who struck cleanly.
Then came that Berbatov slip on the turf that turned into a tackle and turned into the third with Rooneys excellent cross picking out Giggs coming in at the far post.
The 37-year-olds sidefoot finish into the roof of the net completed a sensational move.
Veteran Giggs masterful display must have been frustrating his fellow old guard member Edwin Van der Sar who was having nothing to do at all in goal.
So the Dutchman decided he fancied playing a part in a goal and hoofed a clearance upfield that was superbly brought under control by Rooney.
He fed Giggs and the cross encouraged Berbatov to steal in at ! the near post for his hat-trick.
If Rooney thought his second-half miss was material for a gaffe DVD compilation then Keith Faheys extraordinary howler on Uniteds line after 59 minutes made the Reds forwards look like a difficult chance!
With Uniteds goals-against column escaping damage it was left to Nani to end the scoring in the 76th minute when his choice and execution was finally spot on and he smashed in the fifth.
Perfection?
Well Birmingham could easily have been punished even more than Blackburn but there are 19 other Premier League teams probably wishing they were not flawless like the Reds!
What is your verdict on the action? Have your say.
This performance wasnt quite faultless but the perfectionists will be more satisfied.
The Reds boss believes his league leaders have suffered in the ratings because everybody feels United should be paragons.
If Wayne Rooney had scored in this impressive rout then the performance would certainly have come into the perfect category.
The Reds were at their easy-on-the-eye sublime best for much of the match, there was a classic goal for veteran Ryan Giggs, another hat-trick for Dimitar Berbatov and a clean sheet.
The only thing missing was Rooneys first Old Trafford goal from open play since he scored against Liverpool in March.
Last spring he converted against the Merseysiders when he followed up his own penalty miss by tucking in the rebound.
Then he had the Midas touch even when your spot kick is saved the ball runs kindly for you to finish and save your embarrassment.
You know you can do nothing wrong when fortune favours you in that way and the England striker must be wondering if he exhausted his quota of luck in last seasons sensational 34-goal haul.
What a difference 12 months make. Somewhere along the way there has been a shift of goal power from Rooney to Berbatov.
A year ago yesterday Rooney was taking Hull City to the cleaners with a five-star individual performance against the Tigers in which he claimed all four goals in the 4-0 rout.
At that point hed knocked in 20 goals. Berbatov was left out of the starting XI that day despite having scored the previous week at home against Burnley.
!
It was Rooneys season and the Bulgarian had to suffer some difficult comparisons as his sidekick made hay.
Now the boot is remarkably on the other foot.
Berbatov must know he is enjoying one of those campaigns blessed with that vital extra commodity of good fortune when you can slip on the grass yet still end up making an unlikely tackle that sets up a goal for the Reds!
Next Sunday the Bulgarian celebrates his 30th birthday and is on the brink of sweeping past Ruud van Nistelrooys 2002-03 achievement of three hat-tricks in a season with a trio of match balls already on display back home.
He is chasing down Denis Laws achievement of 42 years ago when the Stretford King was the last United player to score more than four trebles in a season.
But the Scots 1968-69 feat is eclipsed by his astonishing record-breaking seven hat-tricks in the 1963-64 season.
How Fergie must now be chuckling at those cynics who dismissed Berbatov as a last-minute over-priced transfer on deadline day in August 2008 when the Reds were forced to shell out 30.75m by Spurs to see off a late bid by City.
He is revealing the kind of goalscoring form Fergie admired that brought him 23 goals in his first two seasons in English football with Spurs.
Now sat on 18 goals for the season, those personal best figures are set to be overtaken and a potential golden boot might just sit next to those match balls on his mantelpiece.
If only Rooney could rediscover the potency of last term then the Reds would have that extra cutting edge that would no doubt see them steam ahead of all challengers in the title race.
Perfect
If ever there was a perfect illustration of the mad and rapid change in fortune as a striker then it came in the second and 47th minutes of Uniteds clinical destruction of Birmingham City.
When you are on a roll you are there at the back post to stoop ! and nod in from two yards John OSheas glancing back header from Giggs corner as Berbatov was after 95 seconds.
When you are in couldnt hit a barn door mode then you arrive at the back post and from two yards steer your header wide as Rooney did from Nanis cross just after half-time. It defies logic. The Gods have certainly deserted Mr Rooney.
Youd have expected an explosion of frustration from Rooney but as he hugged the post in despair his wry smile to the Stretford End suggested he knows at some point the floodgates will have to open again.
We hope the goals are going to come for Wayne. He is working his socks off. He produced some great football, said Ferguson.
And there could certainly be no complaints about the 25-year-olds all-round contribution as he played key roles in three of Uniteds five goals.
Berbatovs opener came just 25 seconds later than the start of his five-goal annihilation of Blackburn in November and Birmingham must have been fearing even that 7-1 scoreline might have been eclipsed.
But the Reds took another half hour before they got that critical second and it was the Rooney-Berbatov combo that engineered it after Roger Johnsons giveaway to Anderson.
The England forward released his sidekick, who struck cleanly.
Then came that Berbatov slip on the turf that turned into a tackle and turned into the third with Rooneys excellent cross picking out Giggs coming in at the far post.
The 37-year-olds sidefoot finish into the roof of the net completed a sensational move.
Veteran Giggs masterful display must have been frustrating his fellow old guard member Edwin Van der Sar who was having nothing to do at all in goal.
So the Dutchman decided he fancied playing a part in a goal and hoofed a clearance upfield that was superbly brought under control by Rooney.
He fed Giggs and the cross encouraged Berbatov to steal in at ! the near post for his hat-trick.
If Rooney thought his second-half miss was material for a gaffe DVD compilation then Keith Faheys extraordinary howler on Uniteds line after 59 minutes made the Reds forwards look like a difficult chance!
With Uniteds goals-against column escaping damage it was left to Nani to end the scoring in the 76th minute when his choice and execution was finally spot on and he smashed in the fifth.
Perfection?
Well Birmingham could easily have been punished even more than Blackburn but there are 19 other Premier League teams probably wishing they were not flawless like the Reds!
What is your verdict on the action? Have your say.
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