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Late fightback illuminates Man United’s title challenge
Manchester United will feel like they won the jackpot on the slot machines during their seaside trip to Blackpool after a gritty fightback that could be the turning point in the Premier League title race.
Trailing 2-0 at the break to a fearless and creative side punching well above their weight, United drew on the experience that 18 league titles brings and, having been bold enough to take off their highest paid player, emerged as 3-2 winners.
There were no tantrums when manager Alex Ferguson replaced Wayne Rooney midway through the second half but instead a mature understanding it was better for the team that youngster Javier Hernandez was being sent on to shake things up.
‘You’ve got to say his (Ferguson’s) decision to take off Rooney, the way Rooney actually accepted it and ran off, that’s the makings of champions isn’t it,’ Blackpool manager Ian Holloway told a news conference.
The introduction of Hernandez transformed the match, with the Mexican equalising two minutes after Dimitar Berbatov had pulled one back. The Bulgarian then netted a second two minutes from time to seal victory and a five-point lead in the table.
‘We were in the mire in the first half but this is a result industry and we got a result which may have a big impact on the league at the end of the season,’ local media quoted Ferguson as saying.
‘It has told every one of my players they can achieve a lot if we can play to our best.’
BEST SPELL
With Rooney enduring a lacklustre season, United are glad Berbatov has been enjoying his best spell at the club with his 19 goals making him the Premier League’s top scorer.
The Bulgarian refused to take the credit though, saying the comeback had been down to a collective sense of belief.
‘It was the team spirit that won the game,’ he told ESPN television. ‘We’re a team that believes no matter how bad the game might be for us — whether it’s 1-0 or 2-0 — we are always confident that if we can score one then we can score more.’
In a season where the top four have all suffered shock results, United could have suffered a shock defeat at Bloomfield Road which, with a capacity of about 16,000, holds nearly five times fewer spectators than Old Trafford.
United, having struggled in the first part of the season with a tendency to concede late goals and draw, have remembered how to do things the other way round and grab important points.
When United won the 2009 title, Ferguson reckoned the key match of the season was a 1-0 victory at Stoke City, which was far from pretty and came with his players still jet-lagged from playing at the Club World Cup.
Tuesday’s win in Blackpool, a town famous for its illuminations and rollercoasters, could be just as important come the end of the season.
‘I have to say, it’s down to the history of the club,’ Ferguson said on the United website (www.manutd.com). ‘We just never give in.’
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