Liverpool 1: 2 Manchester United (Barclays Premier League)

Manchester United registered a first victory at Anfield since 2007 despite a disjointed display, as a sensational goal from Rafael and Robin van Persie’s late penalty sealed a comeback win over 10-man Liverpool.

Steven Gerrard had fired the hosts into a deserved lead in the opening minute of the second half, only for Rafael to quickly curl home an unstoppable finish to level matters, and van Persie crashed home the decisive penalty after Antonio Valencia had been fouled by Glen Johnson. The victory came despite a largely off-colour performance from the visitors, who toiled for long periods even in spite of the 39th-minute dismissal of Jonjo Shelvey for a two-footed lunge on Jonny Evans. Shelvey took issue with referee Mark Halsey and, curiously, Sir Alex Ferguson after being sent off, and the home support were similarly incensed by the decision to penalise Johnson for his challenge on Valencia – though the England defender clipped the Ecuadorian’s heel in trying to recover the ball. The game’s events heightened the tension on a day already shrouded in pre-match fervour. Nevertheless, all fears of unruly fan behaviour from either end of the East Lancs Road proved unfounded. On the field too, there were handshakes throughout both sets of players and Sir Bobby Charlton presented Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush with flowers to commemorate the much-publicised recent Hillsborough ruling.

Amid all the issues surrounding the game, the major piece of team news was provided by Sir Alex Ferguson’s omission of Nemanja Vidic as a precautionary measure, after the Serbian had already – for the first time since last November – completed two full games in a week. Rio Ferdinand returned to partner Jonny Evans in his stead, while Ryan Giggs stood in as captain.

After a strong start from the visitors, it was Giggs who had the game’s first opening. Nani made progress down the left flank and fed the ball inside for Shinji Kagawa, who in turn teed up his captain for a poked, 20-yard effort which narrowly skirted by Pepe Reina’s top corner.

Liverpool’s riposte was to quickly seize control of the game. Rafael twice had to make alert defensive headers, once re-adjusting superbly after Anders Lindegaard had palmed out Luis Suarez’s drilled cross, then nodding over his own crossbar as Fabio Borini  lurked with intent at the back post.

Sections of the home support were celebrating moments later, but in error as Steven Gerrard drilled a low shot just past Lindegaard’s post after a well-worked short corner.

United were rattled, and just before the quarter-hour the visitors’ defensive ranks were breached again, but a heavy first touch from Borini took him away from goal and allowed Evans to take the sting out of the Italian’s subsequent shot.

The Reds’ game was disjointed – too often frivolous with possession or pedestrian to counter – and an injury to Ferdinand looked set to further hamper Sir Alex’s gameplan. Instead, the veteran played on despite his discomfort and emerged as one of the Reds’ most important players in the first period, constantly repelling the hosts’ forward forays.

The game remained poised in that manner, with Liverpool’s possession only undone by their own attacking bluntness and solidity in the United defence. Then, with six minutes of the half remaining, the complexion of the game was completely altered.

Giggs was caught in possession by Shelvey, who sprinted into a 50-50 challenge with Evans. Both players left the ground, Evans reached the ball first and Shelvey crunched into him. Referee Mark Halsey took his time, assessed the situation and dismissed the Liverpool midfielder.

Nevertheless, it was Liverpool who continued to boss matters, as Suarez’s 30-yard free-kick forced Lindegaard into a full-length save. The interval provided a chance for United to get their collective house in order, but despite the introduction of Paul Scholes for Nani, any half-time instructions apparently fell on deaf ears.

Another half-time substitute, Suso, crossed from the left and United failed to clear the danger sufficiently, allowing Johnson’s shot to deflect to Gerrard, who had time and space to chest the ball under control and direct a left-footed volley past the sprawling Lindegaard.

As has often been the case already this season, a deficit provided the spark for United to burst into life. There was suddenly more intent and incision about the visitors, and under five minutes had passed before the scoreline was levelled in sensational fashion.

Valencia crossed from the right and Kagawa chested the ball neatly down to Rafael. The Brazilian cut inside on his left foot and, despite having little room for manoeuvre, curled an unstoppable shot high into Reina’s goal, via the Spaniard’s upright.

Anfield’s away section bellowed its delight, but the expected surge of attacking play from United was instead replaced by a game which remained hard-fought and finely poised. Suarez – fresh from having a viable penalty appeal turned down – drew a fine stop from Lindegaard with an arrowed left-footed effort. The Dane then tipped over Suso’s side-footed effort as Liverpool continued to threaten.

Though the game meandered as a stalemate, United benefited from a penalty award with fifteen minutes remaining – only the Reds’ second at Anfield in Sir Alex’s Old Trafford reign. Valencia showed tremendous speed to nip between Johnson and Daniel Agger and reach a loose ball, and as the Ecuadorian bore down on Pepe Reina and weighed up his options, Johnson’s attempts to recover only culminated in Valencia being bundled to the ground.

Van Persie was among three players to have missed spot-kicks for the Reds already this term, and the pressure was further heaped on the Dutchman as he faced a four-minute wait to take his kick as Agger received treatment and was subsequently stretchered from the field.

When play restarted, however, van Persie beat Reina’s valiant effort and smashed his kick high into the Spaniard’s goal. Chicharito was introduced in place of Kagawa to retain United’s counter-attacking menace, but once again the hosts might have scored as Martin Kelly got between Evra and Evans to head Johnson’s cross narrowly wide of Lindegaard’s goal.

That was as close as Liverpool came to levelling matters, despite eight minutes of added time, and instead United could bask in the unfamiliar glory of winning at Anfield for the first time in half a decade.

Rivalry and Respect!!

GGMU

Cheers

S

Don’t Worry…Be Barfi!!

Young people in love — language and physical limitations be damned! Anurag Basu is a wunderkind, and Barfi! — like its namesake — is fantabulous!

If you’re one of the few who managed to see Barfi! — the new sentimentalized Bollywood rom-drama starring Ranbir Kapoor as an endearing, off-kilter deaf-mute — at either Nishat or Capri before their untimely demise yesterday, then of course you would have come out with one of twon otions. One: you’d love to hate its simplistic, at times shuffled, turn of events. Or, Two: You’d hate to love its simplistic, skillfully multi-layered, characterization.

Ranbir Kapoor, we’re shown in song and sepia toned flash-back, is born to a poor, yet loving, couple in Darjeeling. As it was the olden-days before television, the couple was smitten by their radio. And so when they had a boy, they named him “Murphy” – ala, their radio’s brand. The boy, in a cruel twist, is born deaf-mute, and pronounces his name Barfi.

The name sticks, like a staining Popsicle drip. And it had good reason to.

Barfi is a riot —a readily love-struck character whose muteness is twisted to Buster Keaton/Charlie Chaplain-esque grandeur by co-writer and director Anurag Basu. Basu, whose previous credits are Murder, Life in a Metro – and more recently – Kites, cranks-up and winds-down Barfi!’s emotional beats with pin-point precision. And his casting couldn’t be more spot-on.

As Barfi, Kapoor channels the right measure of old-school physical comedy to cement the fact that his character is non-affected by his handicap. Playing-up at his own expense (he runs and jumps all over the green and concrete of Darjeeling, but never mimics or puts down any of the film’s supporting cast) there’s a visible emotional change in him as the film matures.

Barfi’s alteration is simultaneously minute and evident — as is Kapoor’s powerhouse performance. In some ways, his pragmatism compliments Barfi!’s purposely fractured story-telling.

The story opens with Shurti (Ileana D’Cruz, in white hair), receiving a telegram about Barfi’s old-age collapse. As she makes her way to Darjeeling, we see pieces of Barfi’s life via Shruti or the film’s other chief narrator, Saurabh Shukla.

One of the easiest (and clichéd) ways out of dealing character-driven stories is to nail unfolding events to the voice or presence of a direct or in-direct chronicler. Telling a multi-layered, content-heavy life-account without a narrator is as tricky as it is perspiring for the writer; Filmmakers (say Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Guzaarish and Black, or Paul Thomas Anderson in Magnolia) turn to a chronicling voice by instinct. Sometimes the voice stay’s for select moments appending the narrative. Sometimes it takes over the movie.

So while at first Shruti’s narrative voice did “sound” conformist to the idea of “serious storytelling”, it took a while to realize just how right Basu’s aesthetic call was  — Like most of the Barfi!’s deftly crafted finesses.

While some may argue Basu’s inclination to add a mystery angle to a romantic-drama, the idea – like the soundtrack by Pritam and the visual effects by Pixion– slip and slides comfortably into Barfi!’s painstakingly maintained, quirkiness or its genuine warmth (a large helping of the film’s dazzling warmth comes from cinematographer Ravi Varman, by the way).

As Barfi!’s emotional barometer hikes-up, one cannot help but applaud Basu’s distinctive transformation into a cinema-auteur.

Basu, in total command of his dominion, offsets a characteristic divide between Barfi’s initial romance with Shruti and his more intuitive, and involuntary, attachment with Jhilmil. With Shruti, he seals his first-love with a soft kiss. With Jhilmil, the response is as simple as a head-butt.

Sometimes, a head-butt is all it takes to seal the deal.

Happy Watching!

S

The 7 stages of love: Love is not cheap!!

Love comes at a high price

Love is a spiritual attribute therefore it comes at a high price. That means that love is not something that comes passively, it must be worked at throughout life. All spiritually valuable commodities come at high price (such as patience, humility, kindness, optimism, honesty). That means that all these qualities are practiced consistently over time. You don’t become patient or humble overnight. Similarly with love, we do not become loving over night. We cannot achieve true love after 3 months with the partner we have chosen. A spiritually developed person, who has truly developed their ability to love, can feel this love for every living thing. They possess a special type of love for anyone.

It is impossible to decide to “love” and think of it in textbook terms. It is one thing to say “I have made the decision to love everyone” and it is a completely different thing to truly feel that genuine and sincere love in our heart for everyone. We can only start to nurture this loving feeling within our hearts, we can create an environment in our soul that allows love to grow without killing it. This can take a very long time, sometimes a whole lifetime, sometimes more than one lifetime. But that’s what we are here to do, so let’s get started today.

These days we throw around the word “love” like cheap currency. We make it synonymous with things like lust, passion, desire – but as you can see – there are other words for that. So we should try to keep the word “love” as pure as possible, and as true to it’s real meaning as much as we possibly can. Because love is not passion, nor is it desire, and love is definitely not lust. These feelings have nothing to do with real love, and don’t give any realistic indication of what real love is.

The rate of divorces and separations is increasing exponentially in our culture today. The Vedas actually predict that in the future, the couple who has remained together for life will be seen as saint-people – those who possess some mystical ability to hold a relationship together for life.

According to the Vedas, there are 7 stages of love in a marriage between two people.

Stage one: Falling in love.

This is the most famous stage of them all. The trademark symbol of “love”. It is in this in this stage that some of the strangest things can be done by people in their wild and sometimes inappropriate expressions of love and commitment. And in Romeo and Juliet’s case- even suicide and murder was justified by their “(Stage One) love”.

This is “chemical love”.
The man and woman experience an inexplicable lust and desire for each other. Hormones are released in their bodies that give them a feeling of attachment and commitment towards each other. It’s like being on a high. The lover’s logic and reason is dulled, and a sense of ambition, pride and motivation take over. Together, they become unstoppable, invincible. They believe nothing could conquer their love. Under the influence of this chemical intoxication, the lovers in this stage need all the help they can get from an outside sober mentor – but unfortunately at this time, they are least likely to accept their mentors advice. They become very sensitive to advice or criticism regarding their love.

They become obsessed with this euphoric feeling and expect that it will last forever. That they will maintain this intense and pleasing “togetherness” forever. But we know that’s not how the story goes….

Stage two: Fullness

Anything that receives a constant input of supply, will eventually become filled – and that is what happens to this couple’s love. Their sensual desires eventually become full. There is no more space for more. This stage is more like a thin boundary between Falling in love and stage three: Rejection, between love and hate. What a strange type of love this is – the kind that is just one step away from hate? This stage can be achieved very quickly- depending on how often the couple sees each other during their Stage one. You can pro-long your love by keeping distance between you and your partner as long as possible – which means to not see each other every possible moment. The closer and more inseparable you are, the more intense the chemical love feeling may be, but also – the faster you will fall into Stage 2 and the harder you will fall into Stage 3.

Stage Three: Rejection

The Rejection phase begins when the intense chemical reactions from Stage One begin to die down. It’s the Hang-Over phase. Both people tend to feel deeply frustrated and sad. They reject each other on all different levels. It is in this stage that most couples separate. It is a very primitive response – we tend to try to squeeze as much “enjoyment” out of our partners as long as possible because it feels good for us, and then as soon as our partners object to being “enjoyed”, we leave. Because it doesn’t feel good anymore. This is such a primal way of thinking about love. We have a higher sense of consciousness than that, we have the ability to make long term commitments. We have the ability to commit to someone to love, and often times, we do not use it, because it’s hard work.

So now that the high is over, the partners begin to notice all the flaws in each other. They feel awkward, irritated and tired of each other. They begin to self-pity- feeling bad for their unfortunate situation, to be trapped in a relationship with a partner with so many flaws – what a sad story  . Their conscience sometimes whispers quietly in their ear, suggesting they should keep their love together, to work towards their marriage, to keep doing useful and helpful things for each other. The other voice tells them to leave, to give into their own selfish desire for self-preservation. To step away from the magnifying glass that they are under, which magnifies all their own flaws and bad qualities, to shy away from responsibilities and duties to their partner, and to keep chasing the elusive stage one love.

Stage Four: Patience

If you are raised in a culture that encourages long-lasting marriages and relationships, it is likely you also value commitment. This may give you enough incentive to be patient in your relationship and stick it out. However, modern day communities often encourages divorce. Divorce procedures are becoming more and more simplified. Many people even enter their marriage believing that “getting divorced” is always an option. When the couple reach stage 4, it is only their national, family, cultural and religious traditions and values that  can help keep their relationship together. The couple must believe in keeping their relationship together.

In this stage what the young couple need most is to be around good examples of married couples. They need to understand what it takes to build family happiness, and how to disregard and work through the building resentment they are experiencing. The couple need to be educating themselves during this period of patience – on how to develop strength in love, commitment, devotion, faith, trust and loyalty. The couple may not feel much “love” towards each other during this phase, they might also be feeling quite exhausted from all the emotional ups and downs, but they can use their higher wisdom to stay strong and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Patience is easy to achieve if you grew up with these values. If you did not grow up in a community where patience and perseverance were embodied and encouraged, it is going to be harder work for you. Of course not impossible though!

Stage Five: Duties

Patience is only good if, during the time that you are “patient” you also build on your sense of responsibility. Patience without an increase of responsibility will cause troubles and oppression. It would be kind of silly. In this stage the couple must  be patient with each other but continue to fulfill their duties and responsibilities to each other. They should continue to help each other out however they can. Patience means that the couple should focus so much on their duties and responsibilities to each other that they simply do not consider their partner’s bad qualities important. They should not think about what they are getting back for their efforts, they should focus only on what they must do, and the changes they can make. It is only in this way that their relationship can progress.

I am sure many people will read that and I think “What kind of relationship is that? What kind of relationship is one where the couple do not have love for each other, but instead live like slaves to each other? That doesn’t sound like love to me!”

But what does sound like love to you then? Complicated love triangles, open relationships, passionate love affairs, the first 6 months of a relationship, a husband who buys your flowers for valentines day but never wants to come home, a wife who wears beautiful dresses and accompanies you to a work party but who keeps secrets from you? It sounds funny, but strangely these are the love-schemes that we accept today. We think that’s OK. We think that’s love because it has elements of the chemical love that we are addicted to. We are raised to be selfish – to demand things from our partner, but to spend little time thinking about what it takes to actually care about our partner. We are wiling to live together for convenience reasons, and then have affairs on the side in order to chase what we believe feels good.

I think what we need to understand that love does not appear out of thin air. It must be nurtured, it must be fought for. In eastern societies, the concept of long lasting love in marriages is simply “to endure – together”.

So there is no need for us to believe too heavily in the stages of disillusionment. It’s not going to be a fairytale. There will be a magnifying glass on all of your flaws and that is going to be uncomfortable. You will have many opportunities to take offense and be selfish. You won’t FEEL like being loving all the time – but it is important that you do it anyway. Love will only arise out of respect, and respect comes over a period of time of demonstrating trustworthy behavior, and when your spouse sees you consistently choosing the higher, and most loving and kindest option, when your spouse sees you continuing to keep your promises and fulfill your duties regardless of what you “feel like doing”. When your partner sees these traits in you, and you see the same thing your partner, you will start to feel a deep sense of respect for each other, for all the things that have been done by them from a sense of duty over the years of living together. And only then do you have the opportunity of real love.

Stage Six: Respect

Stage five is likely to be the longest stage of all in the couples relationship. It can last a very long time, almost their entire life together. However, from time to time, little flashes of respect are shown in the form of gratitude and spontaneous love. A sense of duty is a spiritual concept and only a spiritually rich person can act from a sense of duty. Fulfillment of duty elevates your dignity and builds respect.

Love and duty go together. Respect is what happens when people commit to each other in relation to service and selfless work. In this stage of the relationship the couple realizes how valuable their partner truly is. They truly feel the unconditional love emanating from their beloved. They feel deep respect and security from their partner. At this stage the relationship begins to feel much more stable. A new level has been reached.

Stage Seven: Love

True love can only be created out of respect, and respect can only be cultivated when one observes their duties and responsibilities completely and fully. The love between the husband and wife will only manifest when their interest in each others material bodies have run out (that does not mean only physically, but it also means aspects of their partners life that is occupied in the material world). They longer identify themselves with trying to enjoy each other, but instead devote themselves to bringing the other, and also everyone in their life, happiness. They continue to do their duties, but now a true and strong love begins to emerge in their actions. This is the beginning of real love.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Sources: Unfortunately I can’t find the exact lecture that I first learned about these 7 stages, but it was from The Art of Living!!

Love

S

Manchester United 1:0 Galatasaray (UEFA Champions League)

Manchester United took the first steps towards proving last season’s Champions League disappointment was only a blip by beating Turkish champions Galatasaray 1-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

The Reds survived an early penalty scare before taking the lead inside seven minutes through Michael Carrick. Nani wasted a chance to add a second from the spot after the interval, while David De Gea was required to be at his best to ensure Sir Alex’s men took all three points from a fixture that also marked the return of Darren Fletcher – on as a second-half substitute – to first-team football following 10 months on the sidelines.

The Reds boss, still smarting from last season’s group-stage exit, made good on his promise to “take no risks” and play his strongest team. Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa returned to the starting XI, while Patrice Evra was recalled at left-back.

The real eye-catching team news, however, was Darren Fletcher’s inclusion as a substitute. The Scot has been battling a serious bowel condition that’s kept him out of first-team action since November 2011 and some predicted he’d never play again.

Those people obviously don’t know Darren Fletcher. A determined and dogged character, Fletcher has worked immensely hard in the intervening months and his 16 minutes of action here will hopefully be the first of many over the coming months.

De Gea, assured between the posts all night, was lucky not be called into action inside a minute when Vidic, attempting to reach a short Evra pass, caught Umut Bulut inside the penalty area. Galatasaray appealed for a penalty but German referee Wolfgang Stark waved play on.

At the other end, Fernando Muslera did well to bravely block Nani’s clipped effort after a smart interchange with Kagawa on the edge of the box.

The Japanese midfielder was involved again on seven minutes for United’s opening goal, combining well with Carrick to send the no.16 clear. With Muslera advancing, Carrick shaped to shoot but instead calmly dragged the ball around the goalkeeper.

The stopper’s outstretched leg caught Carrick, however, and caused him to stumble. A penalty and a red card loomed, but the Reds midfielder, now on the ground, managed to hook the ball into the empty net with his left foot to open the scoring and spare the Galatasaray goalkeeper further punishment.

The visitors struck the crossbar through Nordin Amrabat soon afterwards but didn’t threaten again until Hamit Altintop grazed the base of De Gea’s left-hand upright on 38 minutes.

By then, Sir Alex’s men had seen two penalty appeals turned down – one for handball by former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue and one for a well-timed tackle by centre-back Dany Nounkeu to halt a tricky Kagawa run – while Valencia’s driven delivery from the right almost forced an own goal.

The scoreline at the break will have pleased the Reds boss, but spells of Galatasaray possession and defensive ill-discipline served as reminders that this match was not won yet.

Nani’s penalty miss on 53 minutes, after Rafael was brought down by striker Burak Yilmaz, only compounded that feeling. The Reds have now missed three spot-kicks in as many matches – Hernandez and van Persie the other culprits – and must be yearning for the return of Wayne Rooney from injury. This one, a tame effort after a stuttering run-up, was easily saved by Mulsera.

Selcuk Inan went close to rubbing salt in the wound when his glancing header sailed narrowly past the far post before Vidic spurned a chance from close range and Evra flashed a shot across goal at the other end.

The Reds had another penalty appeal turned down when Nani went tumbling under substitute Emre Colak’s challenge. There was barely time to complain, though, as Galatasaray countered at speed and, through Yilmaz and then Colak, forced De Gea into two fine saves. The second was world-class, a finger-tip stop at full-stretch.

Darren Fletcher’s introduction in the 79th minute drew a cheer almost as loud as Carrick’s goal and it was that strike that ultimately settled this opening Group H fixture.

Both sides will rue missed opportunities – Hernandez spurned two golden chances in injury time – and Galatasaray can certainly be proud of the part they played in an entertaining contest. It’s United, though, who are off and running, back with a bump if not a bang in the Champions League.

The Game has begun!!

GGMU

Cheerio

S

Manchester United 4:0 Wigan Athletic (Barclays Premier League)

Manchester United posted a comfortable win over Wigan Athletic, overcoming an early penalty miss to run riot in a superb second-half display.

Paul Scholes marked his 700th Reds appearance with the opening goal, before players from the opposite end of the experience scale ratcheted up the scoreline. Having had his early spot-kick saved, Chicharito turned in Alex Büttner’s shot, then the Dutchman marked his home debut with an impressive solo goal and fellow new boy Nick Powell rifled in the Reds’ fourth goal from distance.

Sir Alex Ferguson had implored his side to go for goals during the course of this season, rather than closing out games and conserving energy, and the manager would have been delighted to see the Reds steadily turning the screw even as time ebbed away.

With all bar Phil Jones, Wayne Rooney and Chris Smalling available, Sir Alex had several selection dilemmas to ponder, the end result being five changes from the side which won at Southampton earlier this month. Scholes and Rio Ferdinand moved onto 700 and 400 United appearances respectively while Ryan Giggs made his 600th Premier League outing. Büttner made his maiden appearance at left-back, while fellow summer signings Powell, Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa were on the bench.

Despite the raft of changes, United should have moved ahead inside the first five minutes. Danny Welbeck latched onto a searching through-ball from Giggs and reached the ball ahead of the onrushing Ali Al Habsi before tumbling to the ground. Though there was minimal contact and Welbeck made no appeal, referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot, to the visible and understandable enragement of the visitors. Their ire was soothed, however, when Al Habsi plunged to his left to comfortably palm away Chicharito’s effort from the spot. Justice had quickly been done, to the detriment of the mood at Old Trafford, which was understandably flattened by the spurned opportunity.

Welbeck appeared to place himself in sole charge of enlivening the crowd again, turning in a lively attacking display which gave the Wigan defence a torrid time. The England striker forced Maynor Figueroa into a vital sliding block, then cracked a superb volley just wide after Nani’s teasing, clipped cross. Twice more Welbeck came close – having a shot deflected over after nicking possession, then striking Nemanja Vidic with a goal-bound shot – before Wigan threatened for the first time as Ivan Ramis headed wide from Shaun Maloney’s out-swinging free-kick.

Emmerson Boyce then scuffed a shot narrowly wide of Anders Lindegaard’s near post as the visitors began to demonstrate their counter-attacking menace, before Welbeck headed just over from Carrick’s clipped cross. For all Welbeck’s prominence, however, it was Nani who had the Reds’ clearest open-play opening of the first period. Chicharito held the ball up and teed up Giggs to release the Portuguese winger, who fell foul of an untimely bobble as he tried to loft the ball over Al Habsi and sent his finish high into the Stretford End crowd.

A mood of frustration briefly turned to relief just before the break when Wigan spurned their own presentable chance. Jean Beausejour sent in a fine cross from the left flank which narrowly evaded Franco Di Santo but fell perfectly for Arouna Kone, who prodded wastefully wide of the target. The Ivorian missed the game’s next chance, in the first minute of the second period. Again Beausejour was the provider with a pinpoint cross, but this time Kone had to contort to direct a header comfortably off-target.

Those missed chances were quickly exploited when United took a 51st-minute lead, and there was an air of poignancy about the goal as Scholes capped his milestone day in style. It took a wonderfully incisive pass from Carrick to pierce the visitors’ well-organised defence and release Nani, whose cross was palmed out by Al Habsi and into the path of the merciless Scholes.

A simple finish from the veteran cranked up the crowd’s volume and the decibel level was sustained as referee Oliver was unmoved by a series of fair, yet bone-crunching challenges from both sets of players. Shortly after the hour mark, United struck a quickfire one-two to end the contest, with Büttner heavily involved in both.

With both teams encamped in the Wigan area, Welbeck nicked possession and fed Giggs, who teed up Büttner. The Dutchman’s shot appeared to be clearing the far post, but it was instead diverted past Al Habsi by Chicharito, lurking with intent and played onside by Boyce. United’s players rushed to salute Büttner’s part in the goal, and the left-back was soon at the epicentre of celebrations again as he marked his debut with an unforgettable goal. Picking the ball up on the left flank, the 23-year-old shrugged off the attentions of Kone, motored past Boyce, nicked the ball away from James McCarthy and then beat Ramis before unleashing a shot which squirmed past Al Habsi.

After Lindegaard rushed from his line to deny Kone, Sir Alex took the three-goal advantage as his cue to ring the changes, first replacing Scholes and Giggs with Nick Powell and Van Persie. After the Dutchman had skewed wide under heavy pressure from Gary Caldwell, the Reds’ third change was Jonny Evans giving Nemanja Vidic a breather.

In the game’s final act of note, Powell followed Büttner, van Persie and Kagawa in marking his home debut with a goal, cutting infield and arrowing in a 20-yard shot which Al Habsi was unable to palm away. That set the seal on a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon’s work for the Reds, who demonstrated an impressive bloodlust and made the perfect start to a week which also contains a return to Champions League duties and a trip to Anfield.

Glory Glory ManUtd!!

Finito

S