QPR vs Man Utd Match Report (Rafael rocket ruins Rangers hopes of shock)

By: Ian | February 24th, 2013

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As part of my seemingly pointless quest to keep this blog alive, this week I bring you the encounter between top place Utd and bottom place QPR. When last they met in early season, Mr. Redknapp was just about to take over, Utd were 2 points clear and QPR 4 behind in the table. Moving on, Utd went into the game 12 clear and with QPR…4 behind. Not much question whose having the better time of it at the moment. But there is always the chance of a cunningly-placed banana skin on such occasions and with the chance to go 15 CLEAR as 2nd place and 3rd place (City and Chelsea) play on Sunday, Utd put out a team to get those three points in the bag.

Utd sent out a team of De Gea, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Young, Van Persie and Hernandez. Experience all the way through that side. And QPR sent out 11 individuals who look like a team, but on evidence, don’t play like a team. Present amongst them were Brazilian international keeper Julio Cesar, former Blackburn rock Samba, Bosingwa, former Real Madrid man Estaban Granero, supposed wonder-boy Taarabt and experienced striker Bobby Zamora. Enough to at least mount a challenge to get off the bottom of the table, but that escape may well have to wait for another day. In another season. In another galaxy…

Chilly was the word to describe the conditions as both sides got out the de-icer and started trying to get the motor running. QPR found first gear first to get up to speed, but the first chance fell to Utd as Nani, starting after his excellent FA Cup performance, as he planted a header wide from a Young cross. As Utd skipped first and went straight into second gear, Chicharito guided a wonderful header on a path to loop across the box and over Cesar, with the Brazilian on his toes to tip it over. A ground-level cross from Nani was then just too far away for the Mexican to connect.

QPR looked nervy and as was identified by many pundits, their desire to get on the ball is admirable, but their ability to interlink, make runs, create chances, is severely lacking. Their tough job was then made a lot tougher by a wonder goal from Rafael Da Silva, who was very much Da man on this occasion. Van Persie worked the ball on the edge of the box (more on this in a moment), with his ball into the space pushed out by Cesar. Rafael met the loose ball with perfect connection that left his boot and, if not for the net, may still be travelling. It soared its way across the box, past everyone and into the top corner. Nothing anyone could have done to prevent it, and a contender for many Goal of ‘Insert Time Period here’ competitions. 1-0 to Utd.

HOWEVER, and there is usually a however. In the build up, Van Persie’s momentum from his cross took him off the pitch and into a camera pit. The pit in question failed to move out of the way, it was solid concrete after all, but it could be argued it was in a potentially dodgy place and very close to the field of play. Anyway, in Van Persie fell and took a big hit on his side. Clearly in pain, he tried to run it off.

QPR then finally threatened but Rafael, on a high after his screamer, was well positioned to boot Samba’s header off the line. Cue a counter attack that found Rafael on the right, who prompty floated a cutting ball over and through the QPR defence perfectly into the path of Van Persie. The Dutchman connected a la Van Basten but Cesar got a hand to it. RVP was then replaced by Welbeck, which looked a little more precautionary than downright worrying, with the news that he has a sore hip from the collision but should be ok, especially for Madrid. On with the action, a free kick from Giggs then met the head of Vidic, who did what he hasn’t done too many times in the past, and didn’t divert it home.

A sub of Jenas for Granero for QPR at the break, but with no real significance. As Utd continued, Nani got a header on target this time, the reverse of what he managed earlier, with Vidic also doing the same and this time missing the connection from Giggs’ set piece. Some more substitutes followed, with Rooney (recovering from a sinus infection) replacing Hernandez and Loic Remy replacing Zamora. The latter then brought De Gea out of his afternoon nap with a well-worked shot. The Spaniard was equal to it.

The final subsitutions were made before Utd sealed the victory. Nani timed his pass accurately to release Giggs on the edge of the box with ten minutes to go. The Welshman looked up, looked down, and looked on as the ball left his foot and made friends with the inside of the net. 39-year old beat 33-year old as noted in my revival of the ‘Who says football is a young man’s game?’ feature. Much was made of the fact this was Giggs’ combined 999th appearance across Utd, Wales and Team GB, and he’s still going. The man in question then followed it up with an audacious lob that clipped the bar. I say he meant it, but could have been a cross. Either way, good chance. Welbeck arsed up a final effort for the Reds after dilly-dallying on the ball as Samba, now as an emergency striker, tested De Gea for his second real involvement in the match. It was also the last as the whistle blew.

Utd weren’t brilliant, and the injury to Van Persie took a bit of shine off the occasion. But it was professionally performed, Rafael’s screamer can be watched again and again and again with equal enjoyment and Giggs continued to prove what we already knew, he can play good football. Utd extend their lead to 15 points for the time being, and the league association is probably now out looking for the new colours for the trophy to replace those light blue ones.

Next up is Norwich on 2nd March. Plenty of time to rest for that one, closely followed by Madrid on March 5th.

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Category: Manchester United

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Ian

Hey guys, I appreciate your vote of confidence - it's just difficult sometimes to take the time to write and get no feedback, but your comments made me remember why I do it.YKH): It is nice to hear from you. I completely understand if you don't want to comment, it's no legal requirement after all. But I am glad that you like what I post (I do try and make them entertaining), and we'll always be glad to read your comments and opinions should you decide to post in the future. Definitely something in the defence's preferred sports drink this season too. Giggs is marvellous, and you won't find many bigger worshippers of the man (on the field of course) than I. I think it's just a matter of picking his games so that he isn't swamped, not because he's playing bad, but because it's a game that won't suit how he plays in the middle. Uday): Thanks very much for your continued presence around here once again! Am I allowed to say Rafael's shot was Federeresque? New word there. Nani has a big chance to get in the squad with the current form of the wingers. And on the point of Chelsea, if only they'd scored that penalty....but hey ho, twelve points is still not too shabby is it now? Are we getting greedy? :)
I didn't understand the placement of the camera either. I thought cameras were either safe behind the goal or suitably behind the boards. To have one effectively on the field of play, so close to a high traffic area (namely the box QPR have to defend week in week out), is stupid. The slope of the pitch carried RVP into it. And would you believe it? Just behind him is an ad board saying: 'Have you had an accident at work....?' A joke, but even QPR's camera setup is proven rubbish. Cardiff can replace them.
Uday

Hey Ian, chin up, man. we're rooting for you. You're doing a great job.
1) Rafael: what a beauty, huh? Sometimes the most beautiful thing in the world is a perfectly timed shot, where everything is just spot on. And in any sport. A perfectly timed straight drive, a singled handed backhand up the line; both which go like bullets, but are effortless but for the monumental attention to timing. This was exactly that. Scholes vs Braford ? (Beckham corner; Scholes volley).
2) I agree, Giggs looked good and so did Nani. Of the three (Valencia, Young and Nani), he seems to be playing the best.
3) Stupid Chelsea. If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

One rant: why the %%$&$ do they have these cameramen next to the pitch? Have they not heard of zoom? That and the little slopes on the edges of the ground. One slip and you land up in Tsingtao Beer, the rapidly blinking board and not the actual liquid.
YKH

Hi Ian,

I feel a little guilty here because I do read your blog posts every week and very much enjoy them (both as a United fan and a reader) but have refrained from commenting. It's nothing personal on my part; just my own tendency to not comment or throw my two penny's worth into (normally) vociferous football debate. However, I must admit that the general absence of life after your excellent posts is both very odd and unrepresentative of your good work. That is why I feel a little guilty at my reticence until now, and why I have chosen to finally chirp up.

As for the game itself: I pretty much agree with all you've said really. I felt that we looked very comfortable in a fixture that, by rights, should not have been, and that was in large part due to Rangers' surprising failure to have a proper go. Rafael's screamer is (I hope!) becoming almost a regular occurrence this season where storming first half performances are capped by well taken goals, like those against Fulham and Liverpool. Maybe he's now starting to ingest whatever Paddy Evra and Johnny Evans have been taking this season!

Aside from that, I think, like most fans, seeing RvP visibly struggling after his temporary descent below ground was the biggest problem posed to us in the first half. Would have loved Rafael's wonderful ball over the top to be converted, or for Chicarito to have turned a pretty poor half full of running into something more by turning in one of either Nani's or Young's crosses. For me though the best takeaway, aside from opening up the temporary 15 point chasm, is Giggs' genuinely fantastic contribution to the game and in turn helping me erase the bad memories from games like Norwich, where previously seeing his and Carrick's name starting in a 4 man midfield would have struck terror in my heart! All in all a solid if unspectacular and somewhat fortunate performance, in that both sides could have been so much better.

Keep up the excellent work, Ian. Your writing is balanced, more objective than most fan blogs, humorous and good fun.