Sir Alex Feguson's decision to bring Wayne Rooney into the CL quarterfinal against Bayern came back to haunt him. His best player aggravated his ankle injury and was ruled out against Blackburn.
Rooney's energy, passion, and innovation could not be channeled into laconic Dimitar Berbatov and super sub Frederico Macheda, who got his first start. Berbatov who is on his way to becoming an epic flop was off his shot making from the get go. Berbaflop. Nani also chose this game to remind why he is no Cristiano Ronaldo. The one bright spot was Antonio Valencia who kept Utd's attack going but his finishing let him down terribly.
Blackburn have only been beaten twice at home conceding just 14 goals, a number only bettered by Liverpool and Aston Villa. So it was never going to be easy scoring goals. One would have been enough. With a -15 goal differential there was little chance of Blackburn coming back. Valencia had one great chance to put them ahead and he blew it
It has been a frustrating week for Sir Alex with losses to Chelsea, a CL exit at the hands of Bayern, and now a disappointingly pallid draw against Blackburn.
Sir Alex referenced his team's diminishing chances:
"It is going to be very difficult to win this league. It has slipped away from us today. We have a lifeline if Chelsea blow it.
There is now a sense of vulnerability creeping into the team's outlook for the future. Questions of an aging midfield and tightened purse strings are becoming the topic du jour rather than the season itself. Sir Alex has spent this week on the back foot defending his "typical Germans" remark.
The Blackburn result sets up the potential for an ill tempered derby against surging City who swamped Birmingham, 5-1 today. Carlos Tevez would relish nothing better than rubbing it in the face of his old manager and fans who spurned his overtures. A loss would finish off Utd's chances for good.
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