Javier Hernandez seals victory for Manchester United as Tottenham celebrates first win
Manchester United finally tasted victory on Spanish soil after a gap of 11 years when they defeated Spanish leaders Valencia 1-0 thanks to a Javier Hernandez goal.
Though Wayne Rooney was out of the game due to an injury but that didn’t stop Manchester United’s ambition to end the barren spell of victories on Spanish soil.
When Manchester United bought Hernandez, many eyebrows were raised because United already had star strikers in the shape of Wayne Rooney, Michel Owen and Dimitar Berbatov. However, Sir Alex knew that the kid had the potential to become a superstar.
Javier’s heroics in the last moments against Valencia revived the memories of Manchester United’s 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich.
The difference between the two matches was that on the finale - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the hero that day while Mexican prodigy Javier Hernandez helped United earn their first victory on Spanish soil after 11 years.
In 1999, Alex Ferguson played a gamble by sending on Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as substitute and the duo transformed the seemingly defeat into a victory at the Nou Camp. The Scott did the same last night, sending Federico Macheda and Javier
Hernandez with only 12 minutes to go at the Mestalla Stadium.
The duo combined to carve a winning goal with the Italian Macheda providing the assist for his teammate Hernandez who scored in the last minutes of the game, finishing just like Solskjaer. The Mexican didn’t remain self obsessed and praised the efforts of
his teammates.
Sir Alex Ferguson showered united hero with a lot of praise. He admitted that Hernandez brought the much needed penetration and quickness to open Valencia’s defence. Valencia had their own chances but they failed to convert their chances into goals and paid
a heavy price by conceding a home defeat.
In another Group C match, Scottish side Glasgow Rangers just like Manchester United registered a victory by a lone goal against minnows Bursaspor.
The win helped Rangers end the 13 games champions’ league run without a win. Steven Naismith was the hero for the Scottish giants and he admitted that his side will not take anything for granted after being levelled on points with group leaders Manchester
on four points only to stay behind on a poor goal difference.
In group A, Tottenham Spurs overwhelmed FC Twente by four goals to one with their summer recruit Rafael Van der Vaart playing a crucial part in carving the victory.
Tottenham celebrated their first Champions league victory in a match which was full of drama. The match had it all with goals, penalty saves, penalties converted and a red card.
Rafael Van der Vaart destructed the defence of FC Twente, feeding strikers with fun. The Dutch didn’t show any mercy to their compatriots and scored a goal as well. But his night ended without completing a game when he received a second booking with half
an hour remaining. Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored a brace from two spot kicks and flying left back Gareth Bale scored the fourth.
Inter Milan and Tottenham are now level on points and in the next game, the two teams will face each other. From their last showing, it is certain that there will be shortage of drama and action when two sides meet in two weeks time.
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