Man U unbeaten run continues

Dimitar Berbatov got the first of two goals after 72 minutes, then Hernandez equalised before his Bulgarian strike-partner completed the turnaround with two minutes of normal time remaining – although there were ten minutes of added time to survive due to a serious head injury suffered by Rafael
.
Sir Alex Ferguson described Blackpool as a “revelation” in the Premier League this season; that didn’t stop him selecting an attacking trident of Nani, Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney, suggesting a need to be positive from the off. With Paul Scholes recalled for his first game since the Champions League victory over Rangers in November and his penchant for a deep-lying, quarter-back role, there was licence for the front five to press forward. That meant Darron Gibson, in for Ryan Giggs, and Darren Fletcher, replacing Anderson, getting forward where possible. Rafael returned from a one-game ban for a red card at Tottenham Hotspur in place of John O’Shea.
Such has been Blackpool’s success, particularly that of their captain and talisman Charlie Adam, they have had to fend off three bids from three different clubs, including Liverpool. But such distractions would be swatted away for the visit of United and 1,500 Reds travelling to Bloomfield Road, a tight, traditional ground with the kind of close atmosphere that could intimidate some teams.
The pre-match excitement was palpable; for locals this fixture, without wishing to patronise, embodies their return to the top-flight, while for United it was one of the eagerly-anticipated away trips of the season. The Reds began with large swathes of possession and Scholes pulling the strings in the opening ten minutes; a neat early exchange down the left between Gibson, Evra and Rooney ended with a cleverly-disguised Rooney pass and a blocked Evra cross. But it didn’t last.
The Reds’ rhythm was disrupted when Adam clattered into Patrice Evra, leaving the left-back dazed and bloodied. The Frenchman had barely returned to the field and certainly not in position to defend a Blackpool corner when Adam’s in-swinging cross on 16 minutes was met with a thumping header from Craig Cathcart that flew past Edwin van der Sar. The irony would not have been lost on Sir Alex that Cathcart, an Academy graduate and former Young Player of the Year at Old Trafford, joined the Tangerines only after a persuasive telephone call from Ian Holloway.
Despite the shot in the arm for the home team, United still found space – whether created by passing and movement, or offered by an open
Blackpool side – and momentarily at least upped the tempo. But there were still scares at the back, not least as Nemanja Vidic’s attempted headed clearance from Adam’s cross forced van der Sar into a reactionary save.
Sir Alex switched from a 4-3-3 formation to 4-4-2, but United’s openings were still mere half-chances. A Rafael header five minutes before the break was easily held by Richard Kingson, while a brilliant piece of control from Berbatov was not be matched with a finish – his strike on the bounce was wayward. Blackpool looked fearless and went straight up the other end and grabbed a second. Van der Sar saved well from David Vaughan’s shot, but from the resulting corner United were caught out again as DJ Campbell headed home at the far post to leave Sir Alex’s men with a mountain to climb and an unbeaten record looking utterly exposed.
Ryan Giggs was called from the bench at the break, but almost immediately United could have conceded a third were it not for Rafael’s excellent positioning for Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s cross. The Welshman made a difference as Blackpool appeared to tire. But it was another veteran, Scholes, who got United’s first real attempt of the half just after the hour when Kingson struggled to hold his fizzing shot. A second change followed soon after that as Javier Hernandez replaced Rooney. The Mexican broke the offside trap almost straight away to race onto Scholes’ long pass and, aiming to put the ball between Kingson’s legs, the Ghanaian keeper got the slightest of touches that prevented it reaching the goal.