Manchester United falls in Super Cup

Tevez could not save his team in the Super Cup.

It took eight years for United to capture the Champions League hardware again after their 1999 triumph, but the new title brought a similar result in the UEFA Super Cup on Friday when the Reds took on UEFA Cup winners FC Zenit St. Petersburg on Friday in Monaco.

The Russians were the more quality side when viewing the entire 90 minutes and deserved their 2-1 victory against a very strong United side. A beautiful flick-on off a corner at the end of the first half set up the first goal, and Danny’s daring run and pin-point accuracy with Rio Ferdinand right on him brought the Russians a 2-0 lead in the second half that could have been more.

Zenit continually broke down the United defense on the wings in the first half, and Edwin van der Sar did well to keep out a point-blank volley on a free kick. Zenit had opportunities throughout the second period as well, with Andrei Arshavin coming on in the second half to produce countless opportunities on the left wing.

For United, they were porous defensively (Gary Neville did not look impressive), and had little room on the flank to let Evra go – a strategy that worked so well against Portsmouth on Monday. Wayne Rooney again disappeared at times and bumbled a wonderful opportunity in the box after a dynamic run down the right wing by Carlos Tevez.

Tevez was a maniac throughout the match as he demanded that ball and rarely lost it. And when Zenit did steal it from him, he must have recovered it within the next two seconds at least four or five times. The Argentine was a force all afternoon, and if he had any fault at all, if might have been an unselfishness toward the end when he tried shorter passes in the box rather than having a go himself.

John O’Shea also failed to one-time or quickly control a Tevez pass in the second half, which resulted in another missed opportunity. Rightfully, it was Tevez’s short pass to Vidic in the box that gave United a lifeline in the 73rd minute.

But Zenit would not allow a second goal as it took the cup home with them after a quite entertaining affair. And for anyone who missed the game, please check out Paul Scholes’ 90th minute red card for a hand ball in the box. Scholes went airborne on a cross, realized he wouldn’t be able to get a head on it toward net, and instead raised his hand and hit the ball on a line right into the left corner of the net. Forget the red card for a minute though – it’s absolutely incredible that he had the coordination to hit the ball where he did, because it took off just like a well-placed header.

It looked strange when first viewing it, and replay confirmed the hilarious and rather embarrassing decision by the United veteran. Some Manchester fan in the pub I was at turned around, thinking it was a goal, and yelled at the Russian fan right behind him in a very obnoxious way. Then he saw the replay, and let’s just say the Russian had the last laugh with that one.

I'll be watching the Colorado-Real Salt Lake game tonight, so there should be something up after that and a post about the U.S. roster for WC qualifying that came out yesterday.