The Irish defender committed himself well to the task, and managed to keep a clean sheet, including one desperate save in a one-on-one with Robbie Keane. The result meant United moved two points further away from Chelsea, who were held by Bolton 2-2, with three games to play. United finished their FA Premier League campaign with a 1–0 loss to West Ham United, who retained their Premier League status with a close range goal at half time from Carlos Tevez. Manchester United were not only dominant on a team level in 2006–07, but also on an individual level, with eight United players earning spots in the PFA Team of the Year, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo picking up no less than eight individual awards for his performances over the season and Sir Alex Ferguson winning the Premier League's Manager of the Season award. A fortnight after the departure of Ebanks-Blake, striker Ruud van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid. United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak was erratic, but made several saves and Kieran Lee also cleared off the line from Ben Sahar in the closing minutes. The academy graduate should occupy the left flank in Manchester United’s 4-3-3, with Romelu Lukaku getting the nod as the striker, while Diogo Dalot features from the kick-off on the right side to provide additional protection on the flank. And substitute Alberto Gilardino broke away to wrap up an easy win as United were eliminated from the Champions League. Barcelona Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, About | Contact | Things We Like | Facebook | Twitter | Login | Privacy Policy. [10] Finally, United returned home to Old Trafford on 12 August for their only home friendly of the 2006–07 pre-season. Wayne Rooney then turned in Paul Schole's cool pass on the hour to equalise, and won the game for United in the last minute, when he lashed a glorious 20-yard finish past Dida. United opened a six-point advantage over rivals Chelsea with a comfortable home win against Sheffield United. Ryan Giggs almost doubled United's lead when his free-kick hit the crossbar, before Villa substitute Milan Baroš equalised, when he slid a low shot in the corner. However, no further goals came for the home side as the visitors scored two consolation goals, leaving United as 4–3 winners.[12]. Park pounced to add a third and an Ole Gunnar Solskjær drive completed United's comeback. United qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout phase as winners of Group F with a 3–1 victory over Benfica. “But then again it’s three points – the reaction after conceding was fantastic and there are some positives. Three goals in the first six minutes gave United a 3–2 victory. Gary Speed pulled a goal back with an 87th-minute penalty, but it was nothing more than a consolation goal for Bolton. However, the 2–1 loss to Roma was made redundant with a 7–1 thrashing of Roma in the second leg of the quarter-final. United lost the FA Cup Final, the first FA Cup Final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, 1–0 to Chelsea. United ended March with another 4–1 home win, this time against Blackburn Rovers. Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated the winner in his own unique fashion on the touchline, and it was easy to see why after his side had somehow fashioned a crucial three points. Solskjaer added: “You can look back at the performance especially in the last 20-25 minutes when we didn’t really get hold of the ball and control the game when we were winning 2-1. Substitute Kieran Richardson chipped in a fourth to secure United's place in the final. [4], The team then took their pre-season back to Britain, beating Celtic 3–0 at Parkhead. They eventually returned, and United clung on for a crucial victory. The draw for the first knockout round of the Champions League was made on 15 December 2006 in Nyon, Switzerland. The brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo ran through before setting up Rooney to chip in the second and then Park bundled home a third before the break. Henrik Larsson was named captain for the Europe XI, the day after his loan spell at Old Trafford came to an end. Eventually, United were drawn against Celtic, Benfica and Copenhagen. Despite being outplayed during the first half, while Nuno Gomes just off target, United – who were wearing their white change kit – took the lead through Louis Saha, who struck with a rising angled drive on the hour mark, giving United their first away win in the UEFA Champions League for almost three years. Manchester United opened their FA Cup campaign against Aston Villa. The following day, Chelsea's failure to beat Arsenal handed the title to United for the first time since 2003. Wayne Rooney equalised coolly with his first UEFA Champions League goal since 2004, but Mirko Vučinić slid in Roma's second after 66 minutes for a slender lead. In the fifth round, United met Reading, who were managed by former Red Steve Coppell. Then, with two minutes to go, Cristiano Ronaldo received the ball near the halfway line and burst past the challenges of Moritz Volz and Clint Dempsey, before cutting into the area and smashing the ball along the ground into the bottom right hand corner of the net. Manchester United moved to within touching distance of the Premiership title after Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty gave them victory at Manchester City in United's first match in May. “Every game lives its own life and of course at the stage we’re at in the season with all the games coming up I think teams are making changes,” he said. The original squad selected by Lippi was hit by last minute injuries and withdrawals by some big names like Ronaldinho and David Beckham, forcing replacements to be drawn from Premier League teams like Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth at short notice. As one of the eight FA Premier League teams involved in European competition in the 2006–07 season, Manchester United entered the League Cup in the third round. United struggled to break Boro down after the break and were indebted to Van der Sar's save to thwart Viduka. Rooney struck home again through a crashing volley. However, they could still be drawn against FC Bayern Munich, PSV, Celtic and others. Larsson sealed victory in the 72nd minute when he headed home Cristiano Ronaldo's cross from the left. The game was at a 0–0 stalemate until the 76th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo once again converted from the penalty spot. The match was played on 17 February. The Swedish forward was playing his final game at Old Trafford in a Manchester United shirt. “It’s an opportunity for game-time. United began their pre-season in July 2006 with the Vodacom Challenge in South Africa, their first time in the country for 13 years. The start of August saw United take part in the Amsterdam Tournament, involving Ajax, Inter Milan and Porto. John O'Shea and Wayne Rooney both wasted easy opportunities to score. Cristiano Ronaldo converted the subsequent penalty to hand United a replay. Barcelona vs Manchester United. United got off to a flying start with two goalscoring chances coming early on, before Saha scored the opening goal in the 29th minute. Portsmouth were under the cosh for most of the game but hung on until Wayne Rooney came off the bench on the hour mark. It was also United's 9th Premiership title, and their 16th overall. United took an early lead when Kieran Richardson slotted home after Wayne Rooney had collected Paul Scholes' pass and rounded Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer.