Manchester United defender Antonio Valencia was once again responsible for the club to have a strong performance against Swansea, a match that finished 2-0. However, the celebrations were subdued amongst the Manchester United players after they had already seen leaders Manchester City claim a vital 2-0 win over Newcastle United earlier in the day. As a result of this victory, City are now the favourites to win the title given that they will have a home match against QPR on the final day of the season. There have been many questions asked about the team selection made by Sir Alex Ferguson following the 1-0 defeat in the Manchester derby, but the most important one has to be the absence of Valencia from the starting line-up.
The Ecuadorian winger was omitted from the first team and Portuguese winger Nani was selected. Valencia has clearly been in great form in recent weeks, which surprised many people that Nani was selected ahead of him. Further, Park Ji Sung, who has not played a Premier league match for the last three months, started the match. The presence of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in the centre of midfield also helped City dominate the match. Now, even a victory against Sunderland on the final day of the season would seem shallow if City win against QPR.
“I’ve seen stranger things happen in this game of football. But I think the important thing is for us to go there [Sunderland away] in the right spirit, with the attitude to win the match, you never know, we’ll just hope. It gives us hope, we’ve got next week, QPR need a point and you never know. I just wish Sparky [Mark Hughes] was playing,” said Sir Alex Ferguson after the match against Swansea to Sky Sports.
Manchester United teammates have praised the influence of winger Antonio Valencia on the team. The winger has been missed by the club on a number of occasions this season due to various injuries. He was one of the main reasons for Manchester United going out of the Europa league against Athletic Bilbao.
Now, he played a crucial role in the win over Blackburn Rovers on Monday night. It helped Manchester United open a five point lead at the top of the table over arch rivals Manchester City. Since, United will be playing ahead of City during this weekend, they have the opportunity to extend the lead even further.
Players like Ashley Young and Rafael Da Silva have come out in praise of the Ecuadorian winger by saying that he is even more important than Wayne Rooney to the team. Wayne Rooney has so far scored 20 goals for Manchester United, but it was Antonio Valencia who once again stepped up the pace for United in the second half against Blackburn. After struggling initially to create any chances, United returned to their best in the final few minutes of the match. The 2-0 win over Blackburn was largely due to the presence of Antonio Valencia.
“Antonio was brilliant and he got his rewards with a goal. As a fellow winger I will give him it as a shot,” said Young. “Maybe the keeper wasn’t expecting a shot from that distance. That is why it went in. He just plays his natural game and gets better and better all the time,” defender Rafael Da Silva said about Antonio Valencia. Manchester United will have the opportunity to open an eight point lead this weekend when City will be up against a difficult task in the form of an away trip to inform Arsenal.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia is very important for the club in the remaining nine matches of the season. Manchester United are not involved in any other competitions other than the Premier league at the moment.
Given that the Premier league is the only opportunity for silverware this season, the pressure is certainly on Manchester United to deliver the results in the remainder of the league matches. Antonio Valencia was injured in the match against Ajax a few weeks ago, and he has just returned from the injury layoff. Ferguson has said that Valencia has the ability to play a crucial role for United in the remainder of the season.
Manchester City recently welcomed back Carlos Tevez after a six-month problematic relationship with the Argentine. He immediately made a great impact on the team, as he helped them to a 2-1 win over Chelsea in the midweek action. Ferguson reckons that Antonio Valencia can have the same kind of impact after the winger scored one of the goals in the 5-0 thumping of Wolves recently. Johnny Evans scored the opening goal for Manchester United, while Antonio Valencia secured the second. Danny Welbeck score the third goal, while Hernández completed the rout with two goals in the second half.
“He could be very important. His form before he got the injury was outstanding. Now he is back we hope he stays back fit. He is such an honest, hard-working player. You get two sides to Antonio. He is prepared to work really hard. He can tackle, he can run, but he can also beat a man. He has got everything really,” said Ferguson after the match. United will next be facing Fulham at home, while Manchester City will be facing Stoke city away from home.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his confidence that winger Antonio Valencia will be able to return to the Manchester United squad by the time they face Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
It will be one of the most important matches for Manchester United this season, as it would determine their points difference from Manchester City going into the crucial Manchester derby. United currently trail Manchester City two points on the table.
Antonio Valencia was injured in the Europa league last 32 round against Ajax. Manchester United managed to progress into the next round of the Europa league even after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Ajax at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson, though, would have been extremely worried about the lack of his influential winger more than qualifying for the next round of the Europa league. This is because Antonio Valencia has been one of the best players for Manchester United this season, despite the fact that he has been plagued by injury problems this season. In the match as he has represented Manchester United so far, the Red Devils have been truly spectacular due to his devastating pace and crossing abilities.
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May 10, 2012 6:54 am | 
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