Manchester Starts win

Wayne Rooney gave United the perfect start in the search for an unprecedented fourth league title in a row.

The Reds’ number ten scored the decisive goal, made life difficult for Birmingham all afternoon and might have had a hat-trick against a lesser goalkeeper than Joe Hart.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the champions, however, and had Hart’s opposite number Ben Foster not pulled off a wonderful save of his own from Christian Benitez, the game might have ended all-square – just like the opening days of 2007 and 2008.

Sir Alex Ferguson fielded new signing Antonio Valencia on the right and the Ecuadorian made a confident start on United’s right flank, not least when he vaulted over a lunge by Birmingham left-back Gregory Vignal and whipped in an early cross.

The home fans were on their feet when Dimitar Berbatov was wrestled to the ground by Stephen Carr on the edge of the box – unpunished by referee Lee Mason. At the other end, James McFadden almost made matters worse with a curling shot just past the post as United’s defenders backed off.

Berbatov almost gained his revenge with a shot that Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart just managed to divert and when the ball broke to Nani from Rooney tussling with the centre-halves, the Blues managed to block the Portuguese’s shot and eventually clear their lines.

Hart, hailed as England’s number one by the away fans, pulled off a

picture-book save
to thwart the next attack as Rooney tried to beat him with an exquisite chip. The Blues keeper, on loan from Manchester City, flicked the ball over the bar and then completed his work by comfortably plucking Nani’s resulting corner out of the air.

Foster reminded us of his international credentials when he courageously snatched McFadden’s menacing low cross from the left with Larsson closing in for the kill. But Hart remained the busier keeper, even if he was well protected on the whole by former Spurs and Liverpool full-backs Stephen Carr and Gregory Vignal and a new centre-back pairing of ex-Middlesbrough man Franck Queudrue and summer signing from Cardiff City, Roger Johnson.

Those same defenders were napping however, when Nani delivered a peach of a cross from the left and Rooney leaped perfectly between two defenders to head against the base of the right-hand post and then react quickest to knock home the loose ball.

Finally breached after 34 minutes, Birmingham were forced to come out of their shell and they did so boldly. First, their isolated front man Cameron Jerome weaved his way across the edge of United’s area and struck a thunderous shot that just nicked off Scholes for a corner. From Larsson’s setpiece, Queudrue came even close to an undeserved equaliser when his header was nodded off the line acrobatically by Evra.