Berbalicious

There is no denying that the man is smooth.  Critcized for being "lazy" by the too-lazy-to-actually-watch-the-match British press, Berbatov turned in a silky-smooth performance today against a feisty Bolton.  His game suffered in the first half from lack of familiarity; having been used sparingly this season as Rooney's confidence has blossomed.  When something isn't broken, you don't fix it, so SAF has let Wazza weave his magic, while Berba has languished on the bench. 
It is fair to say he is invisible in some matches, but it isn't fair to say he has disappeared.  His delivery is so non-chalant that you often have to see the replay to understand what has happened.  He is somewhat of a ghost striker (sounds like a movie)...appearing out of nowhere at just the right time.  His 1-2-3 with Rooney and Valencia is becoming a regular show during matches.  Ronny and Rooney always had an innate sense of each other, and I believe these three are finally on the same wavelength.
Throw in a rejuvenated Nani, and the threesome gets bolder.  The Portuguese winger seemed to be on his way out at Old Trafford after a soul-bearing interview in which he criticized Sir Alex *GASP*.  As dumb as that was, his play seemed to be dumber at times; quick on the ball, but not too quick on the uptake.  Leaving an open man (usually Rooney) hanging while he took wild shots did not help matters.  United is not Pompey.  You have to earn your way into the starting XI.  Being the so-called "next Ronaldo" when he signed with United put a ton of pressure on the youngster.  He styled his every move after Ronny, including his hair, clothes, boots, car, and jewelry.  Trying to look like Cristiano is one thing...trying to emulate his play is something very different.  I would imagine a call from Manchester to Madrid got the "ReNANIassance" ball rolling.  Sir Alex, no doubt, told Ronny to put the fear in his protege.  Mission accomplished!

And now for the match.  After a schizophrenic first half in which the Reds enjoyed a one-goal lead thanks to a brilliant finish by a Bolton defender, the second half had to be better.  It was.  A brace by Berba and some icing from Gibson (his first touch of the match!) put United back on top of the table.

Photos:

Careful with Giggsy's wrist, Berba...it's just healed

Nani has a new spark and a freshly-minted four-year contract

Capitalizing on a keeper's mistake...

Celebrating with the away crowd...

It wouldn't be a match if Evra didn't jump on someone! :)

Gibson makes the most of his first touch in the match

Nani looks lilliputian here...hehe

In other Prem League news:
C-Scum scored 7 on...Aston Villa.  The 7 pales in comparison to the fact that they let Villa score 1 on them.  Tsk tsk.
Arsenal, who pundits said had an easy run-in for the title, played a tricky Birmingham City at St. Andrews.  Sitting firmly in the middle of the table, the Brummies have shown some brilliance at times this season, as well as some hauntingly bad.  The match was 0-0 through the 80th minute, when Samir Nasri put the Gunners ahead.  Only ten minutes to secure three points, or lose two.  In the 90th minute, Birmingham did the unthinkable and levelled the score.  Wenger slammed his fist into the pitch, frustrated by his team's lack of cohesiveness and the over-zealous tackling that resulted in an injury to Cesc Fabregas.  When asked in the post-match interview what he thought about the tackles,
Wenger said: "How is Fabregas? I don't know. We will have to assess him tomorrow. But it was a bad tackle, one more.

"He got tackled at the knee, kicked just under the knee. We tried to take him off but he said he was all right. Am I suggesting there were a lot of bad tackles? Leave me alone with that, for f***'s sake.
"You are always looking for controversy, you do not need me to tell you what happened on the pitch. I can give you my opinion about our game but you always create this controversy."

I agree.  The man has just watched his side dig a hole for themselves in the title race.  And as if that weren't enough, some snarky reporter wants the angle of a dirty match......for f***'s sake.

In other news:
*sniff*  Bordeaux lost to Marseilles in the final for the Couple de la Ligue trophy.  Current holders of the trophy, winning the last two years, Bordeaux started off with a flurry...then faded down the backstretch.  3-1 Marseilles.  Laurent Blanc pulled off Chamcuff in the waning moments to save them for Tuesday's CL match with Lyon.
No yummy photos from the match, but a few from training:

"Hey, Marouane, congratulations on getting Susana's number..."

What is Yoann doing? :)

"Yoann...there's some girl over there named Rosey...she wants to talk to you..."

Quote of the Day:
As the United match was in it's last minutes, the commentator had this to say...
"Look at the fight in United...they're attacking as if they're down four goals instead of up.  The fight to the end is imbued in the players from their first days at United, by a manager and club with so much success.  If you don't feel it...you're gone."

It's squeaky bum time.