Boss relieved after Reading test

Sir Alex Ferguson was as relieved as anyone to hear the final whistle at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, having watched his side make hard work of a 2-0 win over Reading.

Wayne Rooney scored 13 minutes from time, with Cristiano Ronaldo adding a second in injury time. But it was by no means comfortable, Reading caused United problems all afternoon and never gave in.

“By the end we were quite happy to get through it,” admitted Sir Alex afterwards.

“Considering the number of opportunities we had, maybe our decision-making in the final third of the field wasn’t at its best. We kept making chances, but you do start to worry when the game goes on and you haven’t scored.

“You worry whether you’re going to get the goal, and it took a lovely flick from Wayne to get us in front. Credit to Reading they kept going at us. They really do make you work.”

Both sides set out with an attacking agenda, which made for an end-to-end encounter.

“It was a really open match,” added Sir Alex. “It really needed an early goal, which could have led to a lot of goals in that game. We got the goal at the right time and managed to hold on to get through.

“I wasn’t sure how Reading were going to approach it. When I saw their line-up I knew they were going gung-ho. The opportunities they had, they had a go for it.

“Kitson gave us a lot of problems, but in the main it was down to our own attacking play, which wasn’t at its best today. With a bit more care in the last third we would maybe have scored more.”

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Rooney: Royals made it tough

Wayne Rooney admitted the hard-fought 2-0 win over Reading was the hardest game he has been involved in this term.

The striker scored the game-breaking goal in the 77th minute and Cristiano Ronaldo finally killed off a resilient Royals outfit with United’s second at the death.

“It was a difficult game,” Rooney told MUTV. “You have to give Reading a lot of credit. They attacked us and it was an end-to-end game – probably the most difficult I’ve played in this season.

“But we got there in the end and we’re delighted with the three points.”

Rooney flicked home the opener well from Carlos Tevez’s astute pass, but only after the England man had spurned several earlier chances at the Madejski Stadium.

“I had a few opportunities before the goal and maybe should have done better with them,” he said. “It was a great ball by Carlos and I’m just delighted that I finished it.”

Rooney revealed his frustration at the Dubious Goals Committee’s recent decision not to credit him with the opener in the 2-2 draw at Arsenal in November.

“I don’t know who gives and doesn’t give these goals,” he said. “Over the last three years, (Chelsea midfielder) Frank Lampard has had about 50 deflected goals and never had one took off him.

“I’ve had one deflected goal and had it took off me, so maybe they need to look at the game a bit closer.”

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Rio never in doubt

Rio Ferdinand says the talent in United’s squad means he was always confident the Reds would strike the killer blow against Reading.

United missed a glut of chances at the Madejski Stadium, and it took until the 77th minute for Wayne Rooney to put the Reds in front.

Rio and his defensive team-mates managed to pick up an 18th clean sheet of the season, but he insists his faith in United’s forwards never wavered.

“You start wondering [whether you’ll score], but in the last fifteen minutes we always knew we’d get three or four more chances,” he told MUTV.

“With the talent we’ve got, you keep thinking ‘we’ll score the next one’. Rooney and Ronaldo, who have been doing so well for us lately, managed to put the ball in the back of the net.

“Getting a clean sheet is important, because if we do that then we know we’re going to have the chance to win the game. That was one of the main things for us today, keeping a clean sheet.

“We had a lot of opportunities in the first half, but we didn’t put them away. In the second half it followed a similar pattern, but we managed to get two goals later in the game.

“We were lucky that we got that today, but I think we created enough to chances [to deserve it].”

Reading certainly made United work for the victory, and it took a moment of class to undo Steve Coppell’s side.

“That was probably the hardest game we’ve had all season,” Rio added. Reading worked us very hard. They pushed us all over the pitch and we had to battle for our three points today.

“For Wayne’s goal, the ball in from Carlos was exquisite. He picked out Wazza, and he stretched his leg out and managed to guide it past the keeper. I think he took the keeper by surprise with how early he hit it, it was a great goal.”

United’s title rivals Chelsea and Arsenal also earned hard-fought away wins on Saturday. Chelsea beat Birmingham 1-0, while Arsenal defeated Fulham 3-0.

“All three of us could have dropped points,” said Rio, “but we’ve all won. We’re just pleased with our result. We’ve not conceded a goal and we’ve won the game.”

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Report: Reading (0) - United (2)

United remain top of the Premier League but the Reds made things difficult for themselves at the Madejski Stadium, leaving it late for Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to seal a 2-0 victory.

Sir Alex Ferguson will not have been thankful for his side’s profligacy in front of goal for much of the match, especially against a side of Reading’s energy, enthusiasm and unwillingness to give in.

It took 77 minutes for Rooney to put United in front with an expert flicked finish, but it should have been far more straightforward. Ronaldo’s goal deep in injury time confirmed victory, although this was a win that tested the nerves.

The game was wide open in the first ten minutes, with United picking up where they left off in the second half against Newcastle creating chance after chance.

Inside the first minute Carlos Tevez and Rooney linked up to play in Ronaldo on the right, and the Portuguese winger’s low shot was only narrowly wide.

The Reds still had to be sharp at the opposite end when Leroy Lita got in behind Rio Ferdinand after ten minutes. Edwin van der Sar saved the Royals striker’s shot, and Nemanja Vidic's brilliantly-timed sliding tackle stopped Dave Kitson passing the rebound into an empty net.

Seconds later Ronaldo sent another shot fizzing past the post, before Rooney and Tevez again combined with the Argentina international firing narrowly wide.

Sir Alex’s men rarely face teams that play an open game; it’s far more common to come up against rigidly stubborn resistance than Reading’s have-a-go outlook. Some could say it was a brave decision by Steve Coppell, simply because it can play into United’s hands.

Owen Hargreaves, making only his 11th league start, was the latest to have a go, this time from a set-piece. Ronaldo was hacked down, central to the goal, 25 yards out. Hargreaves arced in his shot, which Marcus Hahnemann brilliantly turned behind for a corner.

Reading weren’t without their moments. A weak van der Sar clearance was very nearly punished by Kitson, whose 40-yard shot had to be headed clear by Ferdinand, with Edwin stranded out of his goal.

However, as against Newcastle, United could find a way through before the interval and faced a second-half searching for a way to break their opponents down.

Two minutes after the restart, United almost got a similar response to the one against Newcastle. From a corner taken by Ryan Giggs, on for Ji-sung Park at half-time, Kitson almost headed into his own goal, but Hahnemann saved the Reading striker’s blushes.

After an hour Ronaldo had a chance to score his 23rd goal of the season. Rio burst into the box and squared the ball across goal, but it bobbled just as Ronaldo went to shoot and his shot was sent skyward. United’s frustrations continued.

Sir Alex’s side played some good, penetrative football early in the second half, but the final, crucial touch was proving elusive.

The longer the game went on the greater the feeling that Reading would deny United three points. But with little more than ten minutes left, that changed with a moment of sheer brilliance.

Tevez received the ball 35 yards from goal and picked out Rooney’s run into the box. The striker allowed the ball to drop over his left shoulder before expertly guiding the ball past Hahnemann. It was as much relief as joy for the Reds.

Carrick and Ronaldo both had chances to wrap up all three points. Carrick failed to latch onto Nani’s neat pull-back from the byline, while Ronaldo was denied one-on-one by Hahnemann.

Reading kept pushing for an equaliser and there were some desperate moments during the four minutes of added time, which ended with a United breakaway and Ronaldo running the full length of the pitch to dispatch his 23rd goal of the season.

Three points and a goal each for Rooney and Ronaldo: sounds like business as usual. But it certainly wasn’t done the easy way.

Team Line-ups

Reading: Hahnemann; Murty (c), Cisse, Ingimarsson, Shorey; Doyle, Harper, Hunt, Convey (Matejovsky 79); Lita (Long 83), Kitson.
Sub not used: Federici, De la Cruz, Rosenior.
Booked: Convey

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand (c), Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Hargreaves (Nani 70), Carrick, Park (Giggs 46); Tevez (Fletcher 79), Rooney.
Subs not used: Kuszczak, O’Shea.
Booked: Ferdinand

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Scholes nearing comeback

United have been given a welcome boost with the news that Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Louis Saha are all close to full fitness.

Owen Hargreaves has also recovered from a knock and is available for the Barclays Premier League trip to Reading on Saturday.

Scholes has been out of action since October after injuring knee ligaments before United's Champions League clash with Dynamo Kyiv. He returned to training over Christmas and will be checked out by United's medical team next Thursday.

If given the go-ahead, he will start full training and could be available for the FA Cup fourth round clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday week.

“We are waiting for clearance from the medical staff next Thursday," assistant manager Carlos Queiroz said on Friday.

“We think the medical staff will give Scholes clearance to start full training. If he does get the all-clear he can play immediately. It’s a possibility [he could be involved against Tottenham], or at least he will probably be on the bench.”

The influential midfielder has been training for a number of weeks now and is said to be in excellent shape. “His fitness is fantastic," added Carlos. "He’s training like an 18-year-old. He’s very excited, he can sense that he’ll be back soon."

Neville, meanwhile, could fly out with the squad to Saudi Arabia on Saturday evening for their four-day training camp.

The Reds' defender made his second comeback in the Reserves last week after ten months on the sidelines with ankle ligament trouble. He felt his hamstring in the match against Everton and was forced off at half time.

But Sir Alex Ferguson and his coaching staff will make a decision about the skipper after training on Friday. If he's left behind, he will play for the Reserves against Bolton next Wednesday.

Saha is also ahead of schedule in his race to overcome a knee complaint. The striker missed United's 6-0 demolition of Newcastle last weekend with the knock and the club confirmed he would be out for around three weeks.

But Queiroz says is a step ahead in his rehabilitation and is likely to be back "earlier than expected".

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Vidic: Ronaldo still improving

Nemanja Vidic reckons Cristiano Ronaldo is producing his best form ever this season, but says the in-form Reds winger is still improving.

If Premier League defenders think they’ve got it tough having to face Ronaldo talents, spare a thought for United’s Serbian centre-back who comes up against the Portuguese wing wonder every day in training.

But it is on the training ground against the likes of Vidic and Rio Ferdinand that Ronaldo has been able to hone his talents.

The 22-year-old winger is a notoriously hard worker in training, the fruits of which can be seen on the pitch, with 22 goals already this season, just one short of his tally last term.

Vidic believes Ronaldo's performances have lived up to, and once again surpassed, all expectations.

"We are very strong with him in our side," Vida told MUTV. "Last season was great for him, he scored so many goals and played so well.

"But he was under big pressure to improve again this season and, up to now, he has been great in the games and also in training.

"You always need to improve at this club. Everybody has sides to their game that they can improve and he has tried to fix his in training."

The question is, still a number of years short of reaching his peak, how much better can Ronaldo get?

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Giggs has a case for defence

The spotlight may seem permanently fixed on Cristiano Ronaldo and the Reds’ attacking exploits lately, but Welsh winger Ryan Giggs is calling for recognition for United’s defenders.

Six second-half goals against Newcastle last weekend showed how quickly and easily United can turn on the style going forward, but it stole the limelight from yet another water-tight defensive performance.

The Reds are yet to concede a goal in 2008, making it 17 clean sheets in all competitions this season, and Giggs is in no doubt the solid defensive underpinning is fundamental to United's position as league leaders.

"The way our defence is playing at the moment is really helping us,” Giggs told MUTV.

“We have had so many clean sheets this season and you need that foundation to go out and play with flair."

But the 34-year Welshman says United’s defence will have to be on top form to keep Reading out at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday.

Steve Coppell’s side have managed to pick up three draws in five meetings with United in the last two seasons in the league and FA Cup. Giggs says the Reds defence will be just as important in keeping Reading out as United’s forwards will be to breaking the home side down.

“Reading are a team that won't just sit back and defend,” he added. “They will go out and try to score goals so hopefully it will be an open game.”

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