United moved up to second just 2 points and a game behind leaders Liverpool with a win over Wigan.
The game its self was quite strange in the fact that United scored through Rooney in just 54 seconds, and then saw the England man substituted 6 minutes later after a pull of his hamstring. This was therefore night of mixed emotion for United, a vital 3 points from one of the crucial games in hand contrasted with the injury blow to their player of the season so far.
If United had played the way they did against Chelsea they could have put 4 past the Lactics but it was not to be, with a lot of credit going to Wigan’s performance, United’s chances were limited and their North West rivals had several chances to equalise, the best of which coming from Valencia. But 1-0 was how it stayed.
Rooney is now likely to miss up to three weeks of this vital period of the season which is a big blow but let’s not forget that United have plenty of attacking options to cover the sizable Shrek-shaped hole in the team. Perhaps this is in fact a blessing in disguise as it may allow Tevez to prove himself to SAF on a weekly basis then hopefully it will bring a permanent contract closer for the Argentinean forward.
United can go top at the weekend with victory over Bolton, but as we know from past experience three points are never guaranteed when visiting the Reebok. However a win would pile the pressure on Liverpool who then simply must win the Merseyside derby on Monday night. If they don’t the title is United’s to lose even this far from the end of May – even Torres think so!
Toby Bowen
