Ferguson praises unsung Berbatov
Reuters - Sunday 14 March 2010, 17:42
Wayne Rooney ruled Old Trafford
again on Sunday as Manchester United went back top of the
Premier League but Dimitar Berbatov's form in the 3-0 win over
Fulham was equally satisfying for manager Alex Ferguson.
While the livewire Rooney notched his 31st and 32nd goals of
a remarkable season, languid Bulgarian Berbatov provided the
perfect foil with a display that oozed class.
Berbatov, who has never completely won over the Old Trafford
faithful, produced a brilliant piece of play to set up Rooney's
second goal and got on the scoresheet himself to take his tally
for the season to 10.
While that is hardly prolific for a player of Berbatov's
pedigree who has enjoyed being top dog at most of his previous
clubs, Ferguson was more concerned with his silky contribution
in other areas.
"The work by Berbatov was fantastic football and he just
laid it on a plate for Wayne who took it well," Ferguson told
MUTV. "He (Berbatov) is intelligent, he has good composure on
the ball and he adds to the team all the time.
"The making of the second goal was absolutely superb. It was
very important (for him to score later), because he had a few
opportunities, but he took one."
Victory lifted United back in front of Chelsea and Arsenal
in the Premier League title race but the champions were made to
sweat for long periods against a hard-working Fulham side
Rooney opened the scoring 30 seconds after the interval and
struck again with six minutes remaining after Berbatov jinked
down the right and pulled back a perfect pass.
"Fulham made us work because they've got good possession of
the ball, they have composure and experience on the ball and
they made us chase all over the pitch, particularly in the first
half," Ferguson said.
"The start to the second half was crucial and we got a good
one to put us in a good position."
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