(Overall thoughts on the match...) "I’m delighted with the scoreline but I think it was a very ordinary performance by us. We didn’t reach any great heights in the game. We did improve in the second half and I thought we deserved to win it but I didn’t think we played well at all. There was no rhythm to our game. I know Ajax can make it difficult with their system and they pressed the ball really well but we didn’t get any tempo to our game in the first half. We did improve in the second half but it was not a brilliant performance."

(On whether there still is work left to do during the return fixture...) "Absolutely, it gives us a good opportunity but we’re taking nothing for granted, of course. We’re at home at Old Trafford and we have a good opportunity to get through."

(On the performance of Chicharito...) "It didn't go well for Javier in the sense the final passes through were just too much for him. They were behind his feet. But he is always a threat. He might have had a penalty in the second half. It was difficult to see from where I was. He has that threat all the time and he has given us another goal."

(Overall thoughts on his side's current form...) "Winning is always a good habit," he insisted. "We are having a good spell just now. We are playing well. We were disappointing in the first half. It is away from home and we made a few changes. We don't have a game on Saturday. I wish we did to keep the momentum going. But we play next Thursday and then the league starts again. We go to Norwich the following Sunday."

(On both Antonio Valencia's injury and the return of several important squad players from injury...) "He has a hamstring injury unfortunately. It will be four weeks. It's a blow to lose Valencia tonight, but bit by bit, we are getting stronger with Nani and Ashley Young coming back. Tom Cleverley has played a bit of football tonight and Phil Jones has played a full game which is good for us. Chris Smalling was on the bench but will play in the return match at Old Trafford next Thursday."

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You may have forgotten, but after handshake-gate, an actual football match occurred yesterday at Old Trafford. The 1st-half was a rather dull period as only a Glen Johnson left-footed strike that just missed and a Paul Scholes header directly at Pepe Reina were the only occurrences of significance. However, things livened up rather quickly in the 2nd half when a Ryan Giggs corner was inadvertently flicked on by Jordan Henderson -- Wayne Rooney then pounced on it and opened the scoring just seconds into the 2nd-half. Minutes later, Rooney added another goal when Jay Spearing gave the ball away to Antonio Valencia -- the Ecuadorian then slipped Wazza through and the striker calmly slid the ball by Reina. Manchester United did well to play 'keep-ball' in attempt to close out the match but Liverpool did pull one back in the 80th minute when Luis Suarez capitalized on a United defending mistake and poached a goal. In stoppage time -- just as he did last week versus Chelsea FC -- David De Gea came up big again with a save on another left-footed attempt by Johnson. The result was a 2-1 victory for United and they temporarily topped the Premier League table for about 27 hours -- until Manchester City's 1-0 defeat of Aston Villa today. Here are the highlights from United's triumph at Old Trafford:

It was perhaps the match of the 2011-12 Premier League season. At the very least, it's certainly a candidate for it. On a cold evening at Stamford Bridge -- where Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson complained that the away dressing room was chilled enough to hang meat inside of -- the Red Devils stormed back to level the match after trailing by three goals.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Daniel Sturridge skinned Patrice Evra and then sent in a close-range cross that deflected off of Jonny Evans for an own-goal. Seconds after returning from the freezing away dressing room at the Bridge, United were caught cold and conceded a 2nd goal when a Fernando Torres cross found Juan Mata's left-boot for a smashing volley. Just minutes after that, Mata whipped in a free-kick that David Luiz headed home after the Brazilian slipped his markers. The Blues were seemingly on their way to victory.

However, United quickly pulled one back when Sturridge took down Evra in the box -- Wayne Rooney then converted from the spot when he confidently smashed the penalty into the top left corner. In the 68th minute, Rooney coolly converted another penalty after Danny Welbeck was brought down by Chelsea debutant Gary Cahill. Then finally, in the 84th minute, Ryan Giggs picked out Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) with a sublime cross from near the left-edge of the box -- the Mexican rose high after slipping his markers and headed home the equaliser. United's stunning comeback was almost all for naught when Mata's superb free-kick in stoppage time looked destined for the top right corner. However, the much maligned David de Gea came up with a sensational finger-tip save to help his side avoid devastating defeat.

HIGHLIGHTS

For those in the United States, the following video -- which is from the same host as the video above -- may provide better viewing clarity:

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=3ea790a1-1884-45e6-88d7-fe07f96de3f1" mce_href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=3ea790a1-1884-45e6-88d7-fe07f96de3f1" target="_new" title="">PL Highlights: Man Utd/Stoke</a>

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HIGHLIGHTS

The following video -- which is from the same host as the one above -- may provide better viewing clarity for those in the United States:

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=9faa215c-36a7-4d1f-a567-271732a6e355" mce_href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=9faa215c-36a7-4d1f-a567-271732a6e355" target="_new" title="">FA Cup: <a class='sbn-auto-link' href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/epl/teams/liverpool" mce_href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/epl/teams/liverpool">Liverpool</a>/Man Utd</a>

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HIGHLIGHTS

The video below is from the same host as above, but it may provide more clarity for those viewing from the USA.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=ab943b2e-ada5-40e9-b2a9-3c96bda46a88" mce_href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=ab943b2e-ada5-40e9-b2a9-3c96bda46a88" target="_new" title="">PL Highlights: Man Utd/Bolton</a>

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HIGHLIGHTS

The following highlight reel is from the same host, but it may provide better clarity for USA viewers...

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=e7f9b580-072c-4d18-8ac9-c19e2e756c6a" mce_href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=e7f9b580-072c-4d18-8ac9-c19e2e756c6a" target="_new" title="">FA Cup: Man City/Man Utd</a>

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Are you a glutton for punishment? If so, you're in luck! You can relive the misery of Manchester United's 3-0 defeat by Newcastle United in the highlight clips below. There were actually some pretty sweet goals -- well, the first two anyway -- if you can stomach the fact that it came against the club you likely support (If you found this site, this is what I presume). The Magpies scored the opening goal in the first half when Tim Krul sent a long free-kick that Shola Ameobi flicked on for a tremendous Demba Ba finish -- although, it wasn't exactly splendid defending by Phil Jones nor Rio Ferdinand. Just a few minutes into the second half, Johan Cabaye put his side further ahead when he superbly curled home a free-kick from about 30 yards out. Just so we all could be kicked in the gut while we're already down, Jones was kind enough to lessen the workload for Newcastle's attackers by heading in a goal into his own goal for them. :(

For United States' viewers, the video after the jump (from the same host) might provide more clarity:

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