There would be no cup shock or giant killing this time as United handily dispatched Simon Grayson’s Leeds side in the Carling Cup.
In our first visit to Elland Road in 8 years, United took the lead on the 14th minute and despite some patches of resistance we never looked back.
Owen handed us the lead when his effort trickled over the line but if his first effort was scruffy his second was sublime as a shot from the edge of the box arrowed past Andy Lonergan on the 32nd minute.
Giggs killed the game off on the stroke of half time as he nutmegged White breaking into the box and saw his outside of the foot shot deflect in.
There were debuts for Zeki Fryers, Paul Pogba and Larnell Cole tonight to round off a what was a good night for United.
It was a good game by Man Utd and I’m delighted to see Owen scoring. He has had to be patient but he has shown what a great professional he is. He could have left in the summer, and most of us expected him to, but he really appreciates being a Man Utd player. He doesn’t shout his mouth of in the press and just loves life at Man Utd. He is a good head to have around the younger strikers like Hernandez and Welbeck.
Berbatov wasn’t amazing but he worked well for the team, and strangely was better at centre back, albeit when we where 3-0 up. He plays the game at his own pace that you wonder if we could play the Andrea Pirlo role. Even when he is upfront he spends most his time on the half way line anyway. His technique is so strong that it might be worth asking him if he fancies giving it a go. The chances of it ever happening are near zero.
The highlight of the night, besides Giggs performance, was the performance of Zeki Fryers. He looked very assured and confident at the back, and it wasn’t an easy way to make his debut, away to Leeds United. He was also playing slightly out of position, which suggest to me that defensively he has good qualities. Its one thing to be an attacking left back, but you have to defend as well, and he looks like he can do that. As he is a more natural left back I think we can see why Ferguson didn’t buy one to challenge Evra. It looks like Zeki could be that man.
Paul Pogba also looked impressive and wanted the ball when he came on, which is a good quality to have. I was surprised he didn’t start but hopefully he will in the next round. The advantage for Zeki Fryers and Paul Pogba is that they play in positions where we have gaps to fill in the squad. Hopefully they will gain more experience this season in the Carling Cup, FA Cup and the Champions League group stage. The emphases looks strong towards younger players and I’m glad. Its great to see these young lads breaking through.