Wayne Rooney handed 10-man Man Utd a 1-0 victory over LDU Quito in the Fifa Club World Cup Final.
Rooney strike hands 10-man Red Devils win over LDU Quito
A second-half strike from Wayne Rooney handed 10-man Manchester United a deserved 1-0 victory over LDU Quito in the Fifa Club World Cup Final at the Yokohama Stadium.
The UEFA Champions League holders dominated the first half but were unable to break the deadlock as opposition goalkeeper Jose Cevallos was called into action on several occasions.
The Red Devils were dealt a setback four minutes after the interval when centre-back Nemanja Vidic was handed a straight red card by referee Ravshan Irmatov for catching Claudio Bieler with his elbow.
South American club champions LDU Quito began to make their numerical advantage pay, but they were undone on 73 minutes as Rooney smashed home the winner after he was teed up by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Danger
It is the first time an English club have won the tournament in its expanded form and the second time United have been crowned best on the planet following their victory over Palmeiras in 1999.
Any doubt over the tactics Quito would use against the Champions League winners were dispelled inside the opening five minutes.
First Claudio Bieler waded into Ronaldo with a dangerous tackle that brought a yellow card, then the Ecuador outfit camped in their own half, content to let United come to the edge of their box but no further, using whatever means they could to achieve it.
Quito's defence was by no means watertight but, not for the first time this season, United failed to make their superiority tell.
Rooney powered two thunderous efforts towards goal that Jose Cevallos managed to deal with, the first time convincingly, the second far less so.
From then on, Rooney was the link man as chances began to pile up.
Culprit
Park Ji-Sung was one culprit, driving an angled shot straight at Cevallos before lifting a close-range shot over the bar after Rafael had picked him out with a superb crossfield pass.
It was the type of opportunity Ferguson has been imploring the South Korean to take as he gets into similar positions so many times but for a poor net return. The same could also be said of Carlos Tevez.
Three times Tevez found himself in sight of goal but on each occasion he was denied, Cevallos particularly impressive in pushing away a header the South American guided towards the corner from Ronaldo's cross.
The prospective World Footballer of the Year was a muted force in attack. He did bring a few appreciative howls from a capacity crowd as he danced through the Quito midfield but the physical nature of the opposition ensured he never really got a clear sight of goal.
As Ferguson delivered his interval team-talk, he must have warned his team of the danger that lurked if chances continued to be spurned.
If so, his words had even more resonance four minutes after the restart as Vidic was sent off.
The flashpoint came as Vidic and Bieler wrestled on the floor as they tried to get to their feet.
Suddenly Bieler was rolling around clutching his face and referee Irmatov was brandishing a red card.
Elbow
TV replays showed Vidic had used an elbow, although as Bieler looked in no trouble as he re-entered the fray, it did not appear the damage was too serious.
Yet Quito failed to press home the advantage of an extra man, Van der Sar denying Damian Manso and William Araujo during sporadic attacks.
In contrast, even with 10 men, United kept pushing and 17 minutes from time duly received their reward.
Carrick supplied a superb pass for Ronaldo, who instead of going for goal himself, fed Rooney to his left and his shot was precise and out of the reach of Cevallos.
Van der Sar needed to make a flying save to deny Damian Manso in the final minutes and even Tevez was off the bench as the celebrations began.
| LDU Quito |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
8 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
8 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 5 |
Corners |
3 |
| 26 |
Fouls |
17 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 5 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 80.8 |
Passing Success |
85.2 |
| 25 |
Tackles |
25 |
| 88 |
Tackles Success |
72 |
| 42.8 |
Possession |
57.2 |
| 46.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
53.9 |
|
