Scoreless draw sends Sunderland down and Fergie fuming
Manchester United 0 Sunderland 0
Sunderland finally slithered out of the Premiership at Old Trafford - but sensationally took all but the last of Manchester United’s title hopes with them.
The Wearsiders might have been unable to grab the win which would have preserved their top flight status but their goalless draw will surely prove enough to send the championship to Chelsea.
After nine successive Premiership wins, United’s run ended in the most unexpected manner imaginable as Black Cats keeper Kelvin Davis produced the performance of his life to deny Alex Ferguson’s men the goal they craved.
Only a narrow offside decision prevented Cristiano Ronaldo racing clear into the area within 35 seconds after Van Nistelrooy had played a superb ball forward.
Needing a win to maintain their top-flight status for at least one more day, Sunderland pushed forward and Jon Stead saw a 20-yard shot bounce back off Park Ji-Sung.
Dean Whitehead then curled a free-kick over, although it was not long before United were on the attack and George McCartney slid in to make a vital tackle after Rooney had left Danny Collins for dead as he broke into the box.
Ryan Giggs brought a good low save out of Kelvin Davis with a curling 25-yard free-kick, then McCartney shuttled across to turn a near-post Rooney cross out of play.
For all their possession, United were hardly threatening a goal deluge and Giggs offered Ronaldo a piece of his mind when the Portuguese star attempted one trick too many.
Edwin van der Sar was fortunate to escape when a mis-hit clearance whizzed past Stead and the giant Dutchman was called upon to make a proper save after Liam Lawrence nipped in front of Evra to fire towards the United goal.
The Sunderland fans certainly enjoyed the sight of their side passing the ball around, rare moments to cherish in an otherwise desperate season.
Grant Leadbitter might have done better than nod tamely wide after Lawrence picked him out with an excellent cross, and the discontent was starting to filter down from the stands as United’s struggles continued.
Park was only inches away from breaking the deadlock when he turned smartly onto John O’Shea’s pass and fired just wide.
Lawrence deflected Rooney’s shot onto the roof of the Sunderland net just before the half-hour mark, with Ronaldo nodding the resulting corner wide.
United might well have taken the lead had Van Nistelrooy allowed Rooney’s pass to run through to Ronaldo as the England man intended.
Instead, Van Nistelrooy tried to collect it at top speed and sent the ball rolling out of play.
Leadbitter was again wide with a 20-yard shot as Sunderland tried to counter but already their performance was far better than many of their supporters had dared to imagine.
Rooney scooped another shot over, then Brown nodded wide, although Sunderland wasted te best chance of the half two minutes before the interval when Justin Hoyte robbed Ronaldo and crossed for Stead, who turned a far post effort into the side-netting.
Ronaldo’s sorry evening got worse when he blazed a woeful effort wide and he was screaming for a pass when Rooney brought an outstanding save from Davis as the opening period entered stoppage time.
United emerged for the second period with an obvious air of intent and Breen diverted a Park shot wide seconds after the restart.
Davis then did brilliantly to turn a Neville cross away from Van Nistelrooy after Rooney had sent his England team-mate flying into the box with a brilliant pass.
Ronaldo appeared to have lost control when McCartney cut him down on the edge of the visitors’ box, although Giggs curled the free-kick over.
A typical Rooney charge into the box turned out to be fruitless and, worryingly for United and England, left him limping.
He continued through the pain though and nearly had a goal to celebrate when Ronaldo brought another smart save out of Davis.
It was Van der Sar’s turn to be extended next, reaching out to turn a Chris Brown corner behind which appeared to be dipping in at the far post.
Too many home players were well below the standards of recent weeks, although Van Nistelrooy brought a superb save out of Davis with an angled drive before Rooney sent a volley straight at the Sunderland keeper.
Van Nistelrooy then got the faintest of touches to a brilliant Neville cross, although, even from point-blank range, it was not enough to steer it into the net.
A flowing move involving Van Nistelrooy and Rooney ended with Davis superbly turning away Ronaldo’s 12-yard effort.
Hoyte was narrowly wide with a shot at the other end and after Rooney had blazed over, Ferguson introduced Solskjaer and Mikael Silvestre for John O’Shea and Evra.
Solskjaer’s arrival saw Rooney moved to the left and Park slotted in alongside Giggs in midfield.
The pressure became relentless. Van Nistelrooy brought yet another brilliant save from Davis and crosses were flying in from all angles.
Crucially though, not one of them ended up in the Sunderland net, not even after Rio Ferdinand was pushed into attack in the final, frantic two minutes.
