BLACKBURN ROVERS DRAW PUNCHLESS MANCHESTER UNITED

Last week Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson challenged his team to win all of their remaining games to help bolster their chances at overtaking Chelsea for the English Premier League title.  His quest got off to a poor start this weekend as Man U dominated play but was unable to score, coming away from their matchup against the Blackburn Rovers with a 0-0 draw.

Soccer betting enthusiasts who picked the game to end in a draw received a healthy +275 payback with the result.  Manchester United had been installed as a -195 road chalk to take all three points from the matchup, with the takeback on the home side +580.  The total was posted at 2’ OV -115, but neither team really came close to scoring even a single goal on the afternoon.  Manchester United had a couple of chances before halftime, but were turned back by Blackburn goalie Paul Robinson.

The result is a bitter disappointment for Manchester United, who have now given Chelsea a considerable advantage in the fight for the Premiership title.  Chelsea leads Man U by one, but have played one fewer game.  Chelsea will take on bottom of the table Bolton at Stamford Bridge this Tuesday and are expected to post an easy victory.

Afterwards, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that his team’s disappointing result had handed Chelsea a golden opportunity:

''That's a fantastic result for them (Chelsea). They've got a home game against Bolton on Tuesday which they will be expected to win.''

Man U dominated both the shots (16 to 9) and time of possession (66% to 34%), but couldn’t do anything to take the ‘zero’ off the big scoreboard.  Ferguson lamented the missed opportunities, particularly a scoring chance by Antonio Valencia right before the halftime break that Blackburn goalie Robinson was able to turn away:

''He should have scored. It was a golden chance and at a good time, five mins before half-time. We had the chances in the game. We dominated possession but you have to create those chances and take them. It's always a difficult place to come to for anyone. We should have done better.''

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce—a friend of Man U’s Ferguson who spent time with Sir Alex at the horse track this week—emphasized that no one gets it easy on the Rovers’ home pitch at Ewood Park:

''Nobody gets it easy here. We have had Chelsea here twice, we have had Liverpool here, now we have had Manchester United here and none of them have managed to beat us. It shows how much we have grown. 'We have done a good bit of damage to their title hopes. But when Chelsea drew here everyone said they were finished. Look what they have done. United might win all four games and Chelsea might slip up somewhere along the line.''

Manchester United will be idle until Saturday, but face another tough away game as they play their rivals Manchester City.  City will be brimming with confidence off of a 5-1 destruction of Birmingham and would love nothing more to further undermine United’s championship hopes.