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VALENCIA SUFFERS BROKEN ANKLE ---- Antonio Valencia blow to Manchester United in draw with Rangers

Valencia suffers suspected broken ankle

Antonio Valencia suffered a suspected broken ankle last night as Manchester United's Champions League campaign got off to a faltering start in the Battle of Britain.

The United midfielder went down in sickening fashion, clutching his left ankle after falling awkwardly just before the hour and needed oxygen before being carried off on a stretcher.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: "It looks like a dislocation and a fracture. It's a bad one. It looks like he will be out for a long time."

Valencia's horrific injury cast a depressing pall over the Old Trafford stalemate, in which Ferguson's calculated gamble backfired after he made wholesale changes to his team.

Fergie made 10 changes from the side that drew at Everton last Saturday but not even the return of troubled striker Wayne Rooney could inspire them to victory in their Group C opener.

United laboured against the Scottish champions, whose resilience in handling everything their opponents threw at them was rewarded with a deserved point.

Fergie gave first-team stars including Paul Scholes, Nemanja Vidic, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani the night off, but the decision proved costly and may have repercussions for United's chances of reaching the knockout stage.

Rooney made his first appearance for United following revelations he slept with prostitutes and Rio Ferdinand made his long-awaited comeback following the knee injury which ruled him out of the World Cup.

But neither were able to make the difference as Rangers made a mockery of the gulf in class and resources between themselves and United by holding out for a draw.

 United and Rangers took a point apiece, but they had nothing else in common at the full-time whistle. In the opening game of Group C in the Champions League, this was a result to treasure for the visitors. Despite being pinned back, they contained the Old Trafford side with little difficulty to record a marvellous result that defied all expectation.

Rangers are entitled to ignore those who complained of boredom when they left their opponents so exasperated that the substitute Ryan Giggs was booked for dissent. The fielding of a much-altered United line-up turned out to be a miscalculation. This night was to disturb the hosts, too, when Antonio Valencia was carried off with a severe ankle injury.

Collapsing under a seemingly harmless challenge from Kirk Broadfoot, Valencia suffered a badly fractured ankle and was given oxygen as he left the field. Television coverage did not replay the incident and it looked likely to be his last act of a short season.

Rangers' rigorous work was admirable and the odds against them were never allowed to appear as steep as anticipated.

Despite all the pre-match tact, Sir Alex Ferguson's selection showed that this fixture had not dominated his thoughts entirely. Darren Fletcher was the one player retained from the starting line-up that had played at Goodison on Saturday. Wayne Rooney was recalled after being left in seclusion at the weekend and Rio Ferdinand was fit to make his first appearance since May, but Rangers may also have wondered initially whether it was really in their interests to meet a side with many other individuals presumably seeking to make their mark.

This, for instance, was Chris Smalling's debut after the summer move from Fulham and the Mexico striker Javier Hernández had his invitation to add to the good impression made in the Community Shield. Whatever the aspirations of the men selected, United lacked the smoothness of a long-established line-up. Walter Smith, with scant means to vary his team selection, could at least see a group well-acquainted with one another.

Despite utilising a five-man defence, Rangers had a desire to push forward when possible, even if those occasions were intermittent. The approach may not have caused havoc, but it did prevent United from laying siege. On the eve of the match, Ferguson had wryly expressed a curiosity about the schemes his friend and former colleague Smith would devise. Rangers' approach to the contest did seem to keep United slightly off-balance.

There was a hint of frustration when, in the 35th minute, a low drive from Darron Gibson went narrowly wide. Visiting fans who had come determined to enjoy themselves come what may also had cause in that period to be happy. The home crowd was not stricken by apprehension but neither had they been entertained. When necessary, Rangers sat deep and United, despite being well-acquainted with that approach, did not deal with it convincingly in the first-half.

Regardless of the inclusion of wingers in Valencia and Park Ji-sung, Ferguson's side had great trouble in turning the Rangers defence and mostly shuffled passes in front of it. When the home crowd occasionally chanted Rooney's name it was an entreaty to make the difference rather a celebration of his efforts prior.

Rangers, as anticipated, usually had 10 men behind the ball, but Ferguson's team did not have sufficient imagination nor an insistent rhythm to tease apart the Rangers throng. There really had been no cause for the visitors' goalkeeper Allan McGregor to waste time and so receive a yellow card. It provoked reservations about the depth of United's vaunted means. The excuse that this was an anticlimactic occasion for Ferguson's men would have been brushed aside.

For all the camaraderie with Smith and the affinity he has with the opposition as a former Rangers player, the United manager can only have rebuked his players at half-time. An entirely different display had been expected from them.

No immediate transformation occurred. That testified to the fact that Rangers' concentration had not been broken by the interval and it may also have reflected a degree of familiarity to the scene. United, after all, have long experience of shows of endurance by visitors that normally falter before the close.

Any slight unease would have lain with the passivity of Rooney. He had been granted the weekend off, but the disturbances to his private life and, presumably, his state of mind are not overcome so easily. United's own equilibrium was hard to maintain here when they lost Valencia.

Play resumed with Giggs on as a substitute, but there would have been a strong case for calling on the veteran's guile in any circumstances. Rangers' plan was still working perfectly and United, for all that they had hogged the ball, were being contained with the game entering its last 20 minutes. Rangers' discipline and calm had been impressive and the anticipated onslaught had proved very difficult to achieve.

Manchester United , Inter, draw Champions League openers; Barca hit five

In Group C, three-time winners Manchester Unitedcould only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Scottish champions Rangers.

United manager Alex Ferguson made 10 changes to the team which drew 3-3 with Everton on Saturday, and the English club struggled to break down a stubborn Rangers defence.

Four long-range efforts from midfielder Darron Gibson were as close as United came to breaking the deadlock against the Scots.

"Rangers came out there and set their stall out to defend and you have to respect that," United captain Rio Ferdinand told Sky Sports. "At the end of the day we didn't lose. In the Champions League you've got to aim to get to 10 points, and we got one today."

The match was marred by a horrific injury to United winger Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian was carried off on a stretcher with a suspected broken ankle after a challenge by Kirk Broadfoot.

United's slip-up enabled Valencia to take control of the group after a 4-0 demolition of Turkish champions Bursaspor, who were making their Champions League debut.

Tino Costa, Aritz Aduriz, Pablo Hernandez and Roberto Soldado scored for Valencia, who were runners-up in 2000 and 2001.

French club Lyon, semifinalists in 2009, opened their 2010 campaign with a 1-0 home victory over Germany's Schalke.

Michel Bastos scored the only goal of the game in the first half, while Schalke had to play with 10 men for more than 50 minutes following the dismissal of Benedikt Howedes.

Finally, goals from Luisao and Oscar Cardozo gave Portuguese two-time winners Benfica a 2-0 win over Israeli debutants Hapoel Tel-Aviv.

Defending champions Inter Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Dutch newcomers FC Twente in the opening round of the European Champions League group phase, while Barcelona put five goals past Panathinaikos.

Wesley Sneijder gave Inter the lead in the Netherlands with a powerful low shot, only for the Dutch champions to level through a Theo Janssen free-kick.

Twente took a surprise lead on the half hour mark when Diego Milito headed a Janssen corner into his own net.

But Inter drew level before half-time when Samuel Eto'o lashed home a right-footed shot from the edge of the area.

"The first half was very difficult but we did very well in the second, we controlled the game and I'm satisfied with the second half against a difficult team," Inter coach Rafael Benitez told reporters.

The other match in Group A, between Werder Bremen andTottenham, also finished 2-2. The English club took a 2-0 lead in Germany after a Petri Pasanen own-goal and a header from Peter Crouch.

However, Bremen pulled a goal back before half-time through Hugo Almeida and equalized two minutes after the break when Marko Marin found the net with a low drive from outside the area.

Barcelona, winners in 2006 and 2009, went behind to Panathinaikos of Greece at the Nou Camp but hit back with two goals from world player of the year Lionel Messi and one from David Villa before half-time.

Messi missed from the penalty spot before Pedro added a fourth goal after 78 minutes and Dani Alves grabbed the fifth five minutes into stoppage-time.

Copenhagen of Denmark scored in the 87th minute through Senegalese striker Dame N'Doye to beat Russian side Rubin Kazan 2-0.

LOOK AT THIS!!! Hargreaves in Reds squad --- CAN HE DELIVER???

All of United's players - barring those currently out on loan - are eligible to play for the Reds in the Premier League this season.

Sir Alex Ferguson and his fellow top-flight managers had until 17:00 BST on Wednesday 1 September to submit a squad of a maximum of 25 players* to the Premier League.

There had been some media debate as to whether Owen Hargreaves, still currently receiving treatment in the US for a tendonitis problem that his limited him to one substitute appearance since September 2008, would make the final squad. But he has been included.

United's Champions League squad has also been submitted to UEFA, European football's governing body, and now has to be verified before being confirmed.

Official Premier League squad announced.

 Homegrown: 

Gibson, Giggs, Brown, Evans, Rio, Scholes, Neville, O'Shea, Carrick, Owen & Rooney. 

Other: 

Amos, Fletcher, Kuszczak, Van der Sar, Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson, Park, Evra, Valencia, Berbatov, Chicharito & Vidic. Plus under 21s Fabio, Rafael, De Laet, Obertan, Bebe, Smalling & Macheda

man utd vs West Ham preview

After dropping late points at Fulham last week, United will be looking to respond with a home win against the Hammers...

Form guide
Despite seeing an improvement on United's last two results at Craven Cottage, Sir Alex was irked by the way his side squandered the three points in the dying seconds, and will be expecting a response against a West Ham side who have failed to muster a single goal in their last four outings against the Reds. The Hammers have endured a disastrous start to the new campaign – a 3-0 battering at the hands of Aston Villa was followed up by an equally dismal 3-1 defeat at home to Bolton. Tuesday's Carling Cup victory over Oxford United may have lightened the mood at Upton Park, though the last-minute 1-0 triumph will have done little to lessen new boss Avram Grant's worries.

Ins and outs
West Ham have doubts over two players heading into the evening kick-off at Old Trafford. Captain Matthew Upson was substituted against Bolton with a facial injury and a return date has not yet been specified, while new signing Thomas Hitzlsperger is yet to make his debut because of a thigh injury. The Hammers are still without long-term absentee James Collison. United have no fresh injury worries to report: Owen Hargreaves is still sidelined but Rio Ferdinand is back in training. Anderson made his long-awaited return from a knee injury in Tuesday's Reserves Manchester derby and the Brazillian midfielder is in line for a first-team comeback in September.

Boss springs to Bebe's defence

Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed reports that new signing Bebe has failed to impress in his first few weeks as a United player, launching an impassioned defence of the 20-year-old at his pre-match press conference.

The Portuguese's absence from the Reserves' midweek victory over Manchester City prompted a series of reports questioning his impact at United, but Sir Alex insists there are only issues with the player's fitness, not his ability.

"Bebe is in a programme of doing endurance work, because his fitness levels aren’t near the levels we’re at," the manager said. "Other than that he’s done well.

"He’s had a couple of attacks - I thought they were pretty vicious attacks - on why he wasn’t playing in the Reserve game. He was never going to be playing in the Reserve game on Tuesday.

"I think those attacks came from a bit of vengeance from two journalists who are banned from here. They saw an opportunity to have a go at the club and I think it’s disgusting. The boy didn’t deserve that. He’s a young boy trying to make his way in football, they didn’t need to do that. I think it was a real bitter attack.

"Ability-wise, he’s excellent. Terrific finisher, we’ve been very impressed with that, and it’s just the fitness levels he needs to get to, as opposed to our fitness levels."

Sir Alex is comfortable to take his time with the versatile forward, who has enjoyed a meteroric rise to prominence since joining United, and insists there is no reason to hasten his playing involvement.

"We’ve not done any serious work," said the manager. "We did some tests on him and there were one or two areas we need to work at, in terms of his fitness, and that’s what we’re doing at the moment.

"So he’s combining the physical work he’s doing with the sports science people, and the football part. We’re treading a bit carefully with it."

Following his manager's words of support, Bebe was given a further boost on Friday afternoon when he was confirmed in Portugal's final squad for the UEFA U21 Championship qualifiers against England and Macedonia next month having been named in the premilinary squad earlier in the week.

Manchester United Agree Deal For Portuguese Striker 'Bebe'

Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Portuguese club Vitoria de Guimaraes for the purchase of 20-year-old striker Tiago Manuel Dias Correia (better known as "Bebe") for an undisclosed fee, subject to a successful medical in Manchester later this week.




Manchester United have announced that they have agreed a deal to sign Portuguese striker Bebe from Vitoria de Guimaraes for an undisclosed fee.

The striker, whose full name is Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, was raised in an orphanage has represented Portugal at the homeless World Cup after spending time on the streets as a child.

He only joined Guimaraes on a five year deal from Estrala da Amadora five weeks ago, with reports suggesting that United have met the release clause in his contract.

United confirmed the deal on their official website this evening, with the player still to undergo a medical later this week.

"Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Portuguese club Vitoria de Guimaraes for the purchase of 20-year-old striker Tiago Manuel Dias Correia (better known as "Bebe") for an undisclosed fee, subject to a successful medical in Manchester later this week. Personal terms have been agreed with the Cacém-born (Portugal) forward."

Bebe is the third player to arrive at Old Trafford this summer after the signings of Chris Smalling from Fulham and Javier Hernandez from Chivas.