adminSUNDERLAND. — Manchester United fans have blasted legend Sir Alex Ferguson for attending their games. This came after Manchester United lost a third game in a row for the first time since 2001 as Sunderland took a one-goal lead into the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg after winning 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.
Fabio Borini’s second-half penalty, after Tom Cleverley was controversially penalised for a challenge on Adam Johnson, was the decisive goal.
Ryan Giggs’ own goal in first-half injury time had put Sunderland ahead.
Nemanja Vidic levelled with a towering header soon after the restart.
But Sunderland earned their first win over United since 2000, a run of 21 matches, when Liverpool loanee Borini kept his calm from the penalty spot after substitute Johnson went down under Cleverley’s challenge.
Fergie was in the stands at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night to watch United lose 2-1 to Sunderland in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals.
In a foul-mouthed Twitter rant, Joey Barton labelled the ex-boss as the Grim Reaper and questioned: What was the point of him retiring?
His views have been echoed by thousands of tweeters stunned by the latest United defeat.
Ferguson stepped down at the end of last season having won 13 English Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions Leagues in his 26-year reign.
But that hasn’t stopped some Old Trafford supporters suggesting he should stay away while the side struggle under David Moyes.
Ferguson joined the board of directors at United after stepping down and handing the reins over to Moyes.
He watched the game on Tuesday with fellow greats Sir Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson.
Asked if Fergie’s presence brought added pressure, Moyes said: “Not at all.
“Alex is a great sounding-board for me. He is there to help, so is Sir Bobby. He is terrific. Bryan Robson is at the training ground regularly, I speak to him regularly.
“I find the three of them terrific.”
Meanwhile, Moyes claimed that his side were being unfairly treated by referees after they slumped to defeat at Sunderland in their League Cup semi-final first leg.
A second-half penalty from on-loan Liverpool forward Fabio Borini gave the home side a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night and condemned United to three consecutive defeats for the first time in 13 years.
Moyes had previously seen his team lose by the same scoreline at home to Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City in the past week, leaving United 11 points off the pace in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup.
The Scot was angry with referee Andre Marriner for awarding a free-kick against Jonny Evans in the build-up to Sunderland’s opener, which saw Ryan Giggs turn the ball into his own net in first-half stoppage time.
“We defended a terrible free-kick, but how the referee has given a free-kick for that is way beyond me,” Moyes said.
“I just cannot see how that is a free-kick.”
Nemanja Vidic equalised for United early in the second half, only for Marriner to award Sunderland a penalty after Tom Cleverley was adjudged to have impeded home substitute Adam Johnson.
Again, Moyes was unimpressed by the decision.
“We are all just laughing at them at the minute,” he said.
“It looks as though we are having to play them (officials) as well as the opposition at the moment.”
With their league title defence on the rocks, the return leg on January 22 may represent Moyes’s only chance of salvaging a domestic trophy from his maiden campaign.
As if to illustrate the heights from which the club have slipped this season, Moyes’s predecessor Ferguson was present at the Stadium of Light, along with club greats Charlton and Robson.
However, when asked if he felt under pressure to reach the final, Moyes replied: “None whatsoever.
“This is a two-legged game and I’m actually really looking forward to this second leg now.”
Moyes drew encouragement from the performance of winger Adnan Januzaj, who tormented Sunderland throughout with his direct running and came close to snatching a late equaliser on three occasions.
“We’ll do everything we can to try and get it right,” Moyes said.
“The players put in a strong performance tonight (Tuesday), it just didn’t quite come off. But it’s not far away and it’s coming, I can sense it.
“You just need to look at the performance of Adnan Januzaj tonight. He was terrific. He put in a great job and played really well.”
Having eliminated Chelsea in the previous round, Sunderland remain on course to reach a first domestic cup final since 1992, when they lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup final. — Daily Star-AFP.
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