Manchester United 1 Sunderland 0

Match report - Manchester United 1 Sunderland 0

Manchester United left it until the 90th minute to secure 3 points against Sunderland, under caretaker manager Sbragia after Man Utd put heavy pressure on the visitors for the majority of the game.

After several attacks in the last half an hour, Berbatov put a close range header over the bar and it looked like with good defending from Anton Ferdinand it looked like Sunderland might hold on. Then, with only 2 minutes to go, man of the match Michael Carrick struck a 20 yard shot which hit the post and defender Vidic followed the rebound up like a striker would to get the win in typical Manchester United fashion and secure third place with Arsenal in fourth.

Carling Cup semi-final draw

Carling Cup semi-final draw

Tottenham v Burnley (First Leg w/c January 5th, White Hart Lane)

Derby County v Manchester United (First Leg January 5th, Pride Park)

Evra banned by FA for improper conduct

Manchester United left back Patrice Evra has been fined £15,000 and handed a four match suspension after the FA founded him guilty of improper conduct in a confrontation with Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell. This occurred in the Man Utd v Chelsea match on 26th April, allegations of racism from the groundsman towards Evra have not been proven which was claimed by assistant manager Mike Phelan. Evra struck the grouundsman on the head and coninuted the row after it had been broken up. Chelsea were also fined £25,000 for this infamous 'Battle of the Bridge' incident.

“Manchester United notes the announcement from the FA and is disappointed with the decision and in particular considers the sanctions against Patrice Evra excessive,” a statement said. “Manchester United and Patrice will consider all options once there has been an opportunity to digest the full reasons for the decision. There will be no further comment.”

Evra’s ban starts from 22nd December, however he is also banned for the game on the 21st December 2008 against Spurs for receiving five bookings this season.