A  Valencia drive was deflected by Schennikov into his own goal in the 92nd min which gave Manchester United a 3-3 result and saw them advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Nani was substituted for Wayne Rooney in the 57th minute but not before he played a part in Manchester United’s first goal providing a delicate touch for Owen to score.  Nani played well and was involved throughout and once again provided some good crosses that narrowly missed their targets.

Nani would be disappointed with the substitution again, however he can be pleased with his contribution.

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In what could only be described as an uninspiring performance, Manchester United did what they had to do to account for Blackburn Rovers 2-0.

Within the first five minutes, Nani sent a rocket past the post, however other than that shot and a misdirected header in the first half, Nani did not do enough to silence his knockers who continue to call for his early exit from Old Trafford.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson decided to make a change after 64 minutes, bringing on Obertan for a dissapointed Nani.

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Nani told The Sun: “To win at Anfield and leave them 10 points behind us would be such a shattering blow for Liverpool - but that’s what we want to do,” he explained.

“We remember losing 4-1 to them at Old Trafford last season and this is the best moment for us to show the other side of the coin.

“It’s a great chance for us to gain revenge and to show everyone we are the Premier League champions.”

“And while the pressure is on Liverpool, for many reasons, we go to Anfield with no nerves,” he added.

“United are playing with a very positive rhythm at the moment and we want to satisfy our supporters.”

Hopefully Nani has done enough in recent games to play a major role in the game.

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Antonio Valencia scored a late winner as Manchester United maintained their 100% record in Champions League Group B.

Nani was dangerous and played the full game.  He came close to scoring with a firm header from a Gary Neville cross about fourteen minutes into the second half, however a brilliant one handed save from the keeper denied him. Nani also combined well with Fabio on the left of the park and their combination looked the most threatening.

Hopefully Nani has done enough to get a start on Sunday against Liverpool.

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The UEFA World Cup group stage qualifying took place on Wednesday and Portugal finished in second place in Group 1, two points behind Denmark with a 4-0 win over Malta.  Nani started the game in place of FIFA player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, who injured his ankle in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Hungary.

Nani was in great touch from the outset and in the 13th minute, he turned well on the edge of the box and hit a fine shot into the bottom corner of the goal. Simao Sabrosa, Miguel Veloso and Edinho also scored for Portugal.  Veloso’s goal in the 52nd minute was from a superbly placed cross from Nani.

Nani was dangerous all game and continually threatened the Malta defence and had numerous shots at goal.  Nani certainly looked in great touch and this run would have given him great confidence.

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Nani was in the starting 11 and appreciated the opportunity to play the whole match. Nani was involved throughout and saw plenty of the action, however he was not able to consistently penetrate the Sunderland defences.
Nani at times did produce some good crosses however too many times there was no-one there to finish.

The team did look flat and in need of a shake up! It was a late strike from Patrice Evra resulting in an own goal from Anton Ferdinand that enabled Manchester United to salvage a point and move on.

On the game, Sir Alex Ferguson said “We didn’t make a lot of chances in the game, and I didn’t think our quality in the final third was good enough to create chances. We have to say it was an off day. You get them sometimes, we don’t enjoy them but you do get them.”

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Nani’s performance today can probably be best described as ‘mixed’.  He was subbed in the 55th minute by Giggs.  Nani created chances for his team mates, he penetrated and he also looked dangerous when striking, however at times his final decision making let him down.

Nani is still learning and the decision making will improve with maturity, experience and game time under pressure situations.

Nani forced Sorensen into a spectacular save just before the break and had shown good vision to get into space throughout the first half.

The taunting by the Stoke fans that “you’ll never be Ronaldo” means nothing.  Others are putting that tag on him. Nani is not trying to be Ronaldo, he is only trying to play well enough to be in the starting line up each week at Manchester United.  He is a very talented and skillful footballer, who if given the opportunity to develop and learn from those around him will develop into a great footballer.  We all need to be patient.

The great player himself, Ronaldo summed it up recently when talking about Manchester United and in particular Nani, he said:

“Nani has been prospering with the opportunities that he is being provided by Sir Alex Ferguson at the Old Trafford.  I’ve also seen that Nani is playing much more than he was last season, when I was there. That’s good for him and he will benefit from that. Now, he has more opportunities to play, he will be able to show the fans just how a great player he is” .
Ronaldo then went on to add:
“Nani is an excellent player. There’s a lot more to come from him and I’m sure that in a few years he will be amongst the best players in the world. And it’s good to see United’s fans are starting to appreciate him more and have been happy with his form up until now.”

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