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Nemanja Vidic's top five Manchester United moments

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Following the news of his summer departure, Sports Mole picks out five of Nemanja Vidic's best moments in a Manchester United shirt.

Nemanja Vidic confirmed during the week that this season would be his last as a Manchester United player.

Signed from Spartak Moscow in the winter of 2006 for £7m, the Serbian centre-back has gone on to win 15 trophies during his time at Old Trafford.

So, with his spell in the Premier League coming to an end, Sports Mole has picked out five of the 32-year-old's most memorable moments in a red shirt.

1. Moscow 2008
In his first full season as a Man United player, Vidic's maiden appearance in the Champions League coincided with the club winning their first away match in Europe for three years when they toppled Benfica 1-0 in Estadio da Luz. That term United reached the semi-finals, but they went one better during the next campaign as they contested the final with Chelsea inside Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. He didn't take one of the penalties as United clinched the trophy, but he did put in a stubborn defensive performance up against Didier Drogba, who was sent off in extra-time for slapping the Serb.

2. Late winner against Black Cats
It appeared that United were going to lose further ground during the 2008-09 title race when Sunderland visited Old Trafford. The hosts created a large number of opportunities, but a combination of poor finishing and an inspired performance from visiting goalkeeper Martin Fulop looked to have ensured that the spoils would be shared. However, as the match entered into stoppage time, Sunderland's resistance was broken as Michael Carrick's strike from distance rebounded off the upright for Vidic to fire the ball into an unguarded net.

3. Breaking records
The history books will show that during the same season, United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar went a Premier League record of 14 matches and 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal - a sequence that started in November 2008 and ended in February 2009. The Dutch stopper was more than ably assisted by Vidic, though, who featured in every one of those encounters. Incidentally, when Van der Sar's net was eventually breached by Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz, Vidic was among the United substitutes.

4. Curler against Villa
The majority of Vidic's 20 goals for United have either been headers or strikes from close range. Nevertheless, during the home meeting with Aston Villa in February 2011, the defender scored a Goal of the Month contender. Wayne Rooney rolled the ball into his path on the edge of the area and despite having a number of bodies between him and the goal, Vidic was able to curl his effort beyond a static Brad Friedel in the Villa net.

5. An almost title-clinching goal
United hosted Chelsea in May 2011 in the knowledge that a victory would move them to within a point of sealing their 19th league title. They wasted no time as Mexican frontman Javier Hernandez broke the deadlock with just 36 seconds on clock, before Vidic took centre stage in the 23rd minute. Ryan Giggs crossed from the left for the centre-back, who guided a header out of the reach of Petr Cech in the away side's goal. Frank Lampard reduced the arrears after the restart, but Vidic's goal left the Red Devils on the verge of the title, which they went on to seal next time out against Blackburn at Ewood Park.

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