Carling Cup - Ronaldo scores as United beat Boro

Eurosport - Wed, 24 Sep 11:19:00 2008

It was almost as if Cristiano Ronaldo had never been away as he marked his return to Manchester United's starting line-up with a goal.

FOOTBALL; Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo scores the opening goal v Middlesbrough, Sep 2008 - 0

Exactly 125 days after the final one of his 42 last season, Ronaldo converted his first of this one.

A Carling Cup tie with Middlesbrough may be somewhat less enthralling than a Champions League final at the Luzhniki Stadium but the headers were eerily similar, marking the end of a turbulent summer for Ronaldo and providing confirmation he intends to be a major player for United again this season - despite his stated desire to join Real Madrid.

It was veteran Ryan Giggs who got United's deserved winner though, chipping home after Adam Johnson had blasted Boro level, before Nani struck a third in stoppage-time.

But there was a sour taste as well as Boro skipper Emanuel Pogatetz was dismissed for a tackle on Rodrigo Possebon which saw the 19-year-old Brazilian require lengthy treatment before eventually being carried from the field.

It was an awful end to an impressive evening for Possebon, the brightest of a gifted crop of youngsters for the Red Devils.

Given the events at Manchester City in the last couple of weeks, the emphasis on finding young talent has taken on even more significance for United, who are no longer the biggest spenders in the city, never mind the country.

Sir Alex Ferguson has traditionally tended to use the League Cup as a proving ground but all too often in recent years it has signalled the end of first-team dreams rather than the start.

However, 12 months on from a dreadful home loss to Coventry, this crop of Red Devils youngsters showed they were up to the task.

Injury ruled out Fabio Da Silva but brother Rafael and fellow Brazilian Rodrigo Possebon are stars of the future on this showing.

Indeed, Possebon was so impressive in the centre of midfield against opponents who so often cause United problems that Ferguson might have a job holding him back - assuming his injury is not serious.

And in Danny Welbeck the Old Trafford outfit have a local-born striker worthy of the praise he has been showered with on England Under-19 duty.

At 21 and 20 respectively, Nani and Anderson are not that much older but with significantly more experience, it was no surprise the pair took on more responsibility.

Nani appeared to be on a one-man mission to score, only to find Boro's own talented youngster, David Wheater, in top form, along with Brad Jones, who made a series of excellent saves.

Neither Wheater nor Jones could do anything about Ronaldo's header though, the prospective world footballer of the year racing away to celebrate what he hopes will be the end of the most turbulent period in his career.

Gareth Southgate lifted this trophy in 2004, the only time Boro have won a major trophy, but he must have been sadly disappointed with his side's first half showing.

Afonso Alves threatened early on and Stewart Downing got into some good positions but the Teessiders never threatened rookie keeper Ben Amos, propelled into Ferguson's side due to injury.

But if the England Youth international had allowed himself a slight smile of satisfaction during the interval, Amos received a rude awakening 12 minutes after the restart as Johnson lashed Boro level.

There appeared little danger as Nemanja Vidic nodded Downing's cross out of the area but Johnson caught his first-time volley perfectly, giving Amos little chance of keeping it out.

At that point, a well-contested game was in the balance but soon came the twist which saw Pogatetz sent from the field.

The Boro captain got to the ball just in front of Possebon as the pair went for it in fully committed fashion.

But Pogatetz's dangerous follow-through cut Possebon down, a nasty gash instantly appearing on the Brazilian's right leg as he yelled in agony.

It took the United medical staff five minutes to treat the Brazilian and substantially less for referee Andre Marriner to show Pogatetz the red card.

With a man advantage, United were given another advantage 11 minutes from time when O'Neil stood on the ball attempting to control Gibson's long pass, enabling Giggs to advance and calmly chip past Jones.

Nani wrapped up the win in stoppage-time, although Boro were a spent force by then.

Sporting Life / Eurosport

Comment 23 - 42 of 42

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  1. UTD...UTD...UTD...GET IN THERE 3.1 GOOD GAME WHOS NEXT LOL

    From tony.prophet, on Wed 24 Sep 3:44PM

  2. FITBUTFRUSTRATED HAS A PROBLEM - BAD SEX LIFE / @#$% FOOTBALL TEAM ,ER LIKE AY AY

    From PAUL L, on Wed 24 Sep 12:26PM

  3. FITBUTFRUSTRATED HAS A PROBLEM - BAD SEX LIFE / @#$% FOOTBALL TEAM ,ER LIKE AY AY

    From PAUL L, on Wed 24 Sep 12:25PM

  4. mcr city fans??? are really convinced they will win everything , so they should being the richest club on the globe.
    but it will take years to get anywhere near the standard of other clubs. & then the foriegn players they bring in will all want £300,000 a week & moan it's too cold &
    go to a club with history & respect, which is not al-queda city.

    red til death. manchester

    From PAUL L, on Wed 24 Sep 12:18PM

  5. How can anyone say Paul Scholes is over-rated??? Forget Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham, Paul Scholes is without doubt the best English midfield player to have ever played in the Premier League. It was only due to England's constant underachieving and Roy Keane's outstanding season in 1999 that had prevented Scholes from winning the Player Of The Year Award. His vision, passing, touch, skill and goal scoring make him a truly unique talent that English players aren't generally technically gifted with. May he live long as one of the Premiership's greats.

    As for mentioning Ronaldo in the same breath as Maradona and Zidane, well that's another debate. I personally can't see how anyone can compare Ronaldo to those two greats. Let's not forget that Maradona won the world cup single-handedly with a very weak Argentina side - of which he got them to two consecutive finals. Zidane also won the world cup with a very weak French side in 1998, playing a huge part in that success scoring twice in the final against Brazil. Zidane also won the European Championships with a stronger French team in 2000, giving perhaps one of the greatest indivdual performances throughout one competition since Maradona in the 1986 word cup. Ronaldo has not won the world cup or the Euro's with a far stronger Portugal squad than the Argentina 86 team and the France 98 team. Ronaldo still has much to prove on the international stage, and once he dominates a major tournement like Pele, Maradona and Zidane have done, then he will be seen as truly great.

    I do however think that Ronaldo is currently the worlds most complete player.

    From oabdulgani, on Wed 24 Sep 11:31AM

  6. Hes only played 140 minutes of football and hes scored already. Lets see how many he gets this season when hes fully match fit again. A player of this quality can achieve the impossible.

    I think if United can get another 3 years out of jim then it will be a massive boost to Sir Alex and the fans. This guy will continue to develop. He is only going to get stronger and wiser in his time at United.

    Even if you have a problem with ROnaldo being at Manchester United, please admire the guys talent as one of the best players the world has to offer.

    Viva Ronaldo

    From Jamie, on Wed 24 Sep 10:27AM

  7. united are back....they are going to shine watch out!!!!

    From Maria...Malta, on Wed 24 Sep 10:17AM

  8. Man utd have always had a slow start to the season but always come through in the end. Up the red devils

    From Jason, on Wed 24 Sep 10:08AM

  9. man utd r just showin wat is yet 2 come dis season.watch out!

    From okeywali@..., on Wed 24 Sep 9:58AM

  10. on the whole i think man united can take nothing but positives from last nights game what with certian players getting match fitness andothers a vaulable run out for the first team is the real man utd just around the corner

    beware bolton

    From alan, on Wed 24 Sep 9:04AM

  11. RIDE ON LUCK EH RIDE ON LUCK MAN U

    From mcpluker, on Wed 24 Sep 9:01AM

  12. John D..Maradonna once said himself that Ronaldo was a better player than he ever was...nothing like coming from the horses mouth, I am surprised if you missed that one..Ronaldo is a fantastic player, but its not the man that makes the team, Utd were great before Ronaldo came on the scene and will be great long after he has gone...A fan of Utd or not, and as much as it sticks in the throats of none fans, underneath it they know they are the best.

    From L H, on Wed 24 Sep 8:51AM

  13. Pogatetz is a b1tch! thanks guys, i'm Ronnie! :D

    From artofron, on Wed 24 Sep 8:38AM

  14. ronaldo, nani and giggs played in the game for more practie for the premier league and to also give the younger places a peice of action to show that they can do

    From Paul T, on Wed 24 Sep 8:06AM

  15. AJ@Y O - who says you have to play reserves and youths in the carling cup!? We played a few first teamers so what. All youngsters need guidance from experience so they can learn. And when you bear in mind players like nani and anderson are only 20/21 how young do they need to be? BTW Bendtner and Fabianski played for Arsenal last night, does that mean Arsenel too couldn't muster up a reserve/youth team? Or are they too secretly gunning for the League cup because they know they'll be out of the title race by christmas as usual

    From Gavin, on Wed 24 Sep 6:56AM

  16. Are all you muppets stupid
    Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world, and other than him been a idiot about real madrid and wayne rooney saga i would have him at anfield
    and the guy who thinks maradona is better is just thick. maradona would not be able to hack it in football now adays, he is a good player but no carragher, terry, ferdinand would murder him

    From Redpizzi, on Wed 24 Sep 6:55AM

  17. Why players like Ronaldo, Giggs, Tevez, Anderson etc are playing in Carling Cup, don't they have a good reserve team or young players. May be this season Manu is after Carling cup.
    Go on Manu win it...but this also will be tough for them since Arsenal Teenagers will gun them down....

    From LoonyBabeChick, on Wed 24 Sep 6:32AM

  18. Reddy-bas..................@#$% Pot

    From Anthony, on Wed 24 Sep 4:18AM

  19. Ronaldo will not be in EPL next season............when he got WR sent off in the WC he should have gone then,now he wants to play for RM,let him go who the F(&^% cares the EP is the best in the world his loss not ours.......

    From Anthony, on Wed 24 Sep 4:16AM

  20. MnaU fans are so lame Christian Ronaldo best player since maradona Ronaldo is not even as good as Zidane foot heel. Scoles have a far way to go before can be noted as a good midfielder. Zidane, Valderama, Riquelme, Edgar Davids, Deco, Rivaldo, Fabregas , Xavi......... i reach number 50 and still no Scholes so people be real and Ronaldo is like an unsatisfy woman a faker. Messi and Kaka are way better than ronaldo. facts

    From dercute, on Wed 24 Sep 3:43AM
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