Football Live

Wednesday March 19, 2008 Finished Old Trafford

Manchester United 2 - Logo 0

Manchester United

  • Ronaldo 9’, 20’

Bolton Wanderers

  1. Ronaldo brace moves United clear

    Ronaldo brace moves United clear

    Two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo earned Manchester United a comfortable 2-0 win over Bolton and moved the defending Premier League champions clear at the top of the table. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Manchester United
    • Bolton Wanderers
    • FT There is the final whistle and captain Ronaldo looks pretty happy with that result!
    • 90' There will be three minutes of extra time before the final whistle
    • 86' Rooney fires a brilliant, inch-perfect pass upfield for Tevez but the Argentine can only slice his shot wide
    • 84' The ball falls for Nani on the edge of the area but he fires wide after storming into the box. Rooney was there and unmarked but Nani didn't seem to see him
    • 82' Bolton substitution: Stelios comes on in place of Guthrie
    • 79' Nani is enjoying a great period of play and could easily have had a brace of goals in the past 10 minutes but Al Habsi comes up with another stunning save turning Nani's shot behind for a corner
    • 75' Nani receives the ball on the edge of the area and manages to turn Gardner on the edge of the Bolton box but sends his shot, taken as he leant back, sails over the top of the bar
    • 73' United are back in control of this game again now as Nani whips a cross into the area which Gardner does well to block
    • 71' Double United substitution: Rooney and Scholes on for Saha and Anderson
    • 70' Steinsson receives a yellow card after knocking Tevez over with a clumsy challenge
    • 69' Anderson finds Saha on the edge of the area in front of goal but Saha's shot is nowhere near the goal and worryingly he holds his hamstring immediately after taking the shot
    • 67' I don't know how many times we can say it but Ronaldo is quite simply a class act! as he jinks his way into the box before unleashing a shot which Al Habsi does brilliantly well to turn away
    • 65' Rooney and Scholes are warming up on the sidelines and Bolton won't like the sound of that very much!
    • 63' Bolton are all over United as McCann attempts a shot from 25 yards but sees the ball turned around the left hand post by Kuszczak
    • 61' Vidic is forced to be permanently subbed out of the game as the United medics fail to staunch the bleeding from his nose. Brown comes on in his place
    • 60' Hunt tries his luck from 35 yards out and forces an outstanding save from Kuszczak who just tips the ball over the bar
    • 59' Davies works his way into the penalty area and goes to ground under a challenge from Tevez appealing for a penalty as he goes down. But the referee is having none of it and Bolton's reaction suggests it was rather a hopeful appeal
    • 58' Taylor whips across the area from the left wing but Kuszczak is quick to dive on top of it and snuff out the danger
    • 56' Bolton are awarded a dangerous free kick after Pique is penalised for handling the ball. Diouf steps up and curls the ball straight into the back of the net comfortably beating Kuszczak but the referee hadn't blown the whistle to re-start play and Diouf will have to take it again. But this time he puts it in exactly the same spot and Kuszczak is ready and waiting
    • 53' Vidic has been sent off the pitch temporarily to have a blood injury dealt with
    • 52' Taylor's tries his luck from 30 yards out but Nani is on hand to block the shot which was on target
    • 50' Joey O'Brien does well to get on the end of Diouf's flicked pass but fails to control the ball and fires it straight out of play
    • 47' Nani steps up to take the free kick ... and fires it low towards the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Al Habsi does well to get down to it unsighted let alone hold on to it which he does at the second attempt
    • 47' Steinsson brings down Tevez right on the edge of the area - are we going to see Ronaldo get his hat-trick here? Again no is the answer as Nani looks set to take this one
    • 46' Just the one half-time substiution to update you with as Nicky Hunt comes on for Meite
    • 46' Bolton get the second half underway ...
    • HT That was indeed the final play of the half and United are firmly in control of this match at the interval
    • 45+1 United have a corner for what must be the last play of the game. The ball falls to Ronaldo at the far post ... he chests the ball down but popping it up for the rapidly approaching O'Shea. Neat little move, further demonstrating Ronaldo's talent but it doesn't end in a goal as O'Shea fires the ball past the left-hand post of Al Habsi
    • 45' There will be one minute of added time to be played before the interval
    • 43' No! Is the simple answer. To be fair it was from too far away anyway, but even Ronaldo didn't seem to know what he was trying to do as he chipped it into the edge of the area
    • 42' Andy O'Brien becomes the first played to be booked tonight for a late tackle from behind on Saha. Free kick United and could Ronaldo be on for his hat-trick here?
    • 40' Nani's cross from the left wing is heading straight into the arms of Al Habsi by Tevez but United look threatening every time they move forward
    • 39' Davies slices his long-range shot well wide of the left-hand post
    • 38' Joey O'Brien does well to dis-possess Tevez as he makes another run into the penalty area
    • 36' Tevez runs at the back four again but a good tackle from Gardner sees the ball fall into the path of Nani. A first time shot would have seen Al Habsi at least tested but as it is Nani takes too long, sees his first shot blocked and his second fly well wide of the left post
    • 35' Tevez continues to wreak havoc in amongst the Bolton back four as again he jinks his way into the box although this time his shot is straight at Al Habsi
    • 34' Vidic gets his head to Nani's corner and sends the ball flying towards the far post. Al Habsi is well beaten but he is fortunate to have Guthrie loitering at the post, who manages to clear
    • 33' Tevez makes a great run down the left and into the box before cutting the ball back in for the fast approaching Saha. But Gardner is there as well and turns the ball behind for a corner
    • 32' Gardner proves himself to be a step or so quicker than Hargreaves as the England man is caught in possession on the right wing
    • 30' A series of one-touch football between Diouf, Taylor and Guthrie leaves the latter on the right wing with a great chance to cross to the waiting Davies on the penalty spot. But once again the final ball is poor and Guthrie's cross sails well past the far post and out for a United goal kick
    • 27' Steinsson is next to attempt a shot from long distance, about 25 yards out this time, but the ball sails over the cross bar gifting possession back to United
    • 25' Taylor tries his luck on the volley from the edge of the area but his shot flies tamely into the arms of Kuszczak
    • 24' Bolton are beginning to enjoy more possession in their own half but still they cannot seem to make any headway into the United box. Their biggest problem though is that they just don't look threatening
    • 22' Tevez tries to find Nani on the left wing looking threatening but his pass goes astray and the chance goes begging
    • 20' GOAL UNITED! 2-0! Ronaldo produces another breath-taking free kick from 25 yards out getting the ball up over the wall before dipping it into the top right hand corner of the net!
    • 19' Immediately back down at the other end though, Ronaldo has been brought down by Meite and what can the Portugal star do from this position. It's a dangerous one thats for sure!
    • 18' Oooh! Bolton come so close to equalising as Davies, having raced over from the left wing to the right post, sees his volley, from Guthrie's cross, turned away by Kuszczak
    • 16' Nani receives the ball on the left wing and cuts inside before unleashing a bullet from 25 yards out. Luckily for Bolton Al Habsi needs only to watch as the ball sails over the crossbar
    • 14' McCann seems to think the only way Bolton stand a chance at the minute is with the long ball but his latest effort falls right onto the head of Vidic, who clears from the edge of the area with ease
    • 12' Bolton just aren't in this match so far with United keeping the ball comfortably running around the pitch like this is a training game
    • 10' An interesting tidbit for you stats fans - that is Ronaldo's 32 goal in 37 matches putting him on a level with George Best
    • 9' GOAL UNITED! 1-0! Nani whips his corner into the box where Ronaldo is waiting to head on. Tevez attempts an ambitious bicycle kick which is cleared by Bolton. But the ball only goes as far as Ronaldo who is completely unmarked about 8 yards out and who fires the volley into the back of the net just past the right hand of Al Habsi
    • 8' Saha and Tevez combine with a neat little one-two on the edge of the area, Tevez takes the return on the chest and almost manages to put his second touch into the back of the net ... but Gardner just does enough to put the Argentinean off and then clears for a corner
    • 5' Nani is given his first chance to run at the Bolton back four and manages to unleash a cross but Andy O'Brien is on hand to hack the ball away and save Al Habsi from being balled into action
    • 4' Ronaldo, captain for the night, shows off his class once again as a pop of the shoulder taps a high ball down to Fletcher
    • 3' Guthrie picks up the ball in midfield and makes a good run into his own half before looking to find Diouf out on his left ... but his pass is a poor one and dribbles out of play a metre or so in front of Diouf
    • 2' Bolton win the first free kick of the night as Saha is penalised for holding his man back
    • 1' Manchester United get the match underway ...
    • 20:00 Hello and welcome to eurosport.com's LIVE coverage as Manchester United take on Bolton in a bid to take lone control of the top spot

  • Team Stats

    Manchester United Stats Bolton Wanderers
    53% Possession 46%
    23 Shots 16
    9 Shots on target 7
    3 Saves 4
    6 Corners 3
    16 Fouls 12
    0 Offsides 2
    0 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    21 Tackles 24
    363 Accurate passes 304
    39 Bad passes 96

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Manchester United
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      29 Tomasz Kuszczak 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 0 0
      19 Gerard Pique 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 35 1 2
      22 John O'Shea 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 35 10 5
      15 Nemanja Vidic 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 24 3 1
      24 Darren Fletcher 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 54 2 2
      8 Anderson Oliveira 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 28 3 0
      7 Cristiano Ronaldo 2 5 3 0 2 0 0 34 3 2
      4 Owen Hargreaves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 0 3
      17 Luís Almeida da Cunha 0 8 2 1 0 0 0 19 3 3
      9 Louis Saha 0 2 1 4 1 0 0 10 2 0
      32 Carlos Tevez 0 4 2 2 3 0 0 22 3 2
      10 Wayne Rooney 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 15 5 0
      6 Wes Brown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 1 1
      3 Patrice Evra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Paul Scholes 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 26 3 0
      12 Ben Foster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Bolton Wanderers
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      26 Ali Al-Habsi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0
      5 Abdoulaye Meite 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 1 0
      31 Andy O'Brien 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 1 3
      11 Ricardo Gardner 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 43 22 2
      24 Joey O'Brien 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 32 9 0
      32 Matthew Taylor 0 4 1 1 0 1 0 35 25 3
      15 Grétar Steinsson 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 13 1 4
      19 Gavin McCann 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 39 6 3
      17 Danny Guthrie 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 28 8 6
      14 Kevin Davies 0 4 3 1 5 1 0 20 5 0
      21 El Hadji Diouf 0 4 1 3 1 0 0 47 14 1
      8 Ivan Campo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      7 Stelios Giannakopoulos 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 10 2 1
      2 Nicky Hunt 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 1 1
      47 Grzegorz Rasiak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      12 Ian Walker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 79' Nani is enjoying a great period of play and could easily have had a brace of goals in the past 10 minutes but Al Habsi comes up with another stunning save turning Nani's shot behind for a corner
    • 75' Nani receives the ball on the edge of the area and manages to turn Gardner on the edge of the Bolton box but sends his shot, taken as he leant back, sails over the top of the bar
    • 67' I don't know how many times we can say it but Ronaldo is quite simply a class act! as he jinks his way into the box before unleashing a shot which Al Habsi does brilliantly well to turn away
    • 60' Hunt tries his luck from 35 yards out and forces an outstanding save from Kuszczak who just tips the ball over the bar
    • 56' Bolton are awarded a dangerous free kick after Pique is penalised for handling the ball. Diouf steps up and curls the ball straight into the back of the net comfortably beating Kuszczak but the referee hadn't blown the whistle to re-start play and Diouf will have to take it again. But this time he puts it in exactly the same spot and Kuszczak is ready and waiting
    • 47' Nani steps up to take the free kick ... and fires it low towards the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Al Habsi does well to get down to it unsighted let alone hold on to it which he does at the second attempt
    • 34' Vidic gets his head to Nani's corner and sends the ball flying towards the far post. Al Habsi is well beaten but he is fortunate to have Guthrie loitering at the post, who manages to clear
    • 33' Tevez makes a great run down the left and into the box before cutting the ball back in for the fast approaching Saha. But Gardner is there as well and turns the ball behind for a corner
    • 20' GOAL UNITED! 2-0! Ronaldo produces another breath-taking free kick from 25 yards out getting the ball up over the wall before dipping it into the top right hand corner of the net!
    • 18' Oooh! Bolton come so close to equalising as Davies, having raced over from the left wing to the right post, sees his volley, from Guthrie's cross, turned away by Kuszczak
    • 9' GOAL UNITED! 1-0! Nani whips his corner into the box where Ronaldo is waiting to head on. Tevez attempts an ambitious bicycle kick which is cleared by Bolton. But the ball only goes as far as Ronaldo who is completely unmarked about 8 yards out and who fires the volley into the back of the net just past the right hand of Al Habsi
    • 8' Saha and Tevez combine with a neat little one-two on the edge of the area, Tevez takes the return on the chest and almost manages to put his second touch into the back of the net ... but Gardner just does enough to put the Argentinean off and then clears for a corner

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Alan Wiley

  • Manchester United

    Manager: Alex Ferguson

    Captain: Cristiano Ronaldo

    On the Field

    • Kuszczak
    • Fletcher
    • Pique
    • Vidic Substitution Out (61′)
    • O'Shea
    • Ronaldo Goals×2
    • Hargreaves
    • Anderson Substitution Out (72′)
    • Nani
    • Tevez
    • Saha Substitution Out (71′)

    Subs

    • Scholes Substitution In (72′)
    • Brown Substitution In (61′)
    • Evra
    • Rooney Substitution In (71′)
    • Foster

    Injured

    • Ferdinand
    • van der Sar

    Suspended

    None

  • Bolton Wanderers

    Manager: Gary Megson

    On the Field

    • Al Habsi
    • Steinsson Yellow Card
    • O'Brien Yellow Card
    • Meite Substitution Out (45′)
    • Gardner
    • Guthrie Substitution Out (82′)
    • O'Brien
    • McCann
    • Diouf
    • Taylor
    • Davies

    Subs

    • Walker
    • Campo
    • Giannakopoulos Substitution In (82′)
    • Hunt Substitution In (45′)
    • Rasiak

    Injured

    • Jaaskelainen

    Suspended

    None