Monday December 29, 2008 Finished Old Trafford
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Berbatov saves United
Manchester United continued the defence of their Premier League title with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. More
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- Manchester United
- Middlesbrough
90+4' The final whistle goes, and it's yet another 1-0 win for the champions. Middlesbrough worked hard, but ultimately lacked the firepower to recover once they went behind. Berbatov takes an important step towards being fully accepted by United's fans with the winner.
90+3' Downing wins a corner, this is Boro's last chance. The set piece is half-cleared but Emnes floats it to TUNCAY AT THE FAR POST FOR THE OVERHEAD KICK... OFF THE POST!! The offside flag was up anyway!- 90+3' Pogatetz lays a ball back to Downing who looks up, picks his spot and shoots... Perhaps the ball bobbled but the shot drifts away into the crowd, where it is met with ironic cheers.
89' Paul Scholes goes into the referee's book for what has come to be known as a 'Paul Scholes tackle' ie not a good one.- 86' Park finds himself in front of goal and can seal it here... A solid strike hits the advertising hoardings behind the goal.
85' Ronaldo is replaced by Ryan Giggs, who is making his 780th appearance for United, apparently.- 81' Carrick has time on the edge of the box to try a nd curl an effort into the top corner, but he scoops it over the bar.
- 77' Marvin Emnes replaces Jeremie Aliadiere as Boro try to inject some zip into their play.
- 75' Carrick feeds Park who cuts inside and STRIKES... Whistles past the far post! Nice to see the Korean show a bit if selfishness for once.
- 73' United are all over Boro now, and Ronaldo fancies his chances from distance... Turnbull gets a touch on the strike and the ball loops up and away from goal, much to the keeper's relief!
- 72' United come again and Neville plays it in for PARK... Knocked over the bar from all of six yards out!! The flag was up for offside anyway - incorrectly as it turns out.
69' GOAL!! Michael Carrick's first cross is blocked and his second bounces off the hand of Wheater into the path of DIMITAR BERBATOV... The Bulgarian blasts into the top corner to settle United nerves and give them the lead!!- 68' Park does very well to nod an errant cross back into play and Ronaldo STRIKES ON THE TURN... It was a good effort but it's wide of the far post with Turnbull watching it all the way.
- 67' Boro can only half-clear a United cross and it loops into the air and drops for SCHOLES... The veteran volleys but the strike shanks out wide for a goal kick.
- 63' Boro are enjoying a bit of a spell here as Downing heads for goal. He decides to strike, but the shot is over Van der Sar's goal.
- 62' United make a double-switch: Scholes replaces Fletcher and Neville comes in for Rafael.
62' Boro building up nicely here and Bates crosses in and it's TUNCAY WITH THE DIVING HEADER... Wide of the near post!! United were caught cold there.- 60' Van der Sar launches a huge throw out of goal that finds Rooney. He gets the ball back off ronaldo but runs into Riggott and loses the ball.
- 58' Arca breaks forward and Boro are a man up on united! Julio Arca picks the wrong option as he tries the through ball for Alves and Vidic gratefully clears.
- 57' Tuncay finds Alves who turns inside Vidic and SHOOTS... Vidic gets a vital boot on it and the ball goes behind for a corner. Tuncay gets his foot to the set piece but his boot was high and he concedes the foul.
- 53' Park Ji-sung is the first player to be booked tonight for a challenge on Arca that was late, from behind, with no chance of getting the ball... Shall we go on?
- 50' Ronaldo goes in late on Pogatetz out on the wing and concedes the foul. The Austrian launches the free-kick forward himself and it's flicked on by Tuncay, but the referee blows up for some pushing in the box.
- 49' Rooney receives the ball on the edge of the box and gets taken out by a solid sliding tackle from Bates! Rooney remains down on the ground for a moment, but gets back on his feet soon enough.
- 46' United kick-off for the second half, meaning we can see how this tete-a-tete between the misfiring Ronaldo and the rough-house Pogatetz pans out!
- 45+2' Half-time at Old Trafford, and it's been a frustrating half for the home side. Middlesbrough are halfway towards taking home a well-earned point.
- 45+1' Ronaldo goes down in the box as Rooney sends in another corner... It looks as though Pogatetz pushed a hand into his face! Either the referee didn't see it or he wasn't impressed with Ronaldo's theatrics as he went down, because he gives nothing! Pogatetz can count himself lucky...
- 45' Ronaldo flicks on a long ball for Rooney who STRIKES LEFT-FOOTED FIRST TIME... Pushed behind for a corner by Turnbull!
- 43' Berbatov finds himself with the ball at his feet in the box with time to take one, two, three touches... He can't dig the ball out from under him in time to shoot before he's challenged!
- 39' Bates concedes a free-kick on the left wing for a needless push on Park. Ronaldo's free-kick results in a corner. Ronaldo gets his head to Rooney's corner, but it rebounds off a defender and Vidic scoops a shot over the bar.
- 37' United struggle to deal with the corner, and Ronaldo slices one attempted clearance before the danger is eventually cleared via the knee of Fletcher!
- 37' Aliadieere finds Alves who runs into the box... Good tackle from Evans and Boro have a corner.
- 35' Park releases Rooney with a perfectly-timed ball. It's on Rooney's left and he pulls it back for Ronaldo. It's just behind the Portuguese who tees it up for Carrick, but the pass forces him to tkae a touch and the eventual shot is blocked and rolls behind for a corner. That should have been the opener.
- 32' Rooney chips over an inviting ball that Turnbull desperately palms away but it falls for RAFAEL WHO SHOOTS... Pogatetz dives in and does just enough to put the young Brazilian off his effort, which hits the side netting.
- 30' Boro are doing reasonably well at soaking up united's possession at the moment. They bring it forward through Tuncay who switches play across to DOWNING... The winger took the extra touch to put the ball on his favoured left boot, but the shot flew across goal and wide.
- 23' United waste no time in breaking forward. Rooney bursts forward into the box and RONALDO IS FREE AT THE FAR POST... The strike is JUST the wrong side of the foot of the post!
- 22' Arca slides a ball forward and Alves loses Vidic with a great turn and STRIKES... OVER THE BAR!! Nice play from Alves but he lashed his effort over the bar.
- 21' Rafael fouls Downing and Boro have a free-kick on the wing. The ball is curled in and headed away but only as far as AFONSO ALVES... The Brazilian strikes on the turn in the box but there are too many bodies in the way.
- 19' Ronaldo's stirke deflects of someone in the box, but that touch takes it right into the arms of Turnbull. Ronaldo at the centre of things so far this evening, though still yet to rediscover his sparkling form that won him the Ballon d'Or.
- 18' Tuncay check Ronaldo and scampers off with the ball... He's called back by the referee! The free-kick is in almost the same place as before, and Ronaldo will shoot this time...
- 17' Another United free-kick, this time right of centre, but much further out. This time Ronaldo attempts a floated cross into the box but it's too soft and headed away.
- 14' Ronaldo GOES FOR GOAL... The shot flies past the far post with Turnbull beaten! Ronaldo caught the strike well and it fizzed through the air, but was off target.
- 14' Park comes forward and is cynically body-checked by Riggott. United have a free-kick on the left-hand corner of the area. No prizes for guessing who is lining this one up...
- 11' Rooney's initial delivery is cleared, but Rafael gives it back to the england man and this time the cross finds RONALDO... Headed well wide.
- 9' United and their fans are buoyant this evening. Every player looks willing to express themselves and try and make something happen. Park's cross is defelcted behind for a corner.
- 5' Nice move forward by United as Rafael finds rooney. Park is open on the left but Rooney TURNS AND SHOOTS... Turnbull palms it away but Ronaldo keeps the ball in play. He dances around the ball before firing it in... Turnbull gets his hands to it again and Riggott can hack it clear.
- 3' Aliadiere goes past Vidic and he hits the deck in the box... No penalty says referee Martin Atkinson! In truth, Jeremie Aliadiere went down in instalments after losing his balance. Just being in the presence of Vidic is enough to make a striker do that!
- 2' The first time Ronaldo gets the ball he sets off on a darting run forward, and is brought down by Stewart Downing in midfield.
- 1' After United parade the trophy and Boro engage in a pre-game huddle, it's the visitors who will get this match underway.
- 19:56 The players are coming out on to the pitch, and Alex Ferguson is carrying United's FIFA Club World Cup trophy. Funny how that tournament has become more prestigious all of a sudden...
- 19:45 Kick-off is at 20:00 UK time so don't go away!
- 19:41 Here are the teams: MANCHESTER UNITED: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov; Subs: Kuszczak, Neville, Giggs, Scholes, Welbeck, Gibson, Possebon. MIDDLESBROUGH: Turnbull, Bates, Riggott, Wheater, Pogatetz, Aliadiere, O'Neil, Arca, Downing, Sanli, Alves; Subs: Jones, Taylor, Emnes, Huth, Shawky, Porritt, Walker.
- 19:35 Welcome to Eurosport-Yahoo!'s LIVE coverage of Manchester United v Middlesbrough at Old Trafford!
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Team Stats
Manchester United Stats Middlesbrough 62% Possession 37% 34 Shots 9 8 Shots on target 0 0 Saves 2 8 Corners 4 18 Fouls 11 1 Offsides 2 2 Yellow cards 0 0 Red cards 0 20 Tackles 16 472 Accurate passes 248 82 Bad passes 59 -
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
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Manchester United G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T 1 Edwin Van der Sar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 1 0 22 John O'Shea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 56 21 1 21 Rafael Pereira da Silva 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 29 0 3 23 Jonny Evans 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 49 11 1 15 Nemanja Vidic 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 47 1 1 16 Michael Carrick 0 5 1 1 1 0 0 65 8 4 7 Cristiano Ronaldo 0 10 3 2 2 0 0 20 1 2 13 Ji-sung Park 0 6 1 2 5 0 0 31 12 0 24 Darren Fletcher 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 38 6 1 9 Dimitar Berbatov 1 4 1 0 4 0 0 43 10 4 10 Wayne Rooney 0 4 2 0 1 1 0 35 7 0 29 Tomasz Kuszczak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Gary Neville 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 18 0 0 28 Darron Gibson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Danny Welbeck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Paul Scholes 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 30 4 2 34 Rodrigo Possebon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Ryan Giggs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 -
Middlesbrough G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T 21 Ross Turnbull 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 6 Emanuel Pogatetz 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 23 9 2 26 Matthew Bates 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 28 1 2 31 David Wheater 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 1 1 5 Chris Riggott 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 1 3 4 Gary O'Neil 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 32 5 1 19 Stewart Downing 0 3 0 1 3 0 0 30 20 1 20 Julio Arca 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 42 9 3 10 Jeremie Aliadiere 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 1 2 17 Tuncay Sanli 0 2 0 4 3 2 0 29 9 0 12 Afonso Alves 0 4 0 3 1 0 0 16 1 1 33 Nathan Porritt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Andrew Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 Bradley Jones 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Mohamed Shawky 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Robert Huth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 Josh Walker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Marvin Emnes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
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Summary
- 69' GOAL!! Michael Carrick's first cross is blocked and his second bounces off the hand of Wheater into the path of DIMITAR BERBATOV... The Bulgarian blasts into the top corner to settle United nerves and give them the lead!!
- 62' Boro building up nicely here and Bates crosses in and it's TUNCAY WITH THE DIVING HEADER... Wide of the near post!! United were caught cold there.
- 45+1' Ronaldo goes down in the box as Rooney sends in another corner... It looks as though Pogatetz pushed a hand into his face! Either the referee didn't see it or he wasn't impressed with Ronaldo's theatrics as he went down, because he gives nothing! Pogatetz can count himself lucky...
- 45' Ronaldo flicks on a long ball for Rooney who STRIKES LEFT-FOOTED FIRST TIME... Pushed behind for a corner by Turnbull!
- 35' Park releases Rooney with a perfectly-timed ball. It's on Rooney's left and he pulls it back for Ronaldo. It's just behind the Portuguese who tees it up for Carrick, but the pass forces him to tkae a touch and the eventual shot is blocked and rolls behind for a corner. That should have been the opener.
- 32' Rooney chips over an inviting ball that Turnbull desperately palms away but it falls for RAFAEL WHO SHOOTS... Pogatetz dives in and does just enough to put the young Brazilian off his effort, which hits the side netting.
- 23' United waste no time in breaking forward. Rooney bursts forward into the box and RONALDO IS FREE AT THE FAR POST... The strike is JUST the wrong side of the foot of the post!
- 22' Arca slides a ball forward and Alves loses Vidic with a great turn and STRIKES... OVER THE BAR!! Nice play from Alves but he lashed his effort over the bar.
- 21' Rafael fouls Downing and Boro have a free-kick on the wing. The ball is curled in and headed away but only as far as AFONSO ALVES... The Brazilian strikes on the turn in the box but there are too many bodies in the way.
- 14' Ronaldo GOES FOR GOAL... The shot flies past the far post with Turnbull beaten! Ronaldo caught the strike well and it fizzed through the air, but was off target.
- 5' Nice move forward by United as Rafael finds rooney. Park is open on the left but Rooney TURNS AND SHOOTS... Turnbull palms it away but Ronaldo keeps the ball in play. He dances around the ball before firing it in... Turnbull gets his hands to it again and Riggott can hack it clear.
- 3' Aliadiere goes past Vidic and he hits the deck in the box... No penalty says referee Martin Atkinson! In truth, Jeremie Aliadiere went down in instalments after losing his balance. Just being in the presence of Vidic is enough to make a striker do that!
Live Team Line-Up
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Manchester UnitedManager: Alex Ferguson
Captain: Edwin van der Sar
Starting line-up
- E. van der Sar
- R. Da Silva
- J. Evans
- N. Vidic
- J. O'Shea
- C. Ronaldo
- M. Carrick
- D. Fletcher
- J. Park
- W. Rooney
- D. Berbatov
Subs
- P. Scholes
62′ - G. Neville 62′
- R. Giggs 85′
- T. Kuszczak
- D. Gibson
- D. Welbeck
- R. Possebon
Injured
- R. Ferdinand
- O. Hargreaves
- W. Brown
- B. Foster
Suspended
- P. Evra
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MiddlesbroughManager: Gareth Southgate
Captain: Emanuel Pogatetz
Starting line-up
- R. Turnbull
- M. Bates
- D. Wheater
- C. Riggott
- E. Pogatetz
- J. Aliadière
- G. O'Neil
- J. Arca
- S. Downing
- S. Tuncay
- A. Alves
Subs
- B. Jones
- R. Huth
- M. Shawky
- A. Taylor
- .. Walker
- M. Emnes 77′
- N. Porritt
Injured
- J. Hoyte
Suspended
None
manchester united win
gggggggggggggggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy
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