-Johan
Final score: 1-0
Manchester United hosted CSKA Moscow on Tuesday evening going 295minutes without a goal and 3 consecutive drawn matches. The pressure was on Manchester United and their strike force to give the fans something to reward their support but they were fully aware of the challenge CSKA presented as they made it clear that they will sit deep and attack on the counter.
Manchester United pulled off a rewarding victory and Rooney’s name returned to the score sheet, but the display was far from convincing and several questions remain unanswered.
Manchester United commenced the match with a barrage of attempts at goal. 3 minutes into the game, Rooney collected a low cross inside the box, turned it onto his left foot but dragged it wide. Minutes later, Carrick combined well with Rooney who flicked a pass to Lingard but Akinfeev knocked Lingard off the ball. The first 15 minutes saw Manchester United pin CSKA Moscow down with all 11 in their own half. Blind saw Mata’s run early and drilled a long ball from inside his own half into the penalty box which was thereafter saved by Akinfeev.
Rojo, who made storming runs on the left all night, benefited from a scramble in the CSKA box and squared a pass through the crowded players but Mata failed to react quick enough and no-one got on the end of a very dangerous pass. The first free kick of the game came in the 19th minute when Schenakov fouled Mata 5 meters outside the right edge of the box but Mata’s poor delivery form the free kick saw CSKA break with Tosic and
Young, who had to back track the entire length of the field made a diving block of a potentially dangerous cross. United, for all of their possession, could simply not build enough momentum in attack to penetrate a well organised Moscow side, but on the half hour mark Schweinsteiger rolled back the years with a little cameo that saw his dribbled through 3 tackles before winning a free kick on the forth. Rooney delivered a dangerous ball but no players committed themselves to the ball and it went out for a goal kick. The frustration was evident on the bench with Van Gaal clearly displeased with the team’s inability to round off critical plays.
Young had a magnificent game despite playing out of position on at right back and in the 35th minute his cross found an advancing Rojo who had an attempt on his favoured left foot which ended up in the side netting.
CSKA Moscow, having completed the first half without conceding came out with more confidence and attacked the game a little more but United continued to dominate both possession and territory and after 50 minutes of play Rojo playing a delightful ball to Martial who headed it straight into the open arms of Akinfeev. Doumbia replaced Nacho after 55 minutes and almost had an immediate impact with a few dangerous runs. With Doumbia in attack and combining well with Moussa, the game was more balanced and it was only in the 70th minute that United had another opportunity at taking the lead. Akinfeev made a terrible attempt at saving the ball which resulted in a scramble for the ball a meter from goal line. With the keeper decked and only 1 defender between himself and the goal, Rooney failed to put the ball away and was dispossessed once again.
Van Gaal made the brave call to take Martial off and replaced him with Fellani. The crowd made their feelings known as Martial jogged off. The United side continued to press and a poor clearance from CSKA saw Carrick volley the attempted clearance goalwards but it was scuffed half a meter to the right of goal.
Manchester United delivered a spell that was reminiscent of the United of old, with 8 quick passes being strung together putting CSKA on the back foot. Rojo made another run on the left before he offloaded to Depay, the challenge on Depay saw the ball end up at Carrick’s feet who lobbed a through ball to Lingard, Lingard volleyed a cross back to the center of the penalty area and Rooney rounded off the move by heading the ball over the outstretched hand of Akinfeev and into the net.
Moscow reacted by launching more meaningful attempts at the United goal, but United slowed the pace down and frustrated the opposition to take their first victory in four matches.
KEY POINTS
Plenty are still being said about Louis van Gaal’s selection and his strategy.
Rooney had a golden opportunity with the goalkeeper on the floor and he failed to slot the ball away with only 1 defender in front of him and 2 meters away from the line. Rojo headed wide when he lost his marker and had no competition as the ball game in from a corner, and several scuffed chances during the game prevented United from producing a solid result.
Chances were created, possession and a clean sheet was kept, it is now for the forwards to put their hands up and accept the responsibility to go out on the field of play and put the ball in the back of the net.
OVERALL
United now top the table with 7 points but it is still a very open group with both CSKA and Wolfsburg on 6 points each. PSV surprisingly thumped Wolfsburg 2-0 at home and United will host PSV in a fortnight’s time and that result could potentially be a decider for the group. Should United win, they will be secured of at least finishing second, but fail to do so and it will leave United having to travel to Wolfsburg’s stronghold facing a must win match, and I simply cannot see them beating Wolfsburg away from home.
Final score: 1-0
Manchester United hosted CSKA Moscow on Tuesday evening going 295minutes without a goal and 3 consecutive drawn matches. The pressure was on Manchester United and their strike force to give the fans something to reward their support but they were fully aware of the challenge CSKA presented as they made it clear that they will sit deep and attack on the counter.
Manchester United pulled off a rewarding victory and Rooney’s name returned to the score sheet, but the display was far from convincing and several questions remain unanswered.
Manchester United commenced the match with a barrage of attempts at goal. 3 minutes into the game, Rooney collected a low cross inside the box, turned it onto his left foot but dragged it wide. Minutes later, Carrick combined well with Rooney who flicked a pass to Lingard but Akinfeev knocked Lingard off the ball. The first 15 minutes saw Manchester United pin CSKA Moscow down with all 11 in their own half. Blind saw Mata’s run early and drilled a long ball from inside his own half into the penalty box which was thereafter saved by Akinfeev.
Rojo, who made storming runs on the left all night, benefited from a scramble in the CSKA box and squared a pass through the crowded players but Mata failed to react quick enough and no-one got on the end of a very dangerous pass. The first free kick of the game came in the 19th minute when Schenakov fouled Mata 5 meters outside the right edge of the box but Mata’s poor delivery form the free kick saw CSKA break with Tosic and
Young, who had to back track the entire length of the field made a diving block of a potentially dangerous cross. United, for all of their possession, could simply not build enough momentum in attack to penetrate a well organised Moscow side, but on the half hour mark Schweinsteiger rolled back the years with a little cameo that saw his dribbled through 3 tackles before winning a free kick on the forth. Rooney delivered a dangerous ball but no players committed themselves to the ball and it went out for a goal kick. The frustration was evident on the bench with Van Gaal clearly displeased with the team’s inability to round off critical plays.
Young had a magnificent game despite playing out of position on at right back and in the 35th minute his cross found an advancing Rojo who had an attempt on his favoured left foot which ended up in the side netting.
CSKA Moscow, having completed the first half without conceding came out with more confidence and attacked the game a little more but United continued to dominate both possession and territory and after 50 minutes of play Rojo playing a delightful ball to Martial who headed it straight into the open arms of Akinfeev. Doumbia replaced Nacho after 55 minutes and almost had an immediate impact with a few dangerous runs. With Doumbia in attack and combining well with Moussa, the game was more balanced and it was only in the 70th minute that United had another opportunity at taking the lead. Akinfeev made a terrible attempt at saving the ball which resulted in a scramble for the ball a meter from goal line. With the keeper decked and only 1 defender between himself and the goal, Rooney failed to put the ball away and was dispossessed once again.
Van Gaal made the brave call to take Martial off and replaced him with Fellani. The crowd made their feelings known as Martial jogged off. The United side continued to press and a poor clearance from CSKA saw Carrick volley the attempted clearance goalwards but it was scuffed half a meter to the right of goal.
Manchester United delivered a spell that was reminiscent of the United of old, with 8 quick passes being strung together putting CSKA on the back foot. Rojo made another run on the left before he offloaded to Depay, the challenge on Depay saw the ball end up at Carrick’s feet who lobbed a through ball to Lingard, Lingard volleyed a cross back to the center of the penalty area and Rooney rounded off the move by heading the ball over the outstretched hand of Akinfeev and into the net.
Moscow reacted by launching more meaningful attempts at the United goal, but United slowed the pace down and frustrated the opposition to take their first victory in four matches.
KEY POINTS
Plenty are still being said about Louis van Gaal’s selection and his strategy.
Rooney had a golden opportunity with the goalkeeper on the floor and he failed to slot the ball away with only 1 defender in front of him and 2 meters away from the line. Rojo headed wide when he lost his marker and had no competition as the ball game in from a corner, and several scuffed chances during the game prevented United from producing a solid result.
Chances were created, possession and a clean sheet was kept, it is now for the forwards to put their hands up and accept the responsibility to go out on the field of play and put the ball in the back of the net.
OVERALL
United now top the table with 7 points but it is still a very open group with both CSKA and Wolfsburg on 6 points each. PSV surprisingly thumped Wolfsburg 2-0 at home and United will host PSV in a fortnight’s time and that result could potentially be a decider for the group. Should United win, they will be secured of at least finishing second, but fail to do so and it will leave United having to travel to Wolfsburg’s stronghold facing a must win match, and I simply cannot see them beating Wolfsburg away from home.
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