Benfica 1 - 1 Manchester United
Wednesday 14/09/2011
Champions League Group Stage
United battled their way to a tough point away at Benfica. Sir Alex went for a more experienced team for their opening champions league match of the campaign, with the likes of Carrick, Fletcher and Giggs started ahead of Young, Anderson and Chicharito. The other notable absentee was the £18.6 million summer signing David De Gea, as Anders Lindegaard was preferred in goal (We learnt after the game that this was an opportunity to give Lindegaard some much needed game time, rather than an injury to De Gea.)
For the opening 10 minutes a fierce atmosphere in the Stadium of Light didn't stop United dominating possession with a calm and measured passing game. Whilst not inviting much pressure, United also lacked creativity going forward at this point. However at around the 15 minute mark Benfica settled into the game when Guitan saw his powerful shot flash across goal. A Carrick mistake in the 20th minute led to a long range Oscar Cardozo shot being saved by Lindegaard and the hostile atmosphere rose again as Benfica pushed for a goal, despite the lack of clear cut chances. This changed in the 24th minute when Cardozo, who was leading the line for the Portuguese outfit, received the ball on the edge of the United area and managed to turn Johnny Evans and fire a shot past United's Champions League Debutant Goalkeeper to give the hosts the lead. United needed to compose themselves to halt their opposition, who were getting the bit between their teeth. Benfica continued to push forward, and it took Antonio Valencia tracking back superbly, making a last ditch challenge to concede just a corner rather than a second goal.
Towards the end of the half, the home side's pressure began to fade and a late challenge on Darren Fletcher by Pablo Aimar could have seen the Argentine walking, as it would have been his second yellow on the night: he was very lucky to escape his marching orders. For the last 5 minutes of the first half it was all United. Their slow passing game finally payed off as Giggs received the ball 30 yards out, took one touch, and with a thunderous left foot strike from just outside the box put United back on level terms going into half time. The home side's hard work undone with a moment of magic from United's number 11.
The second half began much as the first did, with United dominating possession. Soon after the restart Valencia fired a cross right across the face of goal, which could have easily been turned in, United were turning the screw with the quality of their advanced play increasing significantly from the first half. This almost paid off again in the 63rd minute when a mad goal scramble ended with a poked effort towards goal from Darren Fletcher that was comfortably saved. With a different bounce of the ball and the outcome could have resulted in an easy tap in. A minute later, United goal scorer Ryan Giggs, almost doubled his tally for the night with a weaving run which carved through the Benfica defence with ease and was only stopped by a brilliant save from Artur.
The United pressure did not last and as the game wore on, Benfica looked more likely to claim a winner. Lindegaard made two fine saves, helping his claim for more starts in the United goal. Benfica's attacking play almost resulted in a goal in the final moments, but second half substitute Nolito only managed to slide his shot into the side netting from 6 yards. United held on for a point, which on the overall balance of play, was probably a fair result. With what is arguably the hardest game of the group stage out of the way, there will no complaints from within the United camp.
United Analysis
Lindegaard - 7.5 - Solid in the United goal, made two great saves in the second half which prevented United from going behind for a second time. Though the quality of his distribution had nothing on usual starter David De Gea, meaning the chances of him usurping the number 1 shirt on a permanent basis are low.
Evra - 7.0 - A good all round performance from the captain on the night, didn't push forward as much as we have come to expect from the French left back but was composed in defence.
Evans - 7.5 - Perhaps turned too easily for the goal, but doesn't take away from his sublime passing display which saw him complete 58 out of 59 passes.
Smalling - 7.0 - Chis Smalling is gaining experience all the time and getting better and better, no complaints with his performance.
Fabio - 6.5 - Commited as always and a fantastic talent, however is still looking very lightweight and some rash decision making sometimes left the defence exposed.
Giggs - 7.5 - A Fantastic goal, and with a bit of luck could have had a second. The United legend showing why he is still worthy of a place in the starting eleven.
Park - 7.0 - Industrious all over the pitch, working hard for the team without really clicking.
Carrick - 7.0 - A couple of slips from Carrick could have led to United conceding, but his calm midfield play helped subdue the hosts.
Fletcher - 6.5- Looked rusty after so long on the side lines, but much needed game time for the Scot.
Valenica - 7.0 - Stuck to the right wing and was sometimes left isolated, used his pace well to whip in a couple of his trademark crosses.
Rooney - 7.0 - A quiet night from the United top goal scorer, and wasn't helped by the formation where he was left leading the forward line alone for long periods. Improved when his partner in crime Chicharito came on in the second half.
Substitutes
De Gea - Unused
Jones - 7.0 - came on for Fabio after 78 mins, no mistakes in his 12 minutes.
Anderson - Unused
Nani - 7.0 - came on for Valencia after 69 minutes, not much chance to get into the game, streamlined United play more centrally
Owen - Unused
Berbatov - Unused
Hernandez - 6.5 - came on for Fletcher after 69 minutes. Partnered Rooney up front, but hampered by lack of service.
No comments:
Post a Comment