Manchester United levelled the points with leading Chelsea after beating Wigan Athletic. Both Chelsea and Manchester United rest at 28 points each. The reds are being denied the top spot because the blues are ahead in goal difference. It is a welcome win
for the reds after a previous draw with Aston Villa. The English League is surely inching towards an interesting season thus far.
Perhaps not their best performance nevertheless the red devils shook a 9 men Wigan, scoring two goals and conceding none. Patrice Evra and substitute Javier Hernandez both assigned one goal in Man utd’s favour. Fans had plenty to cheer for at Old Trafford.
Wigan started off with vigour showing stern control; Jordy Gomez could have left the reds in trouble but could not hit the ball on target to say the least. Further, Hugo Rodallega also had a go but failed to capitalize from his shot that was safely pouched
by Edwin van der Sar. Nani’s free kick almost made an impact on the score line but Ali Al Habsi stood his ground denying Nani his impression.
What seemed to be solid defending from Wigan momentarily paved way for a beautiful header from Patrice Evra. Park Ji Sung delivered a modest cross which found the header of un-marked Evra, as he familiarized the ball with the far corner of the net. Ali Al
Habsi the Wigan goal keeper emerged vulnerable against the strike.
Second half failed to impress Wigan’s luck. Desperation surfaced Wigan’s skin as Alcaraz fetched two consecutive yellow cards and went walking. Later Rodallega ended up with an unnecessary double-footed plunge by at Rafeal and received a red card right away.
The tackle begged for the sight of a red one, and the referee gave in. This left Wigan limping with only nine men inviting the reds to do some serious hammering, but reds managed only decently.
The 77th minute marked a swift cross from Rafael and Hernandez plunged low to head the ball in the net, putting Manchester United within audible distance of triumph. In contrast Antolin Alcaraz the stand-in skipper was sloppy and lost his nerve
and failed to scrutinize the situation.
Rafael managed to pull off the most effective player’s award, absorbing the assault rather well and producing an assist in the finishing moments of the match.
Wayne Rooney was greeted at Old Trafford faithful. However, the old Rooney still seemed out of sight. The question is when the striker will redeem his form. Rooney seemed a bit sluggish as he was brought in on the 57th minute, but managed an angry
header which was tipped over the bar by Wigan’s goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi. Rooney was also given a decent cross from Nani, inside the six yard box, but Rooney fumbled the opportunity.
Perhaps it would be safe to say that Rooney will take time to reach normality. Manchester United however could have played better, the chemistry shined from brief periods as the match progressed. Manchester United won nevertheless.
Tags: