UEFA Champions League: Manchester United Vs Glasgow Rangers
Score-line: 0-0
Starting Line up for Manchester United: Tom Kuszczak, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling, Fabio, Antonio Valencia, Darren Fletcher, Darron Gibson, Ji-Sung Park, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez.
Subs: Edwin Van der Sar, Johnny Evans, John O'Shea, James Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen, Macheda.
Starting Line up for Glasgow Rangers: Allan McGregor, Kirk Broadfoot, David Weir, Madjid Bougherra, Sasa Papac, Steven Whittaker, Lee McCulloch, Maurice Edu, Steven Davis, Steven Naismith, Kenny Miller.
Subs: Alexander, Lafferty, Beattie, Weiss, Little, Hutton, Foster
In what was a truly gruelling yet non-entertaining encounter between these two British giants, Glasgow Rangers were able to block out the Red Devils side. The visiting side were disciplined and showed much character in defence, denying any opportunities for the home side to capitalize. Not even the sheer pace of Javier Hernandez and the class of Wayne Rooney could break a disciplined defence of the Scottish Champions and the Reds looked extremely frustrated.
From the start of the second half, Manchester United dominated the proceedings. Gibson had a decent shot from a volley but couldn’t find the target. The Red Devils played in top form but tragedy struck at the 57th minute. Ecuadorian winger Antonio Valencia was tackled by a Scottish player and the player fell down. The injury looked pretty bad for the right winger and medical staff was brought on. Manchester United veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs replaced the injured team mate as the entire stadium clapped for Valencia, who was taken off the pitch on a stretcher. The crowd was then solely behind the home side to find the goal in order to lift the spirits of the fallen Red Devil.
The visiting side just kept on defending as Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez combined fairly well to try and break the impregnable defence. Gibson faired his job well right in the heart of midfield and took several long distance shots but only to be off target. Giggs to was performing at his usual starry state for Valencia whose seriousness of injury would be confirmed following the match after it was confirmed that he was taken straight to the nearest hospital. Adding the much needed experience of Ryan Giggs to the equation did improve the overall performance of the team, but at the 67th minute, it was the final ball that still lacked. Manchester United added the Michael Owen in place of J.S. Park to change the course of the game but still couldn’t find the break through ball. There was a lot of one touch passing in the box but the visiting side employed too many bodies to clear the ball out.
Darren Gibson was seen shooting almost at will from distance, as that was the only thing that enabled the Reds to have a shot. Both Rooney and Hernandez were completely marked, giving no room or space for any creativity. The manager’s squad selection is expected to come under heavy fire in the news tomorrow, as there would be any unanswered questions by fans and critics alike. The midfield lacked creativity and vision needed to find a defence splitting ball which the strikers could use to their advantage. That was not the case and manager Sir Alex Ferguson would need to rethink his tactics for the coming games.
Manchester United would now be travelling to Valencia on 29thSeptember. Valencia thrashed Turkish Champions 4-0 in Turkey to register a historic win. United would be looking to step up their UEFA Champions league campaign as they would be aiming to top the group in order to get a less tough club in the Round of 16.
Tags: