Manchester United vs. Bolton 3/19
As Bolton struggles in relegation zone, United looked to regain their rightful place at the top of the Premier League
Owen Hargreaves was probably just as stunned as we were when Sir Alex appointed him, Uniteds right back and it looked like Rooney would have a some rest before coming on later in the game
It took United a little longer than usual to start knocking on the opponents door, but in the 8th minute Tevez and Saha connected very well as Saha laid a nice ball off to Tevez who did well to control it and release a dangerous shot, but Gardner did well and put it out for a corner
But from that corner United make no mistake the ball comes from a Nani corner and Tevez attempts a bicycle but the ball ends up on Ronaldos foot and he doesnt forgive Bolton as he powers it in to the top left corner
Nani got a little greedy in the 15th as he took a shot from 20 yards out, but it goes over the bar. This wouldn’t be the only chance he took when he should have passed.
In the 20th minute Bolton made the mistake of awarding United a free kick from outside the box. Ronaldo stepped up and sure enough with his wicked signature shot, scored his second of the match!.
Andersons did great in the midfield by switching the point of attack from side to side.
It was apparent that Owen Hargreaves is not a natural right back. He had possession of the ball on the right hand side and dished it off to Ronaldo in the center but forgot to continue his run up field.
United connect like 10 times in the 33rd min and but fail to convert luckily it went out for a corner
Tevez made a great run to get past 3 defenders and took decent shot, it looked like Tevez wanted a piece of the action after Ronaldo had 2 to his name.
Nani should have taken a shot first time in the 35th minute but tried to cut the defender, the defender got a little piece of it but it wasn’t enough to stop Nani’s second attempt. But Nani didn’t take full advantage of the situation as he sent the ball way over and wide
Carlos takes one to many touches in the 38th minute, and is run over by the Bolton defender as he attempts to take it wide
First booking is for O’Brian as he goes in late on Saha.
Again Hargreaves make a rookie mistake by giving up position trying to make a pass to an area where he should have been by playing right back. A mistake he made because he wasn’t in his natural position
More excitement from United in the last minutes of the first half as United scramble to put a third in but cant, Ronaldo did brilliantly to set up O’Shea but he puts it away with a sloppy volley.
A very exciting first half with plenty of possession and great skill for United
First bit of action in the second half came from a United free kick. Everyone including myself was expecting Ronaldo to take the shot but as Ronaldo was counting his steps back, Nani came through and took a decent shot to the bottom right hand corner, it almost fooled Al Habsi but he managed to keep it out with his forearm. A great trick play by Manchester United
A free kick in the 55th minute for Bolton, Diouf tried to be slick when kicking it before the referee blew his whistle. The second attempt was hit in the same spot and Kuszczak knew where it was going.
Good shot by Hunt in the 60th minute but Kuszczak has a brilliant save as he puts it over the bar
First 15 minutes in the second half were all Bolton, I think United needed a change
66th minute Ronaldo had another chance at goal, I think it was the haircut that has him playing so well, he unleashed a rocket from 15 yards out but the Bolton keeper made a good save, Ronaldo dribbled from about half, and defenders are terrified to step in and attempt to take it because Ronaldo will make them look silly or make them foul him.
In the 75th minute Tevez got in the way of Nani. Nani had a much better angle to strike the ball and Tevez looked a little greedy.
Nani Megs Taylor cleanly but then delivers a poor cross. Another play where Nani could have done something so much better but failed to hit the last ball
It looks like Ronaldo had some custom Nike Vapors painted Red and Gold
Nani frustrate his team and boss on a break, Nani had 3 clear opportunities he had Ronaldo in the middle Tevez on the right and the most frustrated was Rooney who was alone on the left side, and decided to take a shot from 20 yards out
There is the final whistle
Its no surprise why Tevez had been kept on the bench and if he continues to perform as poorly as he did today, he better get used to it.
Nani is another player that wasn’t in good form today, he was always missing that last crucial pass or shot
