Manchester United 3-1 Middlesbrough
An opportunistic 79th minute strike from Ryan Giggs saw Manchester United pip Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening, after Adam Johnson had cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener. Nani made it 3-1 in the 93rd minute to add insult to injury.
First Half
It was a mix of youth and experience that Sir Alex Ferguson put out on the pitch, aware that Boro would be no pushovers.
The likes of Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Wes Brown and John O'Shea started, as did youngsters Ben Amos, Rafael Da Silva, Rodrigo Possebon and Danny Welbeck.
A certain Cristiano Ronaldo also made his first start of the season, and it was he who broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. After a cagey start, the Portuguese winger showcased his underrated aerial prowess, rising highest to head home a Ryan Giggs corner.
United had half chances through Nani and Ronaldo thereafter, but the former blasted wide while trying to go solo, while the latter was denied by Brad Jones' reflexes.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, lacked creativity up front, and were forced to play second fiddle all half despite some tempting deliveries from Stewart Downing.
Second Half
Sensing that something needed to be changed, Gareth Southgate brought on Adam Johnson at the start of the second half, in place of an ineffective Mohamed Shawky.
It was a touch of genius, as Boro were back level within ten minutes. Downing delivered a curling shot into the United box, which was headed away by Vidic. However, it fell onto the path of Johnson, who let fly a powerful drive that gave Ben Amos no chance at all.
Spurred by that, Boro came looking for the second, ready to rough United up in the final stretch. Sensing his side's tempo drop, Sir Alex replaced a tiring Ronaldo with 'busybody' Carlos Tevez on the hour mark.
However, it was there that the match took a turn for the ugly, with Emmanuel Pogatetz making a nasty challenge on young Possebon. Pogatetz was duly given his marching orders, while play was held up for five minutes as medics tended to the United youngster.
Possebon was immediately replaced by another youngster in Darron Gibson, while Southgate reshuffled his troops, bringing Chris Riggott on for Didier Digard as the match got going slowly.
It would be a long final 15 minutes for Boro, and they were clearly looking to park the bus and hold on to the scoreline. But they would not.
If Southgate's first substitution won him a goal, the second cost him one. Riggott slipped and fell while collecting a loose ball, allowing a prowling Giggs to pick it up and fire home in the 79th minute.
Boro tried to respond, but with one body less and the likes of Vidic, O'Shea and Brown against then, found no joy. An anonymous Afonso Alves was hauled off for Marvin Emnes, but that was no good either, as Nani made the most of the open spaces to score United's third in the 93rd minute.
Neal Glew, Goal.com
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