UEFA - Manchester United Vs Lyon - Mar 4
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Cristiano Ronaldo's 30th goal of the season gave Manchester United a 2-1 aggregate win over Lyon and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Lyon's tactic of defending in numbers frustrated the home side early on.
But Ronaldo broke the deadlock when he pounced on a loose ball in the box and squeezed the ball past Gregory Coupet.
Lyon came forward more after the break and almost levelled when Kader Keita's shot thumped against the base of the post but United held on to progress.
It was by no means United's most stylish victory in Europe but their manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not mind one bit after seeing his side equal Juventus' Champions League record of 10 straight home wins.
The pace of Ronaldo and Nani on either wing always looked their most likely route of finding a way through the visitors' well-organised defence and brought them the best early openings.
First Ronaldo broke down the right and left Fabio Grosso sliding in his wake but he failed to pull the ball back in time and was crowded out inside the area.
Darren Fletcher saw a swerving 25-yard shot fly just wide before Anderson linked up well with Nani but failed to make his final ball count.
United were not having things all their own way, however, and Lyon responded with a spell of pressure of their own that saw Kim Kallstrom test Edwin van der Sar with a rasping drive.
It looked like the stalemate would extend until half-time but Ronaldo had other ideas.
Nani fed Wes Brown down the right and although Anderson's shot from his cross was blocked, Ronaldo was first to the loose ball and expertly slotted the ball between the onrushing keeper Coupet and the post.
That goal put United firmly in the driving seat but Lyon, to their credit, came back strongly after the interval.
Initially, Alain Perrin's side failed to test Van der Sar further with Juninho's shot drifting well wide and Hatem Ben Arfa drilling another effort over.
But the visitors went close to making it 2-2 on aggregate when Keita found the space to smash his low shot against the woodwork with the keeper beaten.
United survived that scare and should have extended their margin of victory before the end.
Rooney latched on to a poor Ben Arfa back-pass but was denied by Coupet's block - then wasted another golden chance when substitute Carlos Tevez put him clear.
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boys r toopid.
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woot 1-0 but seriously in the 2nd half utd should hav killed the game le -
I watched, SAF should have Subed Ron earlier....
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a strange combination in the midfield.
fletcher, anderson and carrick... why no hargreaves, scholes?
cause the play was slow and needs some pentrating passes..
but mu came to life when tevez is in.
surprisingly lyon ws able to play till the final min..
but with Milan out, English Teams will have better chances.
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United equal Juventus' Champions League record of 10 straight home wins.
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I thought Nani and Ronaldo (apart from his goal) were pretty awful. Was Saha on the bench? I would have rather had Saha upfront and Rooney in Nani's place. Just don't understand why Ronaldo cannot learn to put in some early crosses. That guy simply obsessed with scoring.
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Man utd started this match well, keep ball in possesion and dominating the game. Other than the goal, Ronaldo simply contributed nothing.. But second half, Lyon started to attack and Man utd defence was shaky...
One thing is that the players simply can't take the ball off from Benzema. Whats with all the hype about Ben Arfa? He doesn't seem like so good..
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Yes, Nani & Ronaldo (apart from his goal) was aweful.. too many mispasses in the midfield and cheap give aways in the 2nd half..thank god we managed to hold onto the 1 goal lead.. :D
Nani need to keep his head cool, cut off his tantrum..play for the team...he can be
another Ronaldo
in the future but no ones puting pressure on him to perform, Team Comes first..not self glory..correct me if i am wrong, but nani was what Ronaldo was when he first joined us couple of seasons back :)
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Originally posted by Dead_Man_Inc:
Man utd started this match well, keep ball in possesion and dominating the game. Other than the goal, Ronaldo simply contributed nothing.. But second half, Lyon started to attack and Man utd defence was shaky...
One thing is that the players simply can't take the ball off from Benzema. Whats with all the hype about Ben Arfa? He doesn't seem like so good..
Ben Afra's dribbling quite good mah.. just that he's kinda selfish and he looks like laurent robert.
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I think Carrick, Nani and Ronaldo didnt perform yesterday.
Rooney was quiet also, still feel he's not suited to be a lone striker.
Fletcher did alright i guess, helping Brown handle Ben Arfa.
Other than that, happy we got the job done.
and hopefully next round we draw Barca or Real( if they get through).
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Originally posted by 4getmenot:
Yes, Nani & Ronaldo (apart from his goal) was aweful.. too many mispasses in the midfield and cheap give aways in the 2nd half..thank god we managed to hold onto the 1 goal lead.. :D
Nani need to keep his head cool, cut off his tantrum..play for the team...he can be
another Ronaldo
in the future but no ones puting pressure on him to perform, Team Comes first..not self glory..correct me if i am wrong, but nani was what Ronaldo was when he first joined us couple of seasons back :)
Nani's tackling is very rash, feel sometimes he's jeopardising the team with those needless tackles.Even Rio went to tick him off at the end of the match.
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How was Benzema?
Didn't watch coz got long day in school...
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Originally posted by jonchao72:
How was Benzema?
Didn't watch coz got long day in school...
Vidic and Rio marked him very well.
Didnt even have a shot at goal if i remember correctly.
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actually utd did nt play veri well except for the the back 4 and fletcher perhaps...
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Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
Ben Afra's dribbling quite good mah.. just that he's kinda selfish and he looks like laurent robert.
yeah his dribbling not bad sia.. but he shots all way off target
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a short highlight, ronaldo's goal:
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=4336747569803200218&hl=en