Last night Man United took on Russian side CSKA Moscow, a win for United would take them one step closer to the knockout stages. The last time United played in the Luzhniki Stadium they beat Chelsea on penalties to win the Champions League trophy in 2008.
Man United starting XI- Edwin Van Der Sar, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Fabio da Silva, John O’Shea, Anderson, Paul Scholes, Antonio Valencia, Luis Nani and Dimitar Berbatov.
The game looked like it was going to end up 0-0 which wouldn’t be a bad point considering that United have never beaten Russian opposition. The Russian side were trying to keep hold of the ball and they never really looked like they were going to try and get a winner. United on the other hand stepped up a gear and they knew that they could get a winner. Four minutes before fulltime, Nani crossed the ball into Berbatov, who headed the ball to the far post and Valencia was there to put the ball past their keeper.
Tactically, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was spot on. For most of the game, the team played in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Berbatov played on his own upfront, Nani, Anderson and Valencia played just behind him. Scholes and O’Shea did a great job protecting the back four.
It wasn’t a bad game, both side seemed a bit cautious but that could have been down to the slippy plastic pitch. CSKA got off to the better start but both teams didn’t look quite comfortable.
United did have a bit of a scare early on when birthday boy Vidic looked a bit shaky and his error ended with Milos Krasic having a shot on goal, luckily it went over.
The first chance for United came from a long shot by Scholes, the ball bounced just in front of their keeper Igor Akineev, but he managed to recover. The shot was similar to the one that Didier Drogba scored for Chelsea against Aston Villa last weekend.
Nani really needed to impress last night, there are many players now coming into form, mainly Valencia and Ryan Giggs. It is fair to say that last night was one of his better nights, now all he needs to do is keep it up.
The second half was better than the first, both teams livened up and United looked like they had got used to the plastic pitch. Nani, Valencia and Anderson had very impressive games.
Throughout the game, Nani and Valencia were teasing the defenders and getting some decent balls into the box. During the second half, Michael Owen came on for Scholes and the formation changed to the normal 4-4-2.
76 minutes in after some great play by United, Valencia hit the woodwork but the move deserved a goal. After a back-heel from Berbatov, there was a one-two between Nani and Valencia, the latter then struck the ball, which hit the crossbar.
86 minutes in and Man United scored the winning goal and again there was another very understated goal by Valencia.
90 minutes in and United should have really been 2-0 up when Anderson missed a really easy chance.
The game finished 1-0 to United and we are now only one point away from the 10-point mark, which all managers look to get to. We are now halfway through the group stages and it only looks like a matter of time until we go through to the knockouts.
