Rooney's Russian Relief

Manchester United 1 CSKA Moscow 0

Manchester United's barren run ended when Rooney got his head on the end of a Lingard cross to finally lift a veil of uncertainty from the Theatre of Dreams.

After being goalless in the last three matches, the pressure was on for United to find the net against their Russian opposition to take a step closer to qualification from their group in the Champions League at Old Trafford.

Much had been said and written about United's lack of goals and poor inventiveness in attack ahead of this important clash so it was interesting to see the starting XI given the task of righting the wrongs of the last few games: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Lingard, Rooney and Martial.

Jesse Lingard was given yet another opportunity to prove his worth in the side along with Ashley Young at full-back in place of Darmian. Carrick and Schweinsteiger were chosen together in midfield with Rooney once again given the nod in attack even though his form has been poor for the majority of the season.

Subs: Romero, Herrera, Memphis, Fellaini, Jones, Darmian and Pereira. After the disappointment of being dropped from the Holland national team Memphis could only make it onto the bench sat next to Ander Herrera whom many thought would have started the match.

CSKA got the game underway and immediately it was clear that the home side had taken up a more traditional 4-4-2 system with Rooney and Martial in tandem up front with Mata and Lingard occupying the wider roles.

The system almost paid off immediately when Rooney had an early effort with a shot that he failed to really get a hold of and it squirmed wide. However, this was a bright start by United and they had a real look of intent about their play.

Lingard looked lively in and around the box in the opening ten minutes and he almost won a penalty as the keeper rushed out before the youngster could get on the end of a through ball.

Blind played a delightful ball over the top which Mata almost got his toe on the end of, but the keeper got to the ball first.

It was all United as the first half progressed with some superb passing play, especially down the left channel and only needed a goal to reward their industry.

After half an hour, it was still 0-0. United's performance was a vast improvement on the recent dull showings with Blind in superb passing form from the back as he was the main outlet for start of the attacks.

Rooney delivered a free-kick into the danger area which only needed the slightest of touches from Smalling, but the defender ducked under the ball clearly believing that it was headed into the far corner.

More great play by the home side provided an excellent opportunity for Lingard, but the forward lashed the ball over the bar. A great chance for the youngster who only needed a little more composure to open the scoring.

Rojo was the next culprit as he leathered the ball just wide from close range from a wonderful pinpoint cross from Young.

Half time and the match somehow was all square at 0-0. The half started on such a high with United set out in a system that promised so much but delivered very little in the end. The half ended a little flat with some erratic passing from Lingard and Rojo, who were both also guilty of missing the game's two best chances. Having said that CSKA had not even managed one shot on De Gea's goal, so there was reason to be optimistic for the second half.

There was on bone of contention and that was United's continued use of the short corner that always ends up with the ball going backwards or worse still possession lost. Get the ball into the box where there is the chance of someone getting their head on the end of it.

The home side kicked off the second half attacking the Stretford End with no changes made to the side. Lingard had an early break down the left wing and delivered a much better cross that was diverted for a corner which was not taken short and was almost headed in by Rojo.

Then it was Rojo's turn to become the provider as he delivered a decent ball that Martial almost powered in with a header.

Another lively start by United with a flurry of corners, surely it would only be a matter of time before the Red Devils turned possession into goals.

As the hour mark neared CSKA still hadn't managed a shot on goal, but their new substitute Doumbia showed that he had the pace to be a threat on the counter-attack.

Boos then filled the Theatre of Dreams as Fellaini became the first of van Gaal's changes as he came on for the popular Martial for the final twenty minutes.

The best chance of the match so far fell to Rooney after great approach play by Lingard then Mata. The Spaniard played the ball on a plate for the captain who somehow managed to get the ball tangled up in his feet close to the goal line. Then Young was fortunate not to be booked after a blatant dive in the area as he looked to earn a penalty.

Memphis livened things up when he came on for Mata in the last fifteen minutes by crossing for Carrick to try his luck from distance, however, he smashed the ball wide.

Then David De Gea showed his class by saving at the feet of Doumbia whose follow-up shot was cleared off the line by Smalling then it was straight up the other end as United broke down the right and got the breakthrough their play had fully deserved when Rooney headed in a superb goal in the 79th minute from a delightful cross by Lingard. In doing so Rooney ended a 404 minute United goal drought to the joy of himself, his teammates, the manager and not least the fans.

At last, United had found a way through to goal that will hopefully provide the springboard for more to come in the future. However, if it were not for the top class intervention by United's keeper a few seconds before things could have been totally different.

There was a last minute change for United as Herrera replaced the industrious Schweinsteiger. The German received a standing ovation in recognition of his hard work alongside Carrick.

The match ended with the stadium standing in appreciation for their heroes, especially Lingard, who deserves the man of the match accolades purely for his determination and, of course, the assist for the goal.

The end of the long wait for a goal together with the valuable three points meant that United moved to the top of their group and only need one more win from their remaining two games to clinch a qualifying place in the competition's knock-out stage.

In fairness, the visitors didn't provide a threat until the introduction of Doumbia in attack and it was the save at his feet by De Gea and the clearance by Smalling that proved pivotal in the last throes of the match.

Let's hope that United can build on this result and move forward as this was by far their best display of the season. The manager's decision to use an attacking 4-4-2 formation turned his team into a more threatening side and maybe he should look at keeping the same set up for the foreseeable future.

United have never drawn four goalless matches in a row, so this was a much-needed win for confidence more than anything else.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.

Martial Makes Amends in Moscow.

CSKA Moscow 1 Manchester United 1

United returned to the city of their famous 2008 Champions League triumph looking to obtain a first away win in their group this season. However, all they managed to come away with was a point following a below par performance.

When the draw was made for this season's Champions League group stages many fans worried about facing CSKA for no other reason than it would involve a long round trip to the Russian capital for the squad, especially considering that on their return to Manchester they would have the small matter of a local derby to look forward to a few days later.

Buoyed by a brilliant display away at Everton the squad looked to be on a high in the build up to the match against the twelve-time Russian champions who like United and the other teams in the group were all locked on 3 points prior to this match.

Louis van Gaal had a small quandary and that was whether or not to stick with the side that performed so well at Goodison Park with fit again Herrera and Rojo the standout performers or recall the players who hadn't featured including Memphis, Blind and Valencia. In the end the manager decided to freshen things up by choosing a starting XI which included: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Herrera, Lingard, Martial and Rooney.

On the bench were: Romero, Fellaini, Mata, Carrick, Blind, Memphis and Darmian.

So, a surprising start for youngster Jesse Lingard, who got the nod ahead of Juan Mata on the night and a recall for Valencia in place of Darmian. It was Valencia who scored the winner in this same fixture six years ago to the day.

Mata must have done something to irk the manager as he was pulled off against Everton at half-time and overlooked tonight, even though van Gaal stated it was due to the Spaniard needing a little rest, also the Dutch duo of Memphis and Blind had to start from the bench after being overlooked for the second straight match.

United got the tie underway on a bitterly cold night in Moscow and had an early shout for a penalty as Martial looked to have been brought down inside the area, but nothing was awarded, then in the 15th minute Martial was involved in another penalty debate as when CSKA attacked the United area the ball hit the French youngster on his raised hand and the referee had no choice but to award the home side a spot kick. Martial's name was taken by the referee for the offence.

De Gea saved Eremenko's resulting penalty, but it was Doumbia who reacted quicker than the United defence, especially Phil Jones, to poke the rebound home and put the Russians ahead. That was probably Martial's first mistake in his fledgling United career, but one that hopefully he will learn from.

Following the penalty, the play became a little scrappy with some heavy challenges going in with United taking their time to get into any sort of rhythm. On the half hour, David De Gea pulled off a fantastic one-handed save at full stretch to prevent the ball entering the top corner from an audacious attempt from Musa.

At this point, United were toothless in attack and the tactic of Martial wide left was just not paying off and his pace and skill on the ball would have been better suited through the middle. Martial did manage to deliver a great cross with the outside of his boot, but both Herrera and Rooney got in each others way trying to get on the end of it.

At half-time, United went in trailing to the penalty and if not for De Gea it could have been worse. This was a poor showing by the away side who had around 70% of the possession during the opening 45 minutes, but had absolutely nothing to show for it and would be hoping that the situation could be rectified in the second half.

Van Gaal decided that a change was needed at the start of the second half and brought on Fellaini in place of Schweinsteiger. In the opening ten minutes, it was a similar situation to the first as United had the majority of the ball, but this was the tepid display of the Emirates and not the Goodison Park showing.

There was absolutely no cohesion with the players in attack and it wasn't until the hour mark that the visitors managed an effort on goal when Rooney had a near post effort saved. Lingard then tried his luck, however, his perfectly timed run was wrongly adjudged to be offside.

The second change saw Blind enter the fray when he replaced Rojo and straight after the change United pulled level through Martial. The French striker made amends for giving away the penalty by producing a stunning header inside the penalty area following an excellent cross from Valencia.

Martial showed great character to pull himself up after the error of the first half and it is credit to him that he didn't buckle like many young players would have. The way he judged the flight of the ball to run unmarked into the box was a delight to watch.

Not for the first time this season United looked a different side from the first half and began to push forward for the winner as Memphis became the last substitution when he came on for the hard-working Lingard to see out the last ten minutes of the match.

Fellaini had a late chance to grab all three points following good work from Memphis whose deep inswinging cross was flicked back into the danger area by Martial, unfortunately Fellaini couldn't add the finishing touch that was desperately needed. Fellaini was then needlessly cautioned for giving away a free-kick after a dithering Jones failed to support the Belgian, poor play by Jones who dropped his colleague in trouble.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw which overall United will have to be content with after a terrible first half performance with once again many players under performing none more so than the captain Wayne Rooney, who not for the first time this season has done nothing to prove his doubters wrong. He display seemed lethargic and his passing was nowhere near good enough at this level.

How long will it be before van Gaal bites the bullet and leaves his skipper out. In the second half, Martial once again proved that he deserves the chance to play in the central strikers role.

At the back Jones produced his usual unconvincing display and he doesn't exactly fill his colleagues with confidence and the best fit would be either Blind or Rojo playing alongside Smalling with the other filling in at left back.

With a possible banana skin of a match out of the way United can now head back to England and concentrate fully on the 170th derby against City on Sunday, a match that will not only decide which team will have the bragging rights around the city but will also determine which side gains the upper hand in the league.

Until then.

Thanks for reading.

Miles Dunton.