Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba struck in the closing minutes to hand Manchester a deserved three points against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford.
United dominated the 90 minutes, raining 32 efforts down on the Boro goal but were denied twice by the post, once by a contentious refereeing decision and on multiple occasions by their former outcast goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
When Grant Leadbitter lashed home his first Premier League goal in almost eight years it looked as though a scarcely believable upset was on the cards but Martial and Pogba found the net in quick succession during a frantic last five minutes to seal a 2-1 triumph.
It has not been an easy season for the French forward and a January loan move had even been mooted. But on his recall to the side he seemed to rediscover the vim and verve that sparked such enthusiasm on his arrival at Old Trafford. Created chances for others and provided a genuine goal threat himself, not least when clattering the woodwork from 30 yards. It was fitting that his goal brought United back into it.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ends 2016 with 50 goals in all competitions, placing him second behind Lionel Messi among players from Europe’s top five leagues. While many of those were scored in Paris St Germain’s romp to the Ligue 1 title, few can argue he has been a galvanising force for United. He did not add to his tally against Boro but played his full part in the United comeback
At the start of the season most pundits expected United’s defence to be anchored by the pairing of Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly. But injuries and the recent form of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones have made the duo peripheral figures of late. This was just their sixth Premier League outing together and, while they coasted through the game for long spells, there will doubtless be an inquest into how easily Boro carved open a goalscoring chance for Leadbitter on one of their rare forays forward.
0 comments:
Post a Comment