and welcome everyone to england's north west the action soon to get underway here at old trafford
my name is derek ray and my commentary partner on this occasion is stuart robson and we've got
premier league action coming right up it is manchester united up against legionite yes
thanks as always derek we've got two good teams here so i'm anticipating a really good game the
atmosphere is electric inside the stadium before kickoff and hopefully we're not disappointed
cristiano ronaldo one of the greatest players of the current era and you'd have to imagine
stuart he's going to have some sort of role to play in this one well derek we know he's
a good all-round finisher but i think his greatest attribute is his head inability
he seems to hang in the air he's got great technique when the ball comes onto his head
and he usually hits the target that's his greatest skill
and here's the lineup for manchester united david de gea between the posts harry maguire
plays alongside rafael varan in central defence paul pogba plays alongside bruno
finance in central midfield and the starting role an attack is handed to cristiano ronaldo
and a look at the league united starting 11. well they're playing in a 4-5-1 formation which
is set up to counter attack at pace yes they'll play with a flat midfield out of possession but
when they win the ball back they'll break forward really quickly let's hope they play it well today
and now they get the ball rolling
seem to switch off for a moment and now we're throwing
harrison a potential danger here
it has gone over the touchline for what what'll be a throw in
maguire
paul pogba he's given it straight to the opposition
pogba
untidy in possession
what can they do from here and the referee felt he had to blow the whistle
and deep into the penalty area well it still could be dangerous
threat over for now it seems
calvin phillips
couldn't keep it
harrison it's opening up for them
well possibilities in the center a really committed challenge
and it's gone out for a throw-in
textbook defending inside the box
scott mctominay
and he read it well
dallas
looking for that final pass
looking for the goal that would put them ahead i just couldn't play that decisive ball
and that is going to be a free kick
there to take it away
bruno finance
beautifully weighted ball and still dangerous danger reverse it for now
bruno fernandez surely still possibilities and there it is an almost intuitive piece of finishing
well when you see this again i think the goalkeeper is very unlucky he makes
a good initial save but the ball comes off of him
rebounds straight to an attacker and the finish is excellent
one nil then
here's raffinia
liam cooper with it harrison well it's one pass after another options in the middle
jack harrison has it and it's with stuart dallas
patrick bamford really getting stuck in
ronaldo a real opening now
and it's in for manchester united they are on a victory course
well here's the goal again and it's a really nice ball to put him through
the vision to set up the chance he's outstanding and his movement's so clever once he gets onto it
there's only one thought in his head smash it as hard as possible what a good goal
so two nail now
jack harrison has it calvin phillips the ball with junior fierpo here
almost at half time and the making home advantage count i think it's fair to say
stuart your thoughts yeah they're playing really well here they've controlled the
flow of the game they've won their individual battles and they've created numerous chances
their only problem in the second half could be complacency but i can't see that happening
and over comes the corner and cleared away
jayden sancho cross fired over
and that will do it for the first half here at the theater of dreams
well we're focusing on cristiano ronaldo for a reason stuart
fair to say he's been at his brilliant best yeah he's certainly carved out plenty of chances he's
tested the keeper on numerous occasions and he got his reward with that goal brilliant
stuff from him the two teams have switched around and are ready now for the second half
harrison
not showing good patience calvin phillips
clich well a really single-minded piece of defending to make sure nothing untoward happened
he made it look simple really scott mctominay and he might be through here
oh a save of the highest order well he got his angles absolutely right what a good save that is
let's see about the delivery well nothing wrong with the header but
it was always going that little bit off target
it did look on for them but not to be
decent position doing well to keep possession
junior fireball and take it away and a chance to whip it in here
now just the tackle that was needed can they hit on the break
and they'll get ready for the throw-in
now they're going to alter things here's the substitution
and into the last 30 minutes now plenty of running room in the wide position
options in the middle calvin phillips the ball with junior fierpo here excellent vision
there it is a goal to reduce the arrears and give them hope that they can turn this round
well as we see it again he was never going to miss that
was he that's a really simple finish in the end
well as they kick off again 2-1 the current state of affairs
sancho now cristiano ronaldo
that was a move of great promise they could easily have been in
harrison a running room in the wide position
it's a neat move and he read it well intercepting it
and space for him to cut in superb defensive judgment to end the attack
well there it is united haven't had as much of the ball but that won't bother him because
when they win it in deep areas they've got forward with pace and with numbers it's
been a great counter-attacking display shot attempted now the keeper grabs it
and into the last 15 minutes of action good looking sequence
rodrigo
now that pass easy on the eye oh wonderful save
well he reacts so quickly there that's a great save
who's going to get on the end of it not quite the clearance they were hoping for
well threat over for now canter attacking very much adoption
pogba oh it might be goalkeeper getting in the way superb say
well having been awarded the corner they'll no doubt look to put the issue beyond all doubts
and now the delivery well not quite the corner he had in mind goalkeeper has it
chance to attack using wit
mctominay putting his body on the line bruno finance and throwing himself up the ball
now they're going to alter things here's the substitution
can someone get on the end of this still alive only fail to get it away properly
i think you've got to conclude that was good refereeing a free kick in the end
after initially playing advantage but it just wasn't there
well just listen to the noise in here these fans are doing everything it's developing nicely for
them here and it's two for him today a masterful performance the defenders unable to stop him
well here it is again and it's a superbly weighted through ball to
break that defensive line and there's certainly no doubt about the finish he
really hits it with power and accuracy nothing the keeper can do about that
well the action continues and no shortage of goals 3-1 as things stand
well the action is going to continue for a while yet we will have four minutes of stoppage time
oh nice ball
oh what's he gone and done pivotal moment defensively
could be a chance to break here
van der beek terrific block
and there it is the full-time whistle a victory for manchester united absolutely derek it was
fairly comfortable in the end because they were tactically superior had better individuals and
were always a threat going forward it was a really good performance and a good result as well
well then the final analysis a spectacular contribution from bruno finance
eye-catching stuff all round and stuart i wonder what you made of his performance
well what more could you ask for his build up play was clever
his movement was dynamic and he scored a couple of goals what a player he is