well this is a special time of year in the european footballing cycle it's where it
all begins again the lifting of the trophy the winners medals that was all back in may a mere
reminder a wreck of the glory that was and what may be to come perhaps for one of these
this must be amongst the favored arenas of supporters
all over the world it really does have a very special feel to it
so it's back bigger and better than ever before
who hope everybody is ready for another ride on the emotional roller coaster well the biggest
show in town just now peter and everyone wants to be a part of it a competition that seems to
throw out the whole gamut of emotions and in keeping with that we've got an atmosphere
with a real sense of enthusiasm here and i'm hoping we get lift off once this game kicks off
that's got things on the way
so jim who would you identify as the key man in this fixture yeah timo verna he's quick and
direct peter loves to play on the shoulder of the last defender and he's always looking to make that
run in behind i think having someone like that up front makes the opposition defenses think twice
about playing such a high line and pushing them deeper can create space of course for midfield so
he can be a real troublemaker yeah i'm inclined to agree levantovsky oh surely
that deserved better it didn't quite come off on this occasion but it only needs a gentle tweak
and it's chillwell
oh well defended that had to be done nice lifting it over last ditch defending but that'll do
verda shoots very speculative with little threat if annie for the keeper
ford it goes this is promising
chelsea are really pouncing on any straight passes in midfield we're
talking seconds from interception to the back of the net it came to attacking heaven
deadlock broken it's one nil surprise surprise he just keeps on delivering and
listen we all expect that
just to point out peter that the fullbacks are quite high and what are they trying to achieve
well it's obviously a move to push the opposition wide men back and give them more to think about
the assistant referee rightly gives him offside
keeper's got good distance on that and back to base
keeper sends it forward thiago silva does well there alert rice uh he acknowledges that he should
have come up with something better there oh that just required a bit more oomph to reach its target
and here's lewandowski out to the left it goes all driven towards the far post shaw tries to clear
verna
what about that jim beckman it's almost criminal to see the defense fail to identify so many
thrives when it comes to shooting stats they knew and yet they didn't need them
things starting to look very comfortable well with
this kind of authority peter why not push on and totally kill this
off dashing forward at pace out to the right gets away from his opponents
it's a great ball chooses to go back and it's chillwell rice
and it's chillwell pogba
maguire maguire drives it forward
rice trying to play it through uh was too timid to make it through the defense
it'll be noted and improved upon i'm sure
mctominay plays it towards the front good idea just poorly executed
he hit half time for the first 45 minutes well it's looking pretty straightforward peter they've
got themselves into a very good position so what it has been a remarkable contest
decorated by goals and two between them at half time oh he's going to be pulled back for that one
chill well chillwell plays it forward oh that is asking for trouble gets the better of his man
well i don't think it was the wisest option peter once he got into that position it's not as if
he didn't have people nearby
the message is clear none shall pass
hoist it forward
that intervention was very necessary
manchester united keeping their men at arm's length here yeah i just think
it's a conservative move to deny runners the opportunity of of going beyond that rear guard
just give away a free kick
i just think it was a cheap bell to give away
shapes for an overhead keeper gets just about enough of it manchester united
are really feeling the strain now impatience has taken charge
great strength too strong for his opponent bruno fernandez
one bisaka
doesn't get the past he's looking for
well looks a foul yep therefore he's given it
yeah lewandowski it's on the end of some really unwanted attention yeah his instinct and the
timing of his runs have proven fruitful but they have to give he's had to go
oh that is rather wayward
we have got changes here from both sides in fact
rice tries to get it forward quickly has he picked him out
and he's there to cut it out how's it go oh it looked like three nil
for sure he'll be fuming with himself for not converting he could have killed it off
one bisaka oh needless to say he was expecting a better ball than that
yeah he's fouled him there well he knows very well that he is already walking a tightrope
he knows what's coming a second yellow and he's off protesting furiously but there's little no
sympathy from the ref well there may be some scope for debate over the seriousness of the offence but
none over its repercussions they'll have to see out the rest of the game with ten men
greenwood group has a hit
there's going to be another change here
with the short one good challenge excellent challenge falls loose who's getting there
oh sweet feet while the crowd clearly like what they just saw some real no nonsense defending
what a ball this has turned out to be goes long that's not going to make it
de gea sends that a long way
rashford needed to come up with a better ball the movement was good but the past lacked
authority a cause of mild frustration
rashford he's got options in the box if he gets his head up
place it back no that's not the ball he wanted bruno fernandez pulisic
added time is up and there goes the whistle that's the way to launch the campaign they can look ahead
with confidence and comfort we look back on the game then jim listen ideally ali newcan