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4 December 2006, by Sean Gillen

Ronaldo-inspired United go six points clear at Premiership summit

Middlesbrough 1-2 Manchester United

Manchester United took advantage of Chelsea’s weekend off to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to six points after a deserved 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday. Darren Fletcher headed home the winning goal after James Morrison had cancelled out Louis Saha’s first half penalty.

Alex Ferguson made several changes from the side that beat Everton in midweek, with the United boss fielding an almost full strength team. Meanwhile, Portuguese defender Abel Xavier made his first home Premiership appearance of the season for Boro.

After a scrappy start, United first came close in the 12th minute. Ryan Giggs’ excellent whipped corner was met by an unmarked Louis Saha, but the Frenchman’s header was cleared off the line by Robert Huth. A minute later and Ronaldo let fly with a ferocious right-footed drive from 25 metres, and Giggs should have done better with the headed rebound.

As the game progressed, United became the dominant side, and some slick play resulted in Ronaldo earning his side a penalty. Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer’s lunge at the feet of the former Sporting man resulted in him losing his balance, and the referee blew for a spot kick. Saha stepped up to coolly slot the ball past the Australian goalkeeper to open the scoring.

Xavier hits bar

The home side almost provided an immediate response, with Xavier coming close to scoring on his return to the Riverside when he headed against the bar. United played some great football during the half, with Scholes and Giggs linking up well to find Ronaldo on the left, but the winger’s fine cross was poorly met by Rooney.

Ronaldo, who was receiving strong abuse from the home crowd after being seen to go down too easily for the penalty, angered fans further after making the most of a George Boateng challenge to earn a free-kick from 30 yards. He almost rubbed salt into the wounds with a thunderous shot, which Schwarzer did well to tip over the bar.

Into the second half and Ronaldo was again proving United’s most dangerous player. The Portuguese cut in from the right before firing a left-footed shot at goal, forcing Schwarzer into a smart save to tip the ball around the post.

United continued to look the sharper side, and Ryan Giggs had missed another good opportunity before Middlesbrough stunned the visitors with an equaliser. Downing’s cross into the box was only half cleared by Heinze, and substitute Morrison connected with a sweet volley at the back post to equalise for his side.

Ronaldo assist

Boro were on level terms for less than two minutes, however, with Ronaldo again playing his part in United re-taking the lead. Giggs fed the Portuguese inside the box and Ronaldo waited for support before laying the ball back to the Welshman, whose well-weighted cross was headed in by Fletcher.

The visitors were comfortable for the remainder of the match, and Ronaldo was withdrawn to contrasting reactions from the two sets of fans. United go into Wednesday’s match with Benfica, without doubt the biggest game of the season so far, in good form and will be desperately seeking to avoid the embarrassment of another early exit from European competition.

Gareth Southgate, Middlesbrough manager:

“Well we know the player involved. Ronaldo made no contact with our keeper. Schwarzer tried his best to get out of the way. We’ve seen it so many times. It’s clearly not a penalty.”

“There is no contact whatsoever. Mark’s tried his best to get out of the way and the player goes down again. You hope some players are going to start performing in the manner they should be and when they have the opportunity to stay on their feet, they don’t try to look for a penalty.”

“That’s cost us badly. The first goal in any game, especially against a side like United, sets the tone for it.”

Alex Ferguson (Manchester United manager):

“I thought it was a clear penalty to be honest with you. He’s tried to evade the challenge and he would have scored, no doubt about it. It was a penalty kick.”

“Today was a very important result for us as it’s not an easy place to come to, as we have experienced in the past. We showed a great resolution today - the lads - and even when Middlesbrough equalised we came straight back at them.”

“We wanted to win and that was the important thing.”

Middlesbrough:
Schwarzer, Huth, Woodgate (Morrison 46), Pogatetz, Xavier (Parnaby 88), Cattermole, Boateng, Downing, Taylor, Yakubu, Christie (Maccarone 72)
Yellow Cards: Christie (31), Cattermole (41)

Man Utd:
Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze, Ronaldo (Brown 86), Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher (O'Shea 75), Rooney, Saha
Yellow Cards: Scholes (9), Vidic (57), Saha (63)

Goals:
[0-1] Saha, 19 (pen)
[1-1] Morrison, 66
[1-2] Fletcher, 68