Manchester United need just one more point to retain their Premier League title after coming from behind to claim a 2-1 win at Wigan.
Hugo Rodallega's opener had the Latics dreaming of a shock scalp, and had the red half of Merseyside thinking their prayers had been answered, but Carlos Tevez made an immediate impact after stepping off the bench in the second half and Michael Carrick snatched a dramatic late winner.
Wigan could have been in front inside two minutes during an open contest, but Antonio Valencia spurned a glorious opportunity after racing away from the United defence.
The Red Devils were proving to be equally as wasteful in front of goal, though, with Wayne Rooney and Carrick failing to test Richard Kingson with two close range efforts inside a minute.
The torrential rain was doing neither side any favours, with conditions under foot proving to be increasingly treacherous.
However, it was the hosts that found their feet first, with Rodallega proving to be a handful up front.
The Colombian forward had already stung Edwin van der Sar's fingertips by the time he lashed Steve Bruce's side in front on 28 minutes.
Nemanja Vidic failed to deal with a looping ball into the United box and as the Serbian centre-half struggled to find his bearings, Rodallega powered a low drive inside the near post.
United became increasingly desperate as the game wore on, and just before the hour-mark Sir Alex Ferguson threw on Tevez to complement a forward line already consisting of Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov.
It proved to be an inspired change as less then two minutes later a hopeful drive from Carrick was flicked goalwards in spectacular style by the bustling Argentine hit-man and nestled in the bottom corner.
Things could have got worse for Wigan, who have never taken a point from United in a Premier League encounter, but a coming together between Ronaldo and Maynor Figueroa on 72 minutes saw referee Rob Styles wave away strong penalty protests.
United were not to be denied, though, and with just four minutes left on the clock Carrick guided a controlled effort from the edge of the box past a stranded Kingson.
Highlight:
Wigan Athletic v Manchester United
0 comments:
Post a Comment