The Red Devils rallied late on to come back from a goal down in
Portugal to confirm their place in the knockout stages of the Champions
League with four straight group stage wins
Manchester United came from a goal down in Portugal to beat Braga 2-1 and secure their progress into the knockout round of the Champions League.
Braga dominated the first hour of the game
and were ahead early in the second when Alan converted a penalty for the
hosts. But United came out hungry after a power cut, and turned the
match around in the final ten minutes thanks to goals from Robin van
Persie, a spot kick from Wayne Rooney and a late strike from Javier
Hernandez.
Chris Smalling made his first appearance of the season
as United made six changes from the weekend win over Arsenal. Van
Persie dropped to the bench, with Sir Alex opting for the front pairing
of Danny Welbeck and Hernandez, while Antonio Valencia played as a make
shift right-back. Braga coach Jose Peseiro selected the same side which
lost the return fixture at Old Trafford.
The hosts had the first
sight on goal in the fifth minute when Eder flashed a shot across David
De Gea from a wide angle after Johnny Evans' accidently allowed the
Braga forward through.
United managed to settle into the match following the
early scare, but it was Braga who again came closest to scoring. Ruben
Michel was invited to shoot by United's retreating defence but the
midfielder could only curl his shot a yard wide of the top corner.
Michel
continued to find space in United's half and Braga almost reaped the
rewards when Eder's low diving header, from Michel's cross, hit the post
with De Gea beaten.
The hosts began the second period how they
ended the first and were awarded a penalty only three minutes after the
restart when Evans blocked off Custodio's run into the box. Alan stepped up and emphatically converted to the penalty to give Braga a deserved lead.
A
power cut in the 57th minute delayed the game for ten minutes, both
sets of bemused players left the field of play while officials worked on
the stadium's floodlights.
Rio Ferdinand replaced Evans when the
game resumed, with Van Persie also coming on for Welbeck shortly after,
as United pressed for an equaliser. Braga began to sit deep in their
half after going ahead but continued to pose a threat on the break.
Sir
Alex Ferguson's men began to show signs of life as the match edged into
its final ten minutes and brought the scores level in the 79th minute,
thanks mainly to some poor goalkeeping from Beto. The Braga stopper
misjudged a pass into Van Persie and needlessly came rushing off his line to allow the Dutchman a relatively easy finish from the edge of the box.
Moments
later the turn around was complete when United were eventually awarded a
penalty after Rooney was brought down in the area. Rooney took the spot kick himself and dispatched it with ease to secure United's perfect record in the competition this season.
Hernandez added a late third for the visitors in injury time with a close range finish after a succession of errors in the Braga defence.
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