Wayne Rooney slotted home a late penalty as Man United claimed a 1-0 win over Rangers in the Champions League.
England ace on target as Red Devils triumph
Wayne Rooney slotted home a late penalty as Manchester United claimed a 1-0 win over Rangers in the UEFA Champions League.
Gers needed to win to stand a chance of maintaining their faint hopes of qualifying, but they were very much on the back foot to The Red Devils at Ibrox.
Rooney hit the crossbar with a header in the first half while Kenny Miller could only find Edwin van der Sar from the angle at the other end.
The visitors remained on top during the second half, however, Gers always kept their shape while Allan McGregor proved difficult to beat.
Just when it looked like United might be frustrated Rooney netted following Steven Naismith's high challenge on Fabio in the penalty area.
United are three points clear of Valencia in Group C and would have to lose 2-0 to Los Che in the final group game to surrender first place.
Rangers routinely had seven men within an imaginary five-yard line to the most advanced United forward, which offered their visitors hardly any room.
Chance went begging
On the single occasion United's skill got them through, thanks to intricate passes from Ryan Giggs, Nani and Michael Carrick, the chance went begging when Nani drove his first-time effort over with what looked like a toe-poke.
Rangers did cause their opponents some anxious moments. Miller, who once scored a winner for Wolves against these opponents, was a threat.
But the Scotland star has not scored at this level of the game in 14 attempts and one header went harmlessly wide before a United defence lacking rested duo Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic let Miller shoot from an acute angle rather than offering an opening to square.
It turned out to be the correct decision as Van der Sar made an excellent feet-first block.
As Valencia had virtually wrapped up victory by the break against Bursaspor, Rangers knew they needed to win to survive, which might have led to a more enterprising approach.
United were the ones with the extra class though and Rooney was not that far away from putting them ahead with a 25-yard free-kick.
Decent
Dimitar Berbatov then wasted a decent opportunity, failing to connect properly with a volley that normally would have expected to put McGregor in trouble.
Carrick was next to get a sight of the Rangers goal and he at least tested McGregor with a low shot which the Scotland keeper beat away.
The growing pressure around the home box led to a more enterprising approach from Rangers and Steven Naismith almost profited from some suicidal defending by Jonny Evans, who needed van der Saar to come to his rescue with a brave block.
Impressive in the first meeting, McGregor was an obdurate presence once more and he denied Berbatov's angled drive with a neat save to his right.
Rooney's luckless night continued when he blazed a long-range effort over, then he headed a Giggs' cross wide just after Berbatov had a goalbound shot blocked.
It appeared it was not to be Rooney's night when another opportunity sailed wide but five minutes from the end, Naismith made a rash challenge on Fabio and offered the striker a chance to start repaying United supporters in the only currency they really care about.
| Rangers |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
7 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
9 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
7 |
| 1 |
Corners |
13 |
| 7 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.8 |
Passing Success |
86 |
| 23 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 73.9 |
Tackles Success |
68.4 |
| 36.6 |
Possession |
63.4 |
| 34.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
65.4 |
|
