Man Utd 3-2 Arsenal: A meaningful game for the Red Devils

Man Utd Arsenal highlights

Arsenal traveled to Old Trafford for the EPL 14th game. The visitors had once won 1-0 against the Red Devils last season so that they were absolutely confident to gain 3 points in this return. Obviously, the Gunners played not badly with all the better statistics in the game but Manchester United took advantage better and played firmly to win on their home pitch. 

XI line-ups:

• Man Utd: David De Gea, Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Alex Telles, Scott McTominay, Fred, Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes (Van de Beek 90'), Marcus Rashford (Lingard 79'), Cristiano Ronaldo (Martial 88').
• Arsenal: Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel, Nuno Tavares, Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas, Mohamed Elneny, Emile Smith-Rowe (Saka, 70'), Martin Odegaard (Nketiah, 79'), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Lacazette, 79'). 

In the 13th minute, Fred clashed with De Gea, making the Spanish goalie fall down. He then could not hinder Smith Rowe’s shot when his goal was accepted by VAR. After scoring the opening goal, the visiting team tried to protect their advantage. Whereas, Man Utd played pressing repeatedly to find their equalizing goal. 

The Red Devils finished a lot in the first half and their effort was compensated. In the 44th minute, Sancho dribbled skillfully and pass Fred. The Brazilian forward passed it to Bruno Fernandes to hit the ball into Arsenal’s net, equalizing the score. 

In the second half, both teams played attacking, making both goalkeepers have to work continually. This time, it was Man Utd who scored first. In the 52nd minute, Rashford crossed the ball from the right-wing for Ronaldo to complete the second goal for the home team.  

Ronaldo scores twice in the game

However, just 2 minutes later, the visiting team also quickly found their opportunity. Man Utd’s defense was careless and then Martinell had a chance to counterattack immediately. He got the ball from the right-wing before passing it for Odegaard to finish and knock out De Gea. The game was once again back to the starting line with a 2-2 score.      

In the 68th minute, Odegaard fouled Fred on the box, giving Man Utd a lucky penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo was there to complete his double in this game and raise the score to 3-2 for the Red Devils. 

Both teams had some other opportunities to change the score but they were done unsuccessfully. The Gunners could not try to make it into a draw game and then lost their point at Old Trafford.    

After the game, Man Utd had 21 points, standing 7th on the EPL table. Meanwhile, Arsenal got no points and still remained the 5th place with 23 points. 

King of the match

Cristiano Ronaldo was voted the Man of the Match after helping Manchester United to win from behind and defeat Arsenal. He was the main striker of the Red Devils and scored twice. 

Also in this game, he reached the 800th and 801st goals in his career. He became the first player to reach the milestone of 800 goals in official games with 5 goals for Sporting Lisbon, 450 goals for Real Madrid, 101 goals for Juventus, 115 goals for the Portugal national team, and 130 goals for Manchester United. 

Ronaldo scores twice in the game

Michael Carrick leaves Man Utd

Just after the game had finished, Michael Carrick met all the team players to announce his leaving. Later, the official site of the Red Devils also confirmed the information: “Michael Carrick has decided to step down as First Team Coach and leave the club following the conclusion of his spell as caretaker Manager.”

The Football Director of MUFC, John Murtough, thanked Carrick and gave him the best wishes for his exceptional service to the club during 15 years as a player and as a coach. 

Carrick also shared that his time at this great club would always rank as the best years of his career… He would certainly never forget the fantastic memories both as a player and as a member of the coaching team. He added: “However, after a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave the club. I want to place on record, my thanks to all of the players, and a special mention goes to the backroom staff, working long hours with such a great group of people. It has been a real pleasure and I have made some long-lasting friendships.”

He affirmed to always be a Manchester United fan and wish the new interim manager Ralf Rangnick the best. 

Michael Carrick has his last game at MU

Michael played 464 matches for the Red Devils from 2006 to 2018, winning 5 Premier League titles, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Europa League, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.

He joined the First Team coaching staff after retiring his playing career in 2018 and served under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. As an interim manager for MU in 2021, he led the Reds Devils to 2 wins and 1 draw. The squad were really in good form under his coaching tactic. The 3-2 win yesterday against Arsenal was a sweet ending for this legend at Old Trafford. 

Reference Source

• manutd.com
• premierleague.com