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VfL Wolfsburg 1-3 Manchester United: Owen Hits Hat-Trick As United Top Group
Striker sends Red Devils into knockout stages as group winners...
| Bet: | Returns: | Man Utd. £19.00 | Draw £34.00 | Liverpool £40.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Man Utd. £20.00 | Draw £30.00 | Liverpool £43.30 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Man Utd. £19.09 | Draw £35.00 | Liverpool £42.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Man Utd. £19.10 | Draw £34.00 | Liverpool £42.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Man Utd. £19.40 | Draw £35.50 | Liverpool £42.50 |
|
Dec 8, 2009 9:36:45 PM
By Gill Clark
An injury-ravaged Manchester United sealed top spot in Group B after a hat-trick from Michael Owen secured victory against Wolfsburg in Germany.
The English champions arrived in Germany with an injury list reaching into double figures and with Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick all forced into emergency defensive duty.
Against a Bundesliga side featuring the likes of Edin Dzeko, Grafite and Zvjezdan Misimović it was little surprise the Germans dominated a fairly tepid first half at the Volkswagen Arena.
Indeed the home side could have been ahead with only a little over 10 minutes on the clock after Makoto Hasebe was allowed to cruise right through the United defence. A sliding challenge from Michael Carrick ended his progress and looked to take little of the ball but referee Bjorn Kuipers waved the German penalty appeals away.
Five minutes later and Wolfsburg then spurned a glorious opportunity to open the scoring. A corner found Andrea Barzagli completely unmarked in the box yet he conspired to inexplicably head over from a matter of yards.
Within minutes the home side wasted another excellent headed chance. Again the danger came from the right, this time to Misimovic, unmarked at the far post, but again the header was poor and cleared the bar.
The visitors, in contrast, were creating little in the way of chances aside from a neat Danny Welbeck finish that was flagged for offside and with the interval approaching they had their goalkeeper to thank for preserving their clean sheet.
A long range shot from Hasebe looked destined for the top corner until a diving Tomasz Kuszczak managed to tip it over the bar and away to safety. Yet there was to be more frustration for the Germans as with minutes to go before the break the visitors grabbed an unlikely goal.
Paul Scholes was the creator, spraying a gorgeous ball out wide to Nani on the left where the Portuguese delivered a perfect cross for Michael Owen to head down and into the far corner.
With news filtering through elsewhere in the group that CSKA Moscow were beating Besiktas, meaning Wolfsburg needed to win to progress, Armin Veh’s men began the second half in determined fashion and within 10 minutes they had restored parity.
Some great work by Marcel Schafer down the left saw the German play a one-two before sending in a wicked cross for Dzeko to thunder home a header at the near post.
The home side continued to press but had to wait until midway through the second half for their next clear chance. A quick break, after a rare United foray forward, ended with Grafite getting a strong shot on target but he was unable to beat Kuszczak who parried clear.
Dzeko remained the home side’s biggest threat and he tested Kuszczak again with a half volley but with less than 10 minutes to go United did as they had in the first half, and grabbed a goal with a rare attack.
Substitute Gabriel Obertan beat two men down the left flank before sliding a cross to the far post for Owen to tap home his second goal of the evening and restore the visitors’ lead.
The action then switched to the other end with Riether missing a sitter from four yards allowing United to break with pace and with only minutes left Owen ran from the halfway line before dinking the ball over Benaglio to secure his first Champions League hat-trick and scure top spot for the Red Devils.
An injury-ravaged Manchester United sealed top spot in Group B after a hat-trick from Michael Owen secured victory against Wolfsburg in Germany.
The English champions arrived in Germany with an injury list reaching into double figures and with Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick all forced into emergency defensive duty.
Against a Bundesliga side featuring the likes of Edin Dzeko, Grafite and Zvjezdan Misimović it was little surprise the Germans dominated a fairly tepid first half at the Volkswagen Arena.
Indeed the home side could have been ahead with only a little over 10 minutes on the clock after Makoto Hasebe was allowed to cruise right through the United defence. A sliding challenge from Michael Carrick ended his progress and looked to take little of the ball but referee Bjorn Kuipers waved the German penalty appeals away.
Five minutes later and Wolfsburg then spurned a glorious opportunity to open the scoring. A corner found Andrea Barzagli completely unmarked in the box yet he conspired to inexplicably head over from a matter of yards.
Within minutes the home side wasted another excellent headed chance. Again the danger came from the right, this time to Misimovic, unmarked at the far post, but again the header was poor and cleared the bar.
The visitors, in contrast, were creating little in the way of chances aside from a neat Danny Welbeck finish that was flagged for offside and with the interval approaching they had their goalkeeper to thank for preserving their clean sheet.
A long range shot from Hasebe looked destined for the top corner until a diving Tomasz Kuszczak managed to tip it over the bar and away to safety. Yet there was to be more frustration for the Germans as with minutes to go before the break the visitors grabbed an unlikely goal.
Paul Scholes was the creator, spraying a gorgeous ball out wide to Nani on the left where the Portuguese delivered a perfect cross for Michael Owen to head down and into the far corner.
With news filtering through elsewhere in the group that CSKA Moscow were beating Besiktas, meaning Wolfsburg needed to win to progress, Armin Veh’s men began the second half in determined fashion and within 10 minutes they had restored parity.
Some great work by Marcel Schafer down the left saw the German play a one-two before sending in a wicked cross for Dzeko to thunder home a header at the near post.
The home side continued to press but had to wait until midway through the second half for their next clear chance. A quick break, after a rare United foray forward, ended with Grafite getting a strong shot on target but he was unable to beat Kuszczak who parried clear.
Dzeko remained the home side’s biggest threat and he tested Kuszczak again with a half volley but with less than 10 minutes to go United did as they had in the first half, and grabbed a goal with a rare attack.
Substitute Gabriel Obertan beat two men down the left flank before sliding a cross to the far post for Owen to tap home his second goal of the evening and restore the visitors’ lead.
The action then switched to the other end with Riether missing a sitter from four yards allowing United to break with pace and with only minutes left Owen ran from the halfway line before dinking the ball over Benaglio to secure his first Champions League hat-trick and scure top spot for the Red Devils.
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