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Two early goals from Cristiano Ronaldo gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Bolton at Old Trafford. Bolton later had goals from El-Hadji Diouf and Stelios Giannakopoulos harshly disallowed, along with a strong penalty appeal turned down as United moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League. Ronaldo set a new Manchester United record with his second, his 33rd goal of the season eclipsing the 32 scored by George Best, the highest tally from a winger. He got his first with just nine minutes on the clock. Abdoulaye Meite's poor control allowed United the chance to break, but Ricardo Gardner put the ball out for a corner just as Carlos Tevez looked likely to score. From the resulting corner, Bolton failed to clear their lines and Ronaldo, who had peeled away from his marker, fired the ball past Ali Al-Habsi and Danny Guthrie who was standing on the line. Chances remained few and far between for the next ten minutes, before Nani shot over the bar following a good run. The visitors almost got themselves and equaliser just a minute later. An excellent passing move ended with Danny Guthrie crossing for Kevin Davies who beat Gerard Pique at the back post, but was superbly denied by stand in goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak. And Bolton were made to pay for that miss moments later. United hit Wanderers on the counter attack, with Meite conceding a free-kick after bringing down Ronaldo. The Portuguese international picked himself up and hit a stunning 30-yard free-kick into the bottom corner, leaving Al-Habsi with absolutely no chance at all. Bolton needed to gamble and try to get themselves a foothold in the game. Gretar Steinsson tried his luck from range but his effort was high and wide. United had chances to make it three, but Tevez curled an effort straight at Al-Habsi, before John O'Shea blasted wide in injury time after Darren Fletcher's effort was blocked. After his two costly mistakes which lead to conceding goals, Meite was replaced by Nicky Hunt at half time. Hunt went to right back, with Steinsson going into the centre of defence alongside Andy O'Brien. The move almost proved costly, as Steinsson conceded a free-kick almost immediately for a foul on Tevez, with the Icelander receiving a bloody nose for his troubles. With Steinsson off the field for treatment, Nani fooled the Wanderers wall with a free-kick, bringing a sensational save out of Al-Habsi down to his left. Steinsson then returned to the field, without a name and number on his back after being forced to change shirt because of his bloodied nose. A similar incident then occured to United defender Nemanja Vidic, who after receiving treatment for a suspected broken nose, was eventually replaced by Wes Brown. With an inexperienced pairing of Brown and Gerard Pique, Bolton had a go at the United rearguard. First Davies had an effort which was straight at Kuszczak, before the visitors had the ball in the net. El-Hadji Diouf's quick free-kick whistled past Kuszczak and into the top corner, but referee Alan Wiley ordered the kick to be retaken and for Diouf to wait for the whistle. From the retaken free-kick, Diouf went for the same corner, but Kuszczak made a simple save, with a bit of exaggeration for the television cameras. He was then forced into action again as he pushed Hunt's 30 yard volley, which seemed to be heading into the top corner, over the crossbar for a corner. Gavin McCann was next to try his luck. His effort was sneeking into the bottom corner, but Kuszczak's fingertip save pushed the ball behind for another Bolton corner. With Bolton statistically the better team at this stage, Sir Alex Ferguson brought on Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney, with Scholes aiding the defence. Ronaldo almost had his hat-trick soon after, but after a good run was denied expertly by Al-Habsi, who continued to impress in the absence of Jussi Jaaskelainen. Then Bolton had the ball in the net again, only to be ruled out for an apparant handball. Davies flicked on a free-kick and Stelios put the ball into the net, only for referee Wiley to chalk it off the board. Television replays proved inconclusive and debate goes on about why the goal was ruled out. Just after that, Wanderers had strong appeals for a penalty, with Tevez sticking out a leg and bringing down Davies inside the area, but no foul was given. Louis Saha had a great chance to seal the victory moments later, but sliced his effort into the stands, with Rooney and Ronaldo both waiting for a pass. Nani also had three chances to finish the game, but hit two efforts wide and also had one saved by Al-Habsi. But after a good second half showing, Bolton ran out of time as Wiley blew for full time. Manchester United now sit three points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, while Bolton remain two points adrift of Sunderland, sitting in the bottom three. |
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