Manchester United 4 Middlesbrough 1
AN improved performance from Boro counted for nothing on a day history was made at Old Trafford as United swept to the top of the table with their eighth straight win. GORDON COX reports.
It was the first time Boro had lost four in a row in the Premier League for 200 games and the first time Manchester United has scored four in each of four successive matches for 100 years.
Gareth Southgate made three changes from the side that lost to Chelsea as Jeremie Aliadiere returned from a six-week break, while David Wheater and Lee Cattermole were restored to the starting line-up, as Chris Riggott and George Boateng made way and Mido missed out with a groin injury.
Sir Alex Ferguson made two changes from the line-up that won in Kiev on Tuesday as Nani and Owen Hargreaves returned to replace Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher.
It took just three minutes for United to take the lead as Boro conceded another contender for Goal of the Month after an evenly contested opening. Nani shrugged off a challenge out on the Boro right, cut inside, made space, looked up and curled an unstoppable curling shot beyond the reach of Mark Schwarzer.
As Carlos Tevez cut through the middle he looked certain to be left with a shot on goal but outstanding defending from Wheater guided the ball back to Schwarzer.
In a pulsating opening, Boro drew level with six minutes played.
Tuncay twisted and turned on the left-hand edge of the United penalty area and delivered a perfect left-footed cross for Jeremie Aliadiere, who rose unchallenged to head home near the edge of the six-yard box.
Boro's supporters went wild and for a few minutes they were the ones you could hear in a 70,000-plus crowd, who brought a new song to Old Trafford today, "We support our local team". This brought little or no response from the United support, whose team were clearly knocked off balance by conceding for the first time at home in the Barclays Premier League this season.
Danger returned when Wes Brown was brought down on the left-hand edge of the Boro box but Wayne Rooney curled a low shot straight into the wall.
Play swung to the other end and Nemanja Vidic was pulled out of position by a strong run from Aliadiere and after effecting a decent tackle ran the ball out of play.
Wheater's return was proving fully justified as he produced an excellent tackle midway inside the United half to prevent a quick break just before Aliadiere, on the left this time, won a free-kick as he was sent tumbling over by Brown.
Boro were not at Old Trafford to make up the numbers and their approach in taking the game to their hosts was having an unnerving effect.
Just past the mid-point of the first half the visitors created a chance which would have put them in front had Stewart Downing's header from a fine Tuncay cross not gone inches past Edwin van der Sar's left-hand post.
But switch off against the champions for one second and it can be lethal.
Short before the half-hour mark, Cristiano Ronaldo burst into Boro's box past all would be challengers, but a low shot whistled across the face of goal and narrowly wide of Schwarzer's left-hand post.
The next time they pressed it counted.
With 32 minutes played Downing attempted to clear from the left-hand side of the Boro penalty area, not with great success, but was given a second chance as the ball came back to him. Clever footwork took him clear of two rapidly advancing United challengers, but be he slipped, Wayne Rooney pounced and slammed home powerfully from 14 yards - a gift.
A few minutes later Ronaldo shot low from deep inside the Boro box but straight at Schwarzer. Were United about to cut loose?
The answer was no. The Middlesbrough side today showed spirit a plenty and Wheater only just failed to make proper contact with a header when under pressure seven yards from the United goal.
Entering injury-time United broke quickly, Rooney had options right and left as he crossed the halfway line. He chose Carlos Tevez to his right, but Schwarzer was quickly out of his penalty area to tackle and was back on his line to gather as a right-wing cross hit Ronaldo and rolled towards goal.
Half-time: Manchester United 2 Middlesbrough 1
The opening attack in the first minute of the second half brought a chance for Rooney but from an angled seven eight yards he fired well over.
Boro hit back to win a corner and a good Downing delivery needed the full attention of Rio Ferdinand to clear.
A neat passage of play saw the ball end up at the feet of Nani but his shot on the turn was always going over.
There was concern as Aliadiere appeared to pull up sharply but he managed to move with relative freedom for the next few minutes, during which Cattermole brought a fine save one-handed save from Van der Sar with a superbly struck 30-yard drive.
But it was intricacy rather than power which brought the game's next goal on 55 minutes as Rooney, with a backheel inside the penalty area, cleverly set up Carlos Tevez, who made it look easy as he sidefooted pastSchwarzer from 11 yards.
Before the game restarted Aliadiere was replaced by Ben Hutchinson.
The 19-year-old was presented with a half chance soon after his introduction but under pressure he couldn't make proper contact.
United then began to suck the life out of Boro with possession football largely in their opponents' half, although Southgate's side were in no mood to give up.
Sir Alex made three changes in 12 minutes as he tried to add extra spark to his side, who looked at this stage to be playing comfortably with the ball.
Darren Fletcher, Gerard Pique and Ryan Giggs were sent on but Boro still stuck to their game plan and came within a whisker of reducing the arrears when Downing curled a 25-yard free-kick inches wide with eight minutes remaining.
But United created history with five minutes to go as Rooney burst forward from midway inside his own half and fed Carlos Tevez deep inside the Boro penalty area. His low shot struck the arm of Andrew Taylor as he attempted to block. The ball could have gone anywhere but bounced up then over the goal line as United scored four goals in four successive games for the first time in 100 years.
Manchester United: Van der Sar (Capt from 73); Brown, Ferdinand (Capt), (Pique 73), Vidic, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Anderson (Giggs 78), Hargreaves (Fletcher 66), Nani, Rooney, Tevez. Unused subs: Kuszczak (gk); Simpson.
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer; Young, Woodgate (Capt), Wheater, Taylor, O'Neil, Cattermole (Boateng 90+2), Rochemback, Downing, Aliadiere (Hutchinson, 55), Tuncay (Lee 80). Unused subs: Turnbull (gk); Hines.
Referee Alan Wiley, Burntwood, Staffordshire.
Bookings
Manchester United: None
Boro: Cattermole, 74, foul
Attendance: 75,720
Conditions: Muggy and overcast, occasional drizzle
Website Boro Man of the Match: David Wheater
