Quality pays off for United, as they see off brave Reading

In a much changed Manchester United side, with nine total alterations front their away win at Newcastle United in midweek, the hosts struggled to hit the desired tempo at the start. Their passing and movement was slow ,and as such, they hardly troubled the Reading penalty area for the entire opening twenty minutes of the tie. 

To their credit, Reading looked far from a side battling to remain in the second tier of English football, as they took the game to their hosts away from home. Having also recently replaced their manager, the 'Royals' had the best of the early exchanges of the match, holding firm at the back and breaking forward quickly when the opportunity arose. In fact, the visitors enjoyed the lion's share of the possession too, making the most of their opponent's sluggish start.

Unfortunately, it was to be an afternoon of poor quality in the final third, and as such, Reading always seemed to be fighting a losing battle. To tat end, the first clear chance of the afternoon fell to 'Royals' full back Yiadom. The youngster finding space at the back post and getting into a great area to collect a loose ball from the box. Unfortunately, when the chance arrived, the player seemed to get a rush of blood to the head, and blazed over from eight yards out.

After this near miss, the hosts sprang into action, and immediately created a chance of their own. Midfielders Mata and Fred combined well on the outside of the box, to see the former break into the area and slot a fine finish into the far corner of the net. However this moment appeared to spark much controversy; the goal itself was ruled out for offside by the linesman, but having reviewed footage again, the VAR official opted to award a penalty to United.

The official had correctly spotted a foul on Spaniard Juan Mata in the build-up to the offside strike, and thus the hosts had the chance to take the lead. Having been on the receiving end of the foul, Juan Mata stepped up to take responsibility for the spot kick. The Spaniard dispatched the strike with aplomb; sending the visiting keeper the wrong way, to fire low into the opposite corner of the net. 

 

January 5, 2019

In spite of conceding the opener, the visitors seemed further spurred on to achieve the most unlikeliest of victories. They responded with three efforts on goal.

Firstly Loader broke into the box, but took too much time on the ball and was smothered by United stopper Romero. Then, striker Harriott opted to make used of the space afforded to him on the edge of the box by taking aim from distance. Yet his shot whizzed past the far upright of the hosts' net. Then, young Yiadom had another great chance to get onto the score sheet: he broke into the box and drove the ball low at the United goal, but was sadly denied by a great stop from the increasingly busy United keeper.

However, United would respond to this influx of pressure on their box by flexing their world class quality once more. This time, the quick thinking of Alexis Sanchez to nick the ball in midfield, and play in strike partner Lukaku, showed the full extent of the talent in the hosts' ranks. The Chilean picked up the ball on the left wing, and waited for his team mate to make his trademark run behind the opposing defence. A perfectly waited low pass to the feet of Lukaku, saw the Belgian knock the ball around the advancing Jaakkola, and tap the ball into the empty net.

Without having truly hit top gear in the match, United would go into the interval in total control.

 

January 5, 2019

The second half of the encounter was rather tame. Again the much changed United side played well in the middle of the park without truly launching an onslaught on their lower league opposition. In contrast, Reading were making the better chances of the sides, but lacked the same quality in the final third to truly get themselves back into the tie.

A flurry of substitutions from both sides saw the introduction of promising youngster Tahith Chong to Old Trafford for his first team debut. The Dutch wonderkid showed glimpses of his quality, but was unable to truly effect the tie. In truth, the result had largely been confirmed by the interval, as Reading had failed to come from behind to win a match in any competition in over a year, and their inability to finish condemned them to a routined defeat. 

 

January 5, 2019

Overall, the match will not be a memorable one for either set of fans, aside from the club record start set by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. While they did not truly get going, United had far too much quality for their guests, who must take heart from their own performance on Saturday afternoon if they are to avoid relegation to the third tier of English football come the end of the season. So, United stay in the hunt for the famous trophy, the prize their interim boss sees as their most realistic chance of silverware come the end of the season. 

In spite of a minor injury to record signing Alexis Sanchez, United will see the result as a job well done.