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  • Date:2009-01-17
  • Kick-off:15:00
  • Venue:Reebok Stadium
  • Attendance:26021
  • Referee:Marriner, A

Live Commentary

90mins

Full-Time: BOLTON 0-1 MANCHESTER UNITED.

90mins

United happy to just keep possesion as time runs out for Bolton in this one.

90mins

BOLTON 0-1 MAN UTD: BERBATOV heads unmarked into the Bolton goal to surely seal the points for United at the Reebok. Such a cruel blow for Bolton who were defending so well.

88mins

Ronaldo hits an effort from range but Jaaskelainen gathers easily.

87mins

United in possesion in central midfield but Bolton are so tight to them they can't do anything with it.

86mins

Bolton could have nicked it there, Muamba blasted the ball across goal and Davies dives at it but his headed shot goes over the bar.

84mins

Still all United but time is running out now.

82mins

Sebastien Puygrenier replaces Ricardo Gardner, looks like Bolton will go five at the back with this substitution.

81mins

United free kick in a dangerous position, Ronaldo takes and it gets through the wall but Jaaskelainen again makes a good save for Bolton.

80mins

Tevez meets a cross with a glancing header but it's right at Jaaskelainen who makes a goos stop.

80mins

Tevez wins a corner for United which Giggs takes but Basham clears for Bolton.

79mins

Cross into the box from John O'Shea but O'Brien clears for Bolton, all the pressure is coming from United who are going all out for the win but Bolton are coping well.

75mins

United still can't get through this Bolton defence, United have just had a corner which resulted in Scholes taking a shot from distance but O'Brien charged it down for Bolton.

73mins

Manchester United's John O'Shea booked for a foul on Kevin Davies.

73mins

United corner, Giggs takes but Gardner clears for Bolton and United have a throw.

71mins

All United at the moment, Bolton doing well to keep them out but I don't know if they can keep this up for 20 minutes.

68mins

Darren Fletcher and Anderson replaced by Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs respectively.

66mins

Good challenge from Cahill to halt the United attack, they're looking good now United and a goal could be on the cards.

64mins

Temitope Obadeyi replaces Ariza Makukula for Bolton.

61mins

Ronaldo hits a free kick from 35 yards but Jaaskelainen makes a good save to clear the danger.

58mins

Carrick goes for Ronaldo's cross with his foot when he should have gone for the diving header.

57mins

United break quickly but Ronaldo is caught offside, not sure he was and that was a bit of a let off for Bolton.

56mins

Great chance for Bolton, Samuel crossed towards Davies at the back post but his headed shot goes just over and lands on the roof of the net.

54mins

United corner but it goes out for a Bolton goal kick, earlier Gardner could have unleashed Makukula but he got his pass horribly wrong.

50mins

United win a free kick deep in their own half after Makukula is judged to have fouled Carrick.

48mins

Steinsson sends a wicked cross towards Taylor but he ust can't get his head on it.

47mins

John O'Shea sends a cross into the Bolton box but Bolton clear.

45mins

The second half is underway at the Reebok, hopefully this game will liven up a bit in the next 45 minutes.

45mins

HALF-TIME: BOLTON 0-0 MAN UTD. It's honours even at the Reebok Stadium after a goalless first half

44mins

Anderson takes a long range shot but Jaaskelainen saves fairly comfortably, nice effort from Anderson though.

42mins

Anderson takes the corner quickly but Cahill takes it away for Bolton.

41mins

Berbatov wins a free kick on the edge of the D of the Bolton penalty area, Ronaldo takes but Jaaskelainen makes a great save after it curled round the wall, United corner.

39mins

Very poor cross from Anderson, it just floats over the Bolton crossbar.

38mins

Good defending from O'Brien and he sends a long ball towards Makukula but he is judged to foul Vidic, not sure about that myself.

37mins

United free kick just outside the Bolton area, he lays it off to Fletcher and the ball eventually comes to Berbatov but Cahill clears for Bolton.

36mins

Steinsson's cross is met by Makukula but his headed shot is weak and Van der Sar saves comfortably.

34mins

Nice ball into the area from O'Shea, the ball goes across to Gary Nevillie who puts it on to Ronaldo's head and Jaaskelainen makes a great save. First real attempt from United there.

32mins

Another throw into the penalty area from Steinsson, the ball is eventually cut out by Vidic for United.

31mins

This is a very scrappy game, Bolton doing well to keep United out but not a lot going on. Davies has just seen an effort go about three yards wide.

27mins

Muamba runs from deep and has a shot from 30-yards out forceing Van der Sar to make a fantastic save, Bolton win a corner but it's cleared.

24mins

Bit random! Things have stopped because a United supporter has got on the pitch, the stewards have got him but he seems to be fighting them... lifetime ban for him methinks!

23mins

Steinsson launches a long throw into the United penalty area but referee Andre Mariner blows for a foul.

21mins

Tevez shoots from 20 yards but it is way off target.

21mins

Ariza Makukula is shown a yellow card on his debut for a foul on Vidic.

20mins

Ronaldo has a shot from all of 35 yards but it goes way over the Bolton goal, uncharacteristic waste of possesion from Ronaldo.

19mins

Nice burst of pace from Gardner but the ball goes out for a United goal kick, Gardner is furious and I think that should have been a Bolton corner.

18mins

Steinsson takes a long throw in for Bolton, it comes to nothing but Makukula was making a bit of a nuisance of himself and he could be a handful.

16mins

All United but they just can't seem to do anything against this Bolton defence. Davies has just worked a bit of space on the edge of the United box but he took too long and Evans managed to clear.

14mins

Berbatov flicks the ball to Tevez who takes his shot on the volley but it's way too high and clears Jaaskelainen's goal by a good distance.

13mins

Debutant Chris Basham is showing why Gary Megson's had faith in him, he's just taken the ball off Ronaldo and then Berbatov to clear the danger.

10mins

United starting to take control of things now. They've had a lof of possesion but without managing to do much with it just yet.

7mins

Another corner, Steinsson takes the ball off Berbatov and clears for a United corner. Fletcher takes but Jaaskelainen catches easily.

6mins

United corner after the ball comes off Steinsson, Fletcher takes it quickly then swings it in but Davies clears for Bolton.

5mins

Carlos Tevez has the first attempt of the game but it's well wide of the Bolton goal.

4mins

Fairly scrappy opening to this game, which will suit Bolton more. United just don't seem to be getting much time on the ball in these early stages.

3mins

Bolton free kick just inside the United half, Andy O'Brien sends it long but it goes out for a goal kick. Van der Sar gets his first touch of the ball in the United goal.

0mins

The game is underway at the Reebok Stadium, If United win they go top of the Premier League for the first time this season. A win for Bolton would see them move further from the bottom three.

0mins

Sir Alex has named what is probably his strongest fit Manchester United side, he'll want too avoid a defeat at the Reebok after they slipped up here last season.

0mins

Some interesting things going on in the Bolton starting XI. New boy Makukula is making his debut after signing from Benfica and 21-year-old Chris Basham starts after making his debut at Arsenal last week.

0mins

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson, Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov SUBS: Kuszczak, Giggs, Park, Nani, Scholes, Welbeck, Chester

0mins

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, A O'Brien, Samuel, Davies, Basham, Muamba, Gardner, Taylor, Makukula SUBS: Bogden, Smolarek, Riga, Puygrenier, Shittu, Sinclair, Obadeyi

Match Preview

Manchester United aim to put more pressure on league leaders Liverpool this weekend by beating struggling Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side closed the gap on Liverpool to two points by beating Wigan Athletic on Wednesday and still have a game in hand - against Fulham - on their rivals.

However, Gary Megson's side have an admirable record against the giants from Old Trafford, winning 42 of the 114 encounters between the two clubs.

The sequence includes 24 draws, with the Red Devils winning just six more of the clashes between the two clubs than Saturday's opponents.

The Trotters have an extensive injury list going into Saturday's game, although Megson hopes to be able to welcome back Gary Cahill and Joey O'Brien from back and thigh injuries respectively, while Tamir Cohen could also return.

However, Nicky Hunt (thigh), Gavin McCann (ankle), and Ricardo Vaz Te (knee) remain in the Reebok Stadium treatment room.

Kevin Nolan is suspended after accumulating ten yellow cards already this season but Megson could give a debut to loan signing Sebastien Puygrenier, who has arrived from Zenit St Petersburg for the rest of the season.

Since beating Portsmouth just before Christmas, Bolton have lost to Liverpool, Wigan Athletic and Arsenal in the league as well as being dumped out of the FA Cup by Sunderland, to slip to within three points of the drop-zone.

United again look set to be without Rio Ferdinand as the former Leeds and West Ham defender is struggling to recover from the back problem which has troubled him since Boxing Day.

Elsewhere, long-term absentees Owen Hargreaves (knee), Wes Brown (ankle) Ben Foster (knee) are unavailable for last season's champions, while Patrice Evra has been ruled out for three weeks with the foot injury he sustained in Sunday's impressive 3-0 win against Chelsea.

Wayne Rooney will not play for at least three weeks after limping off against Wigan with a hamstring injury picked up just after scoring the first-minute opener.

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Match Report

Dimitar Berbatov's dramatic last-minute header helped Manchester United overtake Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.

Trailing Rafa Benitez's side by two points before kick-off, the champions looked like they had missed an excellent opportunity to hit the summit against a resilient Bolton at the Reebok.

But the Bulgaria striker stooped to head home Carlos Tevez's perfect cross in the final minute to move Sir Alex Ferguson's team a point clear of their closest rivals.

The victory also saw United equal Chelsea's top-flight record of ten consecutive clean sheets.

After three successive Premier League defeats, Bolton were hoping for a repeat of last season's success at the Reebok when Gary Megson's side triumphed 1-0 - their first home success over their neighbours in nearly 30 years.

But the omens were not good for Wanderers, who have lost seven out of their last eight encounters with the champions and had not scored a goal against anyone since defeating Portsmouth on December 20.

United, without the injured Wayne Rooney after the striker pulled his hamstring in the midweek victory against Wigan, had the opportunity to pile the pressure on Liverpool ahead of their game with Everton on Monday night.

But despite dominating the early exchanges, it was Bolton who nearly broke the deadlock when Fabrice Muamba's 25-yard piledriver forced a finger-tip save from Edwin Van der Sar on 28 minutes.

Kevin Davies then saw his ambitious volley fly wide as Wanderers' confidence visibly grew.

United continued to struggle to create clear-cut chances but Cristiano Ronaldo, the newly-crowned FIFA World Footballer of the Year, finally forced Jussi Jaakelainen into action with a downward header from Darren Fletcher's cross.

The Wanderers goalkeeper then made an even better save from Ronaldo three minutes before half-time when he dived low to his left to turn aside the Portuguese star's free-kick.

Davies went even closer when he headed Jloyd Samuel's cross inches after the break over, before Jaaskelainen again denied Ronaldo when he kept out the winger's thunderous free-kick.

Ferguson threw on the experienced Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs as United searched for a goal, but apart from another Ronaldo free-kick well saved by Jaaskelainen, they could find no way through until Berbatov's vital late contribution.

Bolton Wanderers

Manchester United

Corners

18

Fouls

85

Goal attempts

616

Shots off target

43

Offsides

24

Digital Sports Group

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