Manchester United 4 v 1 Bolton Wanderers
Old Trafford, Manchester
31st December 2005
Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo both put the past behind them to finish on a high note at the end of the year.
United's torrid time in January saw them slip behind Chelsea in the league, and lose to AC Milan in the Champions League. They then followed that with scratchy form in both seasons, losing the FA Cup on penalties, and going out of the Champions League in shocking style in November. On top of that, Glazer took over, and FC United was formed, and United failed to land any big-names in the summer.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, had his own personal battles, following the loss of his father, he was accussed and then acquitted of a sex scandal, and his form has been hit badly by his lack of confidence. A good riddance to 2005 then!
United and Cristiano needed this game in order to begin the rebuilding process for next year, 2006, and they got the win they craved emphatically.
Ronaldo was brimming with confidence as he attacked again and again, and was actually given free-kicks when he was fouled, with referees seemingly having taken note of what Sir Alex was saying!
It took just 8 minutes before a Richardson cross was put in the net. Rooney would have had it had Bruno N'Gotty not done so!
Bolton managed to sneak an equaliser before a defensive back-header by Ben Haim (the one that made a meal of a Rooney challenge those years ago!) was met by Saha, who neatly jinked the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net!
Ronaldo was still running at defenders, and was rewarded for being in the right place at the right time when a Rooney ball was flicked into his path for a simple tap in.
Ronaldo proved he was back to his bes in the 90th minute, when he ghosted past two defenders and slid the ball into the back of the net with his left foot having cut in from the right.
Good game, good goals, good luck for the future!
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Richardson, Ronaldo, Fletcher (Pique 86), O'Shea, Giggs, Saha (van Nistelrooy 73), Rooney (Park 79).
Subs Not Used: Howard, Bardsley.
Booked: Richardson, Ronaldo.
Goals: N'Gotty 8 og, Saha 44, Ronaldo 68, 90.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Ben Haim (Vaz Te 45), N'Gotty, Gardner, Giannakopoulos (Fadiga 76), Okocha, Faye, Nolan, Speed, Davies.
