From The Touchlines

THE WINNER: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (second from right) scored the winner in a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, which ensured top spot and five wins out of five in Group H.

Manchester United overcame a shaky start to come out trumps in a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in a UEFA Champions League match on Tuesday night.

Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo ensured United finished Group H on top, with five wins out of five.

United were looking to bounce back after a dismal performance in the defeat at Bolton Wanderers, but Sir Alex Ferguson decided to rest keeper Edwin van der Sar, midfielder Owen Hargreaves and Tevez.

After a series of half chances by both sides, United had the first real chance after 19 minutes when Ronaldo played a nice pass to Louis Saha. But the Frenchman could not repay the favour when he dragged the ball wide.

Three minutes later, United’s second choice keeper Tomasz Kuszczak was left red-faced after an apparent cross by Sporting’s fullback Abel went into the net at near post. Even Abel looked a little apologetic over the freak goal.

Sporting continued to power on following the breakthrough goal, and Liedson would have doubled the tally after 26 minutes, only for the linesman to rule it out for offside.

Three minutes later Sporting were on the prowl again, with centreback Anderson Polga on target after making a nice turn before striking his shot.

On the other end, Rui Patricio was having an unusually quiet time, although he had to be quick to scoop up Ronaldo’s cross before Saha could pounce on it after 36 minutes.

United went into the break with much to think about, but upon restart Tevez and Ryan Giggs were introduced in place of Nani and Darren Fletcher, with the latter only having his first start in so few matches.

Tevez’s presence on the pitch sparked United to life, with the Argentine himself drawing a foul from Marian Had two minutes into the second half after he had brilliantly latched onto a loose ball.

But Sporting came close again after 50 minutes with Liedson pounding on United’s backline, but Kuszczak was quickly out of his line to scoop up the ball.

Patricio was having a relatively easy time still, with Ronaldo failing to connect with Giggs’ freekick on one occasion and driving a shot which was easily saved.

But United’s best chance to level up came in the 57th minute when a lapse of concentration in the Sporting defence gifted Anderson the ball, who in turn passed it to Michael Carrick.

Carrick immediately released Saha, but again the Frenchman disappointed when he dallied with his shot and the Sporting backline recovered well enough to snuff out the danger.

But four minutes later parity was restored, with Tevez having the slightest of touches on the ball as it rolled into the back of the net.

In the build-up, Patrice Evra down the left picked up the cross and placed it onto Saha’s foot who in turn set Ronaldo up for his shot.

The Portuguese would have been flushing red with his weak shot, but a deflection off the right foot of Tevez cancelled out Sporting’s first half goal.

Had, who was marking Tevez, appeared disgruntled as he pleaded half-heartedly for offside, but it would not have been given anyway as another Sporting player further up had played Tevez on.

But almost immediately, Sporting’s Miguel Veloso, a purported transfer target for United, rattled a few United nerves when his fierce left-footed strike a minute later landed on top of the net.

Six minutes later, and for the next 10 minutes, Ronaldo spurned three good chances to settle the score once and for all: a blocked strike, a header that went into the side netting and an attempted chip that went narrowly wide off the far post.

After 79 minutes Saha was replaced with Hargreaves, and almost immediately the former Bayern Munich midfielder nearly scored his first United goal after being released by Anderson, only to see his shot blocked.

A flurry of substitutions by Paulo Bento followed, with Bruno Pereirinha and Pontus Farnerud replacing Marat Izmailov and Milan Purovic respectively.

In between there was a flurry of yellow cards as well, with Ronaldo being booked for a foul on Had and Evra going into Claus Bo Larsen’s book for diving.

Tevez had a good chance to seal the match five minutes from the end after being put through by Carrick, but the Argentine dallied with his shot and it was eventually deflected out for a corner.

Sporting went on the offensive after that, but were almost caught napping as Anderson collected the ball in his own half and began moving quickly down the middle.

The Brazilian then send Ronaldo into the area before the latter was tripped by Polga for a freekick that did not result in anything.

With four minutes added on, United continued to search for the winning goal, and they finally got it through none other than Ronaldo, who converted a freekick that sailed over the wall and past Patricio into the back of the net two minutes into injury time.

Just moments before Liedson, who was kept quiet for most of the match, had fouled Anderson, then the thought occurred to me: I think Ronaldo will slam the ball against the wall again.

Well, I am mighty glad he proved me wrong, and my apologies for my lack of faith. Hehe.

In any case victory was sealed and top spot secured, although Ronaldo still had a final say when he forced Patricio into another save before Larsen blew the final whistle.

Team line-up

ManU: Kuszczak (gk), O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher (Tevez, HT), Anderson, Nani (Giggs, HT), Ronaldo, Saha (Hargreaves, 79′)

SLisbon: Rui Patricio (gk), Abel, Tonel, Polga, Had, Veloso, Moutinho, Romagnoli (Vukcevic, 67′), Izmailov (Pereirinha, 81′), Purovic (Farnerud, 81′), Liedson

SWEET MOVE: Cristiano Ronaldo checks to see his goalbound shot cross the line before reeling off to celebrate, as Brad Friedel looks on helplessly. Manchester United won the tie comfortably 2-0.

Cristiano Ronaldo added another two goals to his tally this season when Manchester United brushed aside 10-men Blackburn Rovers to go top – at least until Arsenal play Reading.

The Portuguese winger is now United’s top scorer in all competitions, which should not come as a surprise, really.

United had begun the match without the injured Wayne Rooney, which meant Louis Saha was handed his first start since February for the home match.

Owen Hargreaves also returned after being left out of the match against Dynamo Kiev, partnering Anderson in the middle of the park.

Carlos Tevez threatened early on in the match with a fine strike that saw Brad Friedel having to push the ball out for a corner.

The tricky Argentine had earlier created space for himself before firing a warning strike – a sign which meant despite the absence of Rooney, United were still going to pack a punch.

On the other end, Blackburn’s Christopher Samba had the best chance for the visitors with a piledriver striking the crossbar before bouncing out to safety.

Samba had, in the previous match, scored a brilliant winner against Reading – also in similar fashion.

David Dunn had seemed to bring down Ronaldo prior to the shot, but referee Chris Foy was unmoved.

Moments later, United were knocking on the door of Blackburn’s goal, with Hargreaves’ freekick deflected over after Ronaldo was felled by skipper Ryan Nelsen.

From the subsequent corner, Ronaldo’s mishit strike was cleared off the line by a certain David Betnley (sic).

Seven minutes after that, Dunn was booked after he appeared to pull back Tevez, who was running clear down the right.

United kept pushing really hard for a goal, and were rewarded after 34 minutes when Ronaldo rose unmarked in the penalty area to head in from Ryan Giggs’ corner.

Bentley, who somehow had his last name misspelled on his jersey, would have rather dealt with that problem then seeing his own headed clearance land in the back of the net while Aaron Mokoena, the nearest player to Ronaldo, would have wished he had done better marking him.

But Blackburn’s troubles were far from over.

Almost immediately, Ronaldo had his second after Blackburn were caught napping following an offensive move.

Brett Emerton’s header from Nemanja Vidic’s clearance unluckily fell into the path of Saha, who immediately released Tevez pouncing down the left.

Having drawn the Blackburn backline to him, Saha and Ronaldo were left unmarked running down in the middle, and the Argentine unselfishedly picked out the latter.

Ronaldo, with the angle against him, coolly tucked the ball into the far corner of the net and reeled off to celebrate.

Sir Alex Ferguson was grinning from ear to ear, while Friedel just looked on disbelievingly.

Bentley had his own first-time strike saved three minutes from the end, but Blackburn will certainly have gone into the break two goals down.

Almost upon restart, Giggs played an ambitious half-volley, which, to the utmost relief of Friedel, landed on top of his net.

After 52 minutes, Blackburn were reduced to 10 men when Dunn pulled a needless tackle on Saha who was already going on the offensive.

The trip evidently caused Dunn to receive his second yellow, and his disgusted look upon leaving the pitch was matched by that of his manager Mark Hughes, who threw something onto the ground before storming away from the pitch.

OFF YOU GO, MATE: Referee Chris Foy flashes the red card against David Dunn (on the ground), as fellow teammate Benedict McCarthy walks dejectedly by.

The hour mark saw United stringing a few good passes between Hargreaves, Anderson, Ronaldo and Tevez; the Portuguese winger then fired a shot which just fizzled over the top.

Six minutes later Saha had his appearance shortlived, with Nani coming on to replace him.

United, despite their comfortable two-goal lead, were on the hunt for more goals, but a down-but-not-out Blackburn were really holding their own against the Red Devils.

After 76 minutes, Giggs showed why he was still a force to be reckoned with when he displayed several eye-catching skills – one of which landed Nelsen with a yellow card.

Moments later it was the end for two former Bayern Munich players – Hargreaves and Roque Santa Cruz – when both were replaced by their respective teams with Michael Carrick and Matt Derbyshire.

Four minutes later, Ronaldo was denied his first hat-trick for United after Friedel did well to block his shot. Anderson had earlier dallied with his pass.

The American keeper still had his work cut out for him when he pushed away Rio Ferdinand’s strike after 83 minutes.

A series of half chances followed, before Nani had the final say of the match with a fine drive that was just held by Friedel.

Ferguson, during the post-match interview, was elated with the result, describing it as “a professional performance”.

“We could have scored a couple more goals, but I’m happy with the result,” said Ferguson, who described the side as the best he has ever managed in his illustrious 21-year career.

With the international break coming up, Ferguson can only hope his upstarts will return unscathed from their respective assignments. But for now, with the way United are playing, he has every reason to smile.

Team line-up

ManU: van der Sar (gk), Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves (Carrick, 76′), Anderson, Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez, Saha (Nani, 67′)

BR: Friedel (gk), Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Dunn, Mokoena, Pedersen, McCarthy, Bentley, Santa Cruz (Derbyshire, 78′)

SHEER ECSTASY: Manchester United’s Gerard Pique celebrates after scoring his first UEFA Champions League goal and United’s first goal in a 4-0 romp over Dynamo Kiev.

Manchester United secured a relatively easy win over Dynamo Kiev in their Group H UEFA Champions League encounter, blasting four goals to the delight of the Old Trafford crowd.

Gerard Pique, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo all had a giant share of the cake in the win, which was, if anything, the best anniversary gift for manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who celebrated 21 years at United.

Dynamo are now virtually out of contention for a place in the knockout stage, although the UEFA Cup spot is still up for grabs.

United began with a very much changed side as well, giving youngsters Pique and Danny Simpson their first starts, while Owen Hargreaves and Ryan Giggs were left out.

Oleg Luzhny, meanwhile, made six changes from the side that lost in the previous encounter in Kiev, with Maksim Shatskikh, Diogo Rincon and Ismael Bangoura mere spectators for much of the match.

The first 20 minutes of the match was tepid, with United in control but only occasionally threatening Dynamo’s backline.

The match was eventually brought to life when Rooney made a crunching tackle on Artem Milevskyy. The former was booked by referee Jan W. Wegereff.

Oleksandr Shovkovskiy was at full stretch after 23 minutes to clear Michael Carrick’s header from Nani’s corner.

Darren Fletcher’s first-time shot five minutes later was just held by Shovkovskiy, who knew he was in for a busy night. And he was right when he picked the ball out of his own net moments later.

Pique opened the floodgates after 31 minutes with a nice cushioned header, after Ronaldo’s freekick had taken two touches from Michael Carrick and Tevez before the Spaniard scored his first Champions League goal.

After 35 minutes, centreback Nemanja Vidic nearly doubled the tally for the night, but his header went narrowly wide. But two minutes later, they were not to be denied.

With United holding most of the ball, they put it to good use six minutes later with a beautiful strike by Tevez after a nice-interplay with strike partner Rooney.

Dynamo’s Brazilian midfielder Carlos Correa had earlier lost the ball in midfield to Tevez, and a driving run by Tevez ensured United went into the break two goals to the good.

On both goal-scoring occasions, Dynamo had centreback Pape Diakhate and Correa himself booked by Wegereff for dissent.

After the break, van der Sar was replaced by Polish keeper Tomasz Kuszczak, who had in the previous encounter played in the latter part of the match.

Dynamo, on the other hand, made positive changes when Sergei Rebrov and Rincon came on in place of Ruslan Rotan and Oleg Gusev respectively. And that sparked Dynamo to life.

Luzhny’s men begin to play with more purpose in the second half, with Rincon testing Kuszczak with a steaming shot, but the Pole stood his ground and palmed the ball away.

On the other end, Shovkovskiy was spot on when he punched away Nani’s strike.

Tevez then had a gilt-edged chance of making it three for the night, but after fine work by Ronaldo in picking out Rooney, who in turn passed the ball to the Argentine, the latter took too long to pull the trigger and Dynamo defender Badr El-Kaddouri was on to him in a flash.

After 59 minutes, Rincon missed another chance to pull a goal back for his club after failing to connect with a deep pass by fullback Marjan Markovic. Rincon only needed the slightest touch.

Five minutes later, the Dynamo box was a real mad house. Patrice Evra started the mayhem with a skillful run into the box and pulling the ball back for Tevez. The Argentine, on the turn, fired a shot that was pushed away by Shovkovskiy.

The Dynamo keeper then had to deal with Simpson’s shot after Ronaldo had collected the rebound and pulled it wide for the fullback.

United were really soaring in their momentum, and Ferguson took the opportunity to take off Tevez and put Louis Saha on, while later, Pique was replaced, to a thunderous applause, by youngster Jonny Evans.

In between, substitute Kuszczak produced a fine one-handed save to deny Tiberiu Ghioane.

That save proved crucial as United went 3-0 up 15 minutes from time, when Rooney connected brilliantly with Nani’s cross from the right, and struck a scorching shot with his right foot.

Luzhny subsequently made a switch by bringing on Bangoura for Milevskyy, who was really suffering alone upfront.

But United were still in the mood for more, and would have added no. 4 if not for Nani who dallied with his shot after Rooney had done well in singling him out in the box. His second try went wide.

Ronaldo was also guilty of missing a good chance three minutes later, when he dragged the ball wide after receiving a cross from Saha.

Rooney then had his strike saved, after Nani had made a fine run and played the pass to him.

At the end, it was Ronaldo who had the last laugh, in spite of an indifferent performance on the pitch in which he was kept quiet most of the time.

The Portuguese winger, with two minutes on the clock remaining, created space for himself after receiving the pass from Evra, subsequently cutting in and firing his shot beyond Shovkovskiy.

As with the first half, the Dutch referee did not see the need to add stoppage, and the final whistle could not have come sooner for a hapless Dynamo side who face Sporting Lisbon next.

For United, 12 points from four games means a spot in the knockout is secured, but perhaps the only thing Ferguson is thinking of right now is his side’s trigger-happy attitude after a slow start to the season.

Team line-up

ManU: van der Sar (gk) (Kuszczak, HT), Simpson, Pique (Evans, 72′), Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Fletcher, Nani, Ronaldo, Tevez (Saha, 67′), Rooney

DK: Shovkovskiy (gk), Markovic, Diakhate, Fedorov, El-Kaddouri, Vashchuk, Ghioane, Rotan (Rebrov, HT), Correa, Gusev (Rincon, HT), Milevskyy (Bangoura, 80′)

Arsenal’s William Gallas broke the hearts of Manchester United when he scored a goal deep in injury time to ensure a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to have sealed the win for United eight minutes from time after Francesc Fabregas had levelled in response to Wayne Rooney’s late first half goal.

Both teams remain level on points at the top, with Arsenal ahead by virtue of more goals scored.

Arsenal had the lion’s share of possession for long periods in a tenacious first half, although United had looked the likelier to score through Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Rooney.

Fifteen minutes into the encounter, Arsenal had strong penalty claims turned down by referee Howard Webb after United centreback Nemanja Vidic appeared to have tugged at Alexander Hleb’s shirt.

Gallas, though, had the best chance to put the Gunners in the lead when his header from Fabregas’ freekick after 35 minutes was blocked by van der Sar’s legs.

Gallas then turned in a goal in his own half a minute into injury time after Ronaldo and Wes Brown had combined well to set Rooney up at the near post, with the latter getting some help from the French centreback with his strike.

But almost immediately after the break, Fabregas brought the Emirates back to life with a nicely taken goal, which came after van der Sar had brilliantly blocked Emmanuel Adebayor’s strike.

Arsenal continued to hold onto the ball, but United were threatening particularly through Rooney, with Tevez kept unusually quiet throughout the match.

With both sides unable to make any headway, a flurry of substitutions 20 minutes from time followed, with United bringing on John O’Shea for Wes Brown.

Subsequently Theo Walcott was introduced in place of Emmanuel Eboue, while United made a double switch by bringing on Louis Saha and Michael Carrick for Tevez and Anderson respectively.

Walcott after 78 minutes brought out a fine save from van der Sar with an attempted cross, but five minutes later, a moment of magic from Saha and Patrice Evra created a big chance for Ronaldo.

Saha, with his back to the goal on the left, released a bursting Evra, who played in a square pass that was easily tapped in by the Portuguese winger, who had a relatively quiet match in his own standards.

United seemed to be heading for victory and Arsenal’s unbeaten record looked to be broken – only for an unmarked Gallas appeared out of nowhere to put in a shot which crossed the line before United’s defence could clear.

The goal deep in injury time preserved Arsenal’s unblemished start to the season, but while they remain at the top, United are still hot on their heels with a good portion of the season to go.