 Manchester United and SL Benfica on level terms after a European battle in Portugal... Match Report - SL Benfica 1-1 Manchester United Competition: Champions League Kick-Off & Date: 7:45pm, Wednesday, 14th September 2011 Venue: Estadio Da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal (Away) Attendance: 63,822 Manchester United dropped points for the first time this season, but on account of the average performance it was a cherished away point against SL Benfica at the 'Stadium Of Light', Portugal. Ryan Giggs scored a stunning leveller on the stroke of half time to cancel-out Oscar Cardozo's decent opener for the home side. The Reds couldn't go on to win the Champions League Group B fixture, but will consider it a good run out ahead of a busy schedule... Anders Lindegaard got the nod ahead of David De Gea between the sticks, with Fabio Da Silva and Patrice Evra (captained) filling in on the right and left. Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans took their positions in the heart of the defence, as Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick did likewise in midfield. Up-front was Wayne Rooney, alone, with Ryan Giggs playing behind the striker and Ji-Sung Park and Antonio Valencia patrolling the wings. Benfica, of Lisbon, started off the brightest by testing Lindegaard on a number of occasions, with United looking rusty in all areas. The Reds gradually got a foothold in the game, but it was nothing near recent performances in the Premier League, and being honest the travelling supporters expected more than what was on show. And on 24 minutes Nicolas Gaitan exposed the away side by playing in Oscar Cardozo over the top, who controlled the ball and scored.  Oscar Cardozo fires past Anders Lindegaard on 24 minutes to give Benfica a deserved lead The goal inside 24 minutes came from some slack marking in midfield and more importantly defence, as Benfica were loosely allowed to play the ball in United's half. However, the Portuguese side were never going to get past our defence too easily, and it required an elegant touch from Paraguayan striker Cardozo to edge his side in front. Gaitan - who United previously scouted - had a couple of efforts himself, but Lindegaard remained an imposing figure. Some of Sir Alex Ferguson's men were obviously not match-fit, but Lindegaard, Fabio, Park, Giggs, Fletcher, Carrick and Valencia still played to the best of their ability on the night. United had a few chances when Valencia crossed into the box, but goalkeeper Artur Moraes was well able to deal with whatever little came his way. Pablo Aimar was then lucky to stay on the field, after two very poor tackles which referee Damir Skomina punished only once. Then, as United went on the attack, a moment of magic from Ryan Giggs turned the game of its head. Valencia played a sweet ball to Giggsy - in a lot of room - who unleashed a splendid shot into the top right-hand corner of the goals to equalise for the Premier League Champions. At 37, Ryan is still going as strong as ever, scoring his 29th European goal on his 141st Champions League tie for the club. United went into the dressing room with their tails up.  Ryan Giggs scores a marvellous goal on 42 minutes to level the match Giggs' goal on 42 minutes put a positive aspect on the second half, but Sport Lisboa E. Benfica weren't in the habit of losing on front of their home fans. But United should have been a goal to the good when Valencia dispossessed the Benfica backline and crossed into the square, with Giggs and Rooney only yards away from getting their boots on the end of it. Fletcher had a shout, before Lindegaard made another solid stop from substitute 'Nolito'. The Welsh veteran then put some fancy footwork on show when encroaching on the opposition box, and after beating three players Giggsy was unlucky that his shot was deflected wide by the keeper. Luis Nani, in his native Portugal, and Javier Hernandez entered in place of Darren Fletcher and Antonio Valencia, who both got 70 minutes under their belts. A little while later and Fabio was taken off, with Phil Jones making his European debut for United. There was still time to win it, and Benfica came closest with one opportunity saved and another one excruciatingly wide of the target. Both seemed to settle for a share of the spoils towards the end, but it is fair to say that this was a game United could so easily have lost, had SLB taken their chances, or won, had MUFC taken their own chances. The toughest game in Group C is now out of the way and we welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford on Sunday ! United Team: Anders Lindegaard, Patrice Evra, Fabio Da Silva (Phil Jones '78), Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Ryan Giggs, Park Ji-Sung, Antonio Valencia (Luis Nani '69), Darren Fletcher (Chicharito '69), Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney. Goals: Giggs '42 Bookings: Rooney '27, Carrick '65 CommentsQ8 14/09/2011 9:55pm
Screw Xavi we got carrick StevO 14/09/2011 9:55pm
Good away point! Saqib 14/09/2011 10:03pm
strange team choice..... carrick again proved he is of no use.... flecture played just ok should have started wid andreson n park in cm nani n valencia on wing..... bt gud game by giggs could have scored 2nd i hope cleverly was there instead of carrick.... cz he need games like this for his development..... hope he will b back sooner than da month.... should have won da game.... but lookin at da line up draw nt a bad result either.... well lets not 4get lindegaard 3 4 great saves...... Enoch Idriss Crabtree Strootman 14/09/2011 10:19pm
Nevertheless we still managed to salvage an away point with this weak squad. I believe we lacked that chemistry and agility needed to turn the game on their head. Mikeyy 14/09/2011 10:43pm
Q8 are you mad?? A chocolate firegaurd is mur use than fukin carrick in the united team he is real shit..allways passin backwards wer he could spread the play to the wings hes a negative player hes shit an in ma eyes shudnt be playin for utd but for wickham or smet eva since we played barca in da 2009 rome final and said he wud love to dictate the play like xavi hes got worse. We shud sell him id rava parker to be honest..if he plays agenst chelsea dus weekend he gna make it difficult for us...ando n cleverly our mid for da nxt 5 to 10 years wilm be 1 ov da greatest united sides wit da young players Arfaan11 14/09/2011 11:00pm
A gud point 4 us,well playd lindergaard,gr8 gol Giggsy.thats our hardest game outta th way in group stage.bring on Chelsea Tyga 14/09/2011 11:05pm
Carrick in my opinion had a poor performance, fletcher was ok. Wouldve prefered Nani nd Anderson. The changes I think SAF wanted them to get minutes which is cool. Always rated Lindergaard, hopefully competition elavtes them both. l33bo 14/09/2011 11:54pm
carrick is shit shud of sold him In the transfer window and fletcher isnt much better. but other than that good result jus beat em at home get our 10 points n progress to the knock out stages Arfaan11 15/09/2011 12:44am
Why dnt u all jus layoff carrick,his job is jus 2 hold in midfield n not do anything extravagant ,all our creativity comes 4rm our fwd's n wingers,it is their jobs 2 make things happen in th final 3rd not holding midfielder,yes I do agree th likes of Anderson cleverly n fletch shud b in front of him but as u all knw cleverly is injured,so it makes sense 2 put carrick in,so can u 4 fuck sake layoff carrick Sid 15/09/2011 12:44am
Carrick is UTTER CRAP! Can't say it enough - UTTER CRAP! anybody watch his play against Bolton when he came on for Cleverly? Count the number of back passes and sideward passes he made compared to forward passes. The guy don't understand the concept of counter attack is all about hitting 'em quickly (i.e. forward attack!) on the break...! Darrianinho 15/09/2011 1:01am
I think lindegaard had a good game and must say felt a bit more confident than when de gea's in and although fergie said de gea's going back in against Chelsea I think lindegaard deserves another opportunity (tho I think he'll be in goal against Leeds) farhan 15/09/2011 1:19am
carrick.......fuck you, you backpass king n posession loser. thats wat happened wen u play carrick in the middle. utter rubbish. so, if both anderson n cleverly are out, this is how our central Eric7 15/09/2011 2:52am
What's with all the player bashing we got a good point away from home with a ok performance, no injuries & still will have freshness for Sunday. It's a squad game. Stop the bashing support the team, were not city we are UNITED t4n28 15/09/2011 3:48am
Carrick is not good over all. We have see this on match against bolton. On lisbon, we see him occasionally not have agility and willingness to run for chase enemy when they out run him, he has lack of determination for a def mid. I miss a mildfield with a determination like keano, maybe anderson can fill this gap if he can improve his tackling. Sorry for a bad grammar Marc 15/09/2011 4:35am
Well, its more like our Team B. Think SAF wants to focus on Saturday's game against Chelsea...I'm sure he rather lose against Benfica, then to have any chance of falling behind Man City in the EPL. lol Gavlar 15/09/2011 7:53am
Your all cunts you weren't slagging Cardozo off when we won three titles in a row and a European cup and two more finals since and another league title the three league titles and euro cup had scholes and Carrick as our main men you fucking wankers fuck off back to playing football manager and fuck off and support city bet most of you don't know were old Trafford is Face 15/09/2011 9:11am
Why does carrick was not substituted for that game? Mufcmufc 15/09/2011 9:50am
Wasn't a good performance! Mancunian Creative 15/09/2011 11:41am
Incredible how many people slag Carrick. I was a little disappointed with the lineup. But as Fergie said, players need games. The problem was it's been 442 with wide players that has given us such pace and go forward this season and the 451-433 we played last night didn't have that same mentality, regardless of the personnel. Aj 15/09/2011 1:31pm
I think Wazza loves playing behind chicho working hard and getting more freedom from defenders. I'm sure Alex know this want to keep him with someone at front. But that was tough game and all needed time for long season. Getting point is not too bad. We have to keep our feet on ground as season is long way to go. Remember that way we got our 19 and that's the way we will get 20th and 4th Europe one. We have to keep faith in players and Managers. We will be crowned Champions in May, so have to wait for that day! Young 18 15/09/2011 1:34pm
Chelsea game is more impotantto us than Benfica droping 3 pionst you can make up easy but droping 3 pionts against Chelsea you cant cos you only play them twice Chelsea bigger game and a must win game to Face 15/09/2011 2:16pm
Young 18... Carrick is of no use to us i pray 4 clerverly to come back Mancunian Red 15/09/2011 5:20pm
No *true* red hates on *any* United player, and the ones who are hating on Carrick are the same people who will probably be Man City fans within a few years and couldn't even point to Old Trafford on a map. Probably the same people who claim we've seen the best of Rooney when he's having a bad run, only to see him hit the form of his career later on. Carrick and Fletcher have both bled for the shirt and both have been instrumental in our recent haul of silverware. Both are only still finding their way to match fitness, and neither should be judged even half as harshly as some of the glory hunting fuckwits here are judging them. Morgan 15/09/2011 6:03pm
Listen. Carrick is a good player. The fact is he is not good enough for united. He plays 2 or 3 outstanding games a season. We need someone who has outstanding games 20 times a season. Carrick is a good squad player at best. He should not be used in important games. I love giggs but he's too old now to keep pace with the worlds best midfields. We should have bought a midfielder in the summer. It's a massive gamble relying on clevers and Anderson. The one position that was obvious to every united fan after our two defeats to barca was midfield. I think the signings we made were fantastic but they were luxuries and neglecting the midfield, our real weak spot against barca will come back to haunt us. I just hope we get them in the semis or quarters if we get there as our only chance will be to overwhelm them at OT with our great fans behind us. People saying united fans shouldn't criticise our own players are deluded. I'll never criticise fergie, he's untouchable but I'm baffled he didn't sign a midfielder. My only hope is that he gives pogba or Morrison a fair chance this season. One of them could be a revelation and can't be any worse than carrick who doesn't add anything to the team and obviously lacks confidence. Get the kids in now, at Leeds hopefully. Bill McNeal 15/09/2011 8:24pm
Michael Carrick - 92% passing accuracy. 8 interceptions. 100% aerials won. Lost the ball once. Made more accurate long balls than any of our outfield players even attempted. Rodney 15/09/2011 10:53pm
let's be honest wat has carrick ever done for united nothing passes the ball back all the time so negative I seen my self shouting at the tv last nite at carrick pass the ball forward in my opinion ain't man utd quality and it's about time fergie found him out I don't player bash I have stuck up fit carrick in the past but he just ain't getting any better is he ???? Rodney 15/09/2011 10:56pm
macundian red shut up plz explain wat carrick has done for us nothing did u forget who give away the ball in semi final fa cup against city carrick did u forget that I didn't he is not man utd quality and I have supported united for 20 years he is no scholes Ribbed 15/09/2011 11:48pm
Y don't u go n deepthroat him Bill! Everyone can see that carrik is not world class!! How many chances does want!! Pure rubbish!! Bill McNeal 16/09/2011 7:08pm
"Everyone can see that carrik is not world class!!" Sid 16/09/2011 7:16pm
To all the Carrick lovers - I ain't hating on a player just pointing out facts that majority of sane people who know a thing or two about the game would agree! The guy's got no confidence on the ball, panics under the slightest pressure and please don't give me stats that sound good! Stats can make any ol' Tom dick or Harry look superb! Watch the game - consider the tactics and the fluidity of the movement and then look at Carricks contribution! G2alks 16/09/2011 8:37pm
I call Giggs the proffesor of football,this guy is growing young. Ribbed 16/09/2011 11:36pm
@ bill Gavlar 18/09/2011 1:35pm
The whole united team was ran ragged against barca you thick brain dead cunt not just Carrick there's 11 men in team you scouse cunt Sid 19/09/2011 10:36pm
Gavlar thinks he knows it all! A team is made up of individuals - if one or more fail to do their part the whole team crumbles - just like a cog in a gear. If one cog is worn out and ain't doing it's job - guess what thicko?!?! The gear ain't doing it's job. Carrick was one of the main cogs that didn't do it's job! I guess you're quite good at football manager then eh...?!? Pr**k! Bill McNeal 20/09/2011 12:08am
Sid - You said Michael Carrick doesn't pass forward. The stats show you are wrong. Don't try and belittle stats just because they prove you wrong Ribbed 20/09/2011 12:43am
Well said Sid. Tony 20/09/2011 9:21am
Gaviar u blind or is Michael Carrick giving it to ya up the glory hole?? Bill McNeal 20/09/2011 5:15pm
Ribbed - We were run ragged in 09 and 11 because both times we were playing one of the greatest teams of all time, including 2 of the best midfielders of all time. NOT HIS FAULT. Sid 20/09/2011 9:00pm
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