Rampant Man Utd recorded their third successive UEFA Champions League victory as they tore into Dynamo Kiev.
United claim third successive Champions League victory
Rampant Manchester United recorded their third successive UEFA Champions League victory as they tore into Dynamo Kiev in an astonishingly open encounter.
It took Sir Alex Ferguson's side just 10 minutes to expose the weaknesses in Kiev's defence with an unmarked Rio Ferdinand powering home a header from Ryan Giggs' free-kick after Cristiano Ronaldo had been felled by Tiberiu Ghioane.
And Wayne Rooney made it 2-0 just eight minutes later as he tapped home into an empty net from Wes Brown's cut-back after Ronaldo's brilliance had played in the United right-back.
The shell-shocked home side were handed a route back into the match when United went to sleep at a rare Kiev corner and Diogo Rincon was allowed a free header which beat Edwin van der Sar and Ronaldo on the line.
But the Red Devils roared back and, after John O'Shea had scuffed a close-range chance straight at Olexandr Shovkovskiy, Ronaldo was allowed the freedom of the Kiev penalty area to head home another teasing Giggs cross before the interval.
Kiev improved after the break and there were a host of further chances at both ends, but United always carried a greater threat and added a fourth through Ronaldo's penalty after Goran Gavrancic was harshly ruled to have handled Carlos Tevez's cross.
Ismael Bangoura drilled home a second for Kiev from the edge of the box with 12 minutes remaining, but Ferguson was relaxed enough to send on Tomasz Kuszczak and Danny Simpson for Van der Sar and Giggs immediately after for some vital Champions League experience.
Double blow
After losing Paul Scholes to a knee injury sustained in training and Patrice Evra to a calf strain suffered in the warm-up, the build-up was hardly smooth for the visitors.
With Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick already sidelined, the United manager will await the results of a scan Scholes will have with bated breath, especially as his side are due to tackle Premier League table-toppers Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 3rd November.
It became apparent from quite an early stage that Dynamo Kiev - without a point from their opening two games - were ill equipped to cope with the Red Devils' attacking threat.
If Ferdinand was given too much room for his 10th-minute header, the space Rooney and Ronaldo found themselves in when they put their names on the scoresheet was laughable.
Unconvincing
Even with two half-time changes, Dynamo were unconvincing and Anderson was agonisingly close to netting his first United goal with a shot which bounced back off a post with Shovkovskiy beaten.
Had Dynamo been awarded what appeared a certain penalty when substitute Artem Milevskiy tumbled under Nemanja Vidic's challenge, the hosts might have made a game of it.
Instead, Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai ruled in United's favour - dubiously it seemed on TV replays - and then gave the Red Devils a spot-kick, after extensive consultation with his assistant.
Rooney, who failed with his hat-trick attempt at Villa Park on Saturday, handed over responsibility to Ronaldo, who promptly sent Shovkovskiy the wrong way.
Bangoura wrapped up the scoring 12 minutes from time with Kiev's second but United coasted home.
| Dinamo Kiev |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
|
| 2 |
Goals |
4 |
|
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
3 |
|
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
10 |
|
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
|
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
5 |
|
| 5 |
Corners |
4 |
|
| 13 |
Fouls |
11 |
|
| 0 |
Offsides |
3 |
|
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
|
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
|
| 83.3 |
Passing Success |
81.6 |
|
| 19 |
Tackles |
20 |
|
| 84.2 |
Tackles Success |
55 |
|
| 53.1 |
Possession |
46.9 |
|
| 51.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
48.8 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
