Nicolas Anelka stunned Manchester United and gave Gary Megson a memorable first victory as Bolton boss.
Megson claims memorable first victory
Nicolas Anelka's early goal stunned champions Manchester United and gave Gary Megson a memorable first victory as Bolton boss.
The French striker took full advantage when Gerard Pique made a complete hash of attempting to clear Ivan Campo's free-kick, jumping under the ball and allowing Anelka to turn and fire home in the 11th minute.
Bolton, who had not won for nine games, were by far the better side in the first half and hassled and harried United throughout, with Sir Alex Ferguson left fuming by one crunching Kevin Davies challenge on Patrice Evra.
Ferguson was sent to the stands for the second period after making his feelings known to referee Mark Clattenburg, and although the Red Devils improved and put Bolton under the cosh after the break, they just could not break through.
Owen Hargreaves was denied by a stunning save from Jussi Jaaskelainen who tipped a swerving free-kick over the bar, before Carlos Tevez contrived to miss from point-blank range after Evra put the chance on a plate for him in front of goal.
Ronaldo rested
Having survived the entire Sam Allardyce era without losing at Bolton, Ferguson felt sufficiently confident about registering another success against a side battling to get out of relegation trouble that he gave Cristiano Ronaldo the weekend off.
As the only member of his squad to play two Euro 2008 qualifiers over the past week, Ferguson had hinted he may rest his star winger, although with Wayne Rooney currently injured, it represented a gamble from the United manager.
Ronaldo was missed in a disjointed opening period. But the real problem for the Red Devils was the absence of Nemanja Vidic with a back injury.
With Vidic missing, Ferguson turned to Pique as Rio Ferdinand's central defensive partner, leaving Wes Brown in the right-back role he has been filling for much of the season.
Pique appeared quite hesitant but that still did not excuse the Spain Under 21 international his crass mistake in flying out to head away a free-kick Campo clipped into the United box.
In leaving Anelka on his own, Pique had to win the header. Instead, he made no contact at all and the Frenchman had enough time to control, turn and fire his seventh goal of the campaign past Edwin van der Sar before Ferdinand could close in.
Carlos Tevez beavered away without much success, as did Louis Saha, while wide pair Ryan Giggs and Nani were virtually anonymous.
Indeed, the Red Devils' only decent opportunity fell to Hargreaves, who screwed tamely wide.
Duel
In contrast, Bolton were full of energy, the exuberance of Danny Guthrie providing the perfect midfield foil for Campo's old head.
A blood-and-thunder duel was too stop-start for United to gain any momentum and the only real spectacle, other than Anelka's goal, was the running battle between Davies and Evra.
Davies was booked for a very late tackle on the Frenchman by the touchline and was then given a final warning by Clattenburg after a clash of heads the official did not believe was entirely accidental.
For his part, Evra was exceedingly fortunate to escape a caution when he clattered the Bolton man in front of the dug-out, although by now, Ferguson's patience had snapped following a succession of decisions that had gone against his team.
Tirade
The Scot was waiting for Clattenburg as the players left the field and embarked on a finger-jabbing tirade which resulted only in his banishment to the stands.
Condemned to sit with Red Devils legal expert Maurice Watkins and communicate by mobile phone with coach Mike Phelan, Ferguson's frustrations only grew as United's toils continued.
Moved to right-back following the introduction of Anderson for Pique, Hargreaves forced Jaaskelainen into a fine fingertip save with a 20-yard free-kick.
When United last lost in the Premier League, at Manchester City on August 19, Tevez missed a gilt-edged chance to level when he turned a point-blank header wide.
This time, from hardly any further out, Tevez somehow turned his shot wide when Evra drilled a low cross into the six-yard box.
United continued to push forward but with hardly a defender left on the pitch by the end, they looked equally likely to get caught on the counter-attack as they did to find a leveller.
And when Hargreaves clipped the roof of the net with an injury-time free-kick, Bolton were able to celebrate a memorable and long-awaited triumph, defeating United on home turf for the first time since December 1978.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 2 |
Shots off Target |
12 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 4 |
Corners |
6 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 64.7 |
Passing Success |
77.1 |
| 31 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 71 |
Tackles Success |
84.2 |
| 40.3 |
Possession |
59.7 |
| 47.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
52.4 |
|
