Report – Portsmouth 1 – 4 Manchester United

A 4-1 scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story of a very hard fought Manchester United victory over a resurgent Portsmouth.

Despite being rock bottom of the Premier League, Portsmouth rallied under new boss Avram Grant and gave united a real run for their money in the first 45 minutes. They will consider themselves unlucky to go in at half time with the score level at 1-1.

The second half was the complete opposite as United dominated the game, but their extra quality allowed them to use their killer instinct and beat the ‘keeper 3 times, albeit with two from set pieces.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the first half when Michael brown stomped on his foot inside the penalty area. Referee Mike Dean gave a penalty which Rooney duly dispatched to the goalkeepers left.

Minutes later and Portsmouth were level. Mike Dean harshly ajudged Nemanja Vidic to have been guilty of a foul inside the box and Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the resulting penalty to make it 1-1.

Portsmouth had plenty of chances to take the lead towards the end of the first half, but a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Tomasz Kuszczak kept the scores level until half time.

Ryan Giggs had been ineffective in the first half and changed position in the second. He played just off Wayne Rooney and what a difference it made.

The two combined well to score the second goal. Paul Scholes sent Giggs through down the middle, and he played in Rooney to his left who slotted past the helpless goalkeeper.

The referee was pointing to the spot again a few minutes later, this time penalizing Piquionne for fouling Ryan Giggs.

Rooney stepped up to take the spot kick and sent the ‘keeper the wrong way to secure his hat trick.

Any hopes Portsmouth had of getting back into the game were dashed when Ryan Giggs curled in a lovely free kick from 25 yards.

4-1 was the final scoreline but it was a hard earned victory for Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be happy one game of his touchline ban has been served and his side have kept the pressure on league leaders Chelsea, who face Arsenal tomorrow.