Marouane Fellaini’s late minute strike earned Manchester United slim win over Arsenal in Sunday’s Premier League clash
Marouane Fellaini’s late minute goal was all that Manchester United needed to beat stubborn Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, April 29.
France international Paul Pogba scored the opener for the Red Devils in the 16th minute of the meeting after converting a loose ball from Alexis Sanchez’s header a slight moment before then.
Though, the outgoing Gunners boss made some changes to his side that faced Atletico Madrid in their Europa League meeting last Thursday, the selected players still gave their host a scare in the game.
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The Frenchman would have loved to avoid defeat in his last meeting against the Red Devils as Arsenal manager, as he will be stepping down as the club’s head coach this summer after period of 22 years.
Wenger’s men settled in quickly into the game as they already had about 48% possession as at the 15th minute of the game, 60 seconds after which they got sloppy to allow Pogba net the first goal.
On return to his former club for the first time after leaving them in January, Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave United’s defence a scare with dangerous moves which didn’t result to a positive result for the Armenian attacker.
In the 23rd minute, Pogba and former Arsenal forward, Alexis Sanchez tried out a 1-2 move in their opponent’s danger zone but the Gunners defenders were well-timed to intercept the pass and relieve the pressure.
United’s confidence grew in the game as they continued to mount pressure on their visitors but their efforts were not fruitful.
The hosts gave their best to ensure they double their lead, while the visitors’ efforts to get an equalizer before half time became very difficult even with an addition one minute in the first half.
Coming back into the second half of the meeting with Arsene Wenger’s men coming back with some fresh confidence as they got the first freekick in the second half after Ashley Young tipped Ainsley Maitland-Niles just one minute into the second half of the game.
And in the 51st minute, Armenian attacker, Henrikh Mkhitaryan leveled up for the guests from a Granit Xhaka’s assist.
In the 62nd minute, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba had some superb exchanges between themselves but Lingard’s last ball was blocked.
Sanchez, who joined the Red Devils during the winter transfer window in a swap deal, tried so much to ensure he registered his name on the scores sheet, but all his advances were denied by Arsenal.
In the 67th minute, Danny Welbeck tries his luck from distance but his effort ends up safely in the hands of David De Gea
Source: Naija.ng