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Blackburn 0 - 1 Manchester United
Saturday 11th November 2006
Ewood Park, Blackburn
Manchester United maintained their three-point advantage at the Premiership summit with a hugely impressive victory at Blackburn.
Louis Saha turned in the 64th minute winner after Ryan Giggs had brilliantly retrieved John O'Shea's cross.
Wayne Rooney should have put United out of sight in the first half, missing two glorious chances to score.
But Blackburn were barely seen as an attacking force, and United's victory margin should have been more emphatic.
Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, predictably, were United's main source of danger in a first 45 minutes they dominated completely.
And Rooney was guilty of missing three glorious opportunities to score the goal United's slick approach play deserved.
He escaped the attentions of Blackburn's defenders after 20 minutes, but hit the outside of a post from a tight angle.
Rooney was then left holding his head in disbelief 12 minutes later when he somehow failed to apply the final touch to a perfect Ronaldo cross with the goal at his mercy.
Blackburn were living a charmed life, and it was no more than United deserved when Saha gave them the lead after 63 minutes.
O'Shea's cross was turned in by Giggs at the far post and Saha was perfectly placed to finish the job.
United were flowing, but Blackburn were not out of it yet and Edwin van der Sar had to be alert to stop Benni McCarthy getting on the end of David Bentley's cross.
And McCarthy almost grabbed an unlikely equaliser three minutes from time when Tugay's misplaced free-kick arrived at his feet, but he shot straight at Van der Sar.
Blackburn: Friedel, Emerton, Ooijer, Khizanishvili, Neill, Bentley (Peter 79), Mokoena, Kerimoglu, Pedersen, Nonda (Jeffers 84), McCarthy.
Subs Not Used: Brown, Henchoz, Gray.
Booked: Mokoena, McCarthy, Khizanishvili, Peter.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville (O'Shea 46), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra (Silvestre 89), Ronaldo (Fletcher 90), Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Saha.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Brown.
Booked: Vidic, Rooney, Evra.
Goal: Saha 64.
Att: 26,162.
Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).
Report From BBC
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