62 2GM Wednesday February 16 2022 | the times
SportPremier League
Football
Champions League
Round of 16, first leg
PSG (0) 1 Real Madrid(0) 0
Mbappé 90+4
Sporting (0) 0 Man City (4) 5
Mahrez 7, Silva 17, 44
Foden 32, Sterling 58
Premier League
Man Utd (0) 2 Brighton (0) 0
Ronaldo 51
Fernandes 90+7
Sent off: L Dunk (Brighton) 54
Sky Bet Championship
Cardiff (0) 2 Coventry (0) 0
Bagan 72
Harris 87
18,660Millwall (0) 2 QPR (0) 0
Bennett 48, Burey 64
Sheffield Utd(0) 0 Hull (0) 0
27,601
P WD LF A GD Pts
Fulham.................30 19 7 4 78 26 52 64
Bournemouth....30 17 7 6 49 26 23 58
Blackburn............32 15 9 8 45 3312 54
QPR.........................31 15 7 9 46 36 10 52
Huddersfield.......32 13 11 8 40 34 6 50
Middlesbrough..30 14 7 9 38 29 9 49
Nottm Forest.......31 13 8 10 43 33 10 47
Sheffield Utd......30 13 8 9 39 33 6 47
West Brom...........31 12 10 9 34 26 8 46
Luton.....................30 12 9 9 41 36 5 45
Preston................. 32 11 129 35 35 045
Coventry..............30 12 8 10 39 36 3 44
Stoke.....................30 12 7 11 38 32 6 43
Millwall.................. 31 11 10 10 33 33 0 43
Blackpool.............. 3111 8 12 34 37 -3 41
Swansea...............30 10 8 12 32 39 -7 38
Bristol City...........32 10 7 15 42 58 -16 37
Birmingham........ 329 9 14 37 49 -12 36
Cardiff....................31 10 5 16 38 50 -12 35
Hull......................... 329 6 17 26 36 -10 33
@Reading.............. 30 8 4 18 36 60 -24 22
Peterborough.... 29 5 5 19 23 60 -37 20
*Derby.................... 31 9 12 10 32 35 -3 18
Barnsley............... 30 3 8 19 19 45 -26 17
* deducted 21pts for breaching financial rules
and for going into administration
@ deducted 6pts for breaching financial rulesLeague One
Burton Alb (3) 3 Bolton (0) 1
Powell 11
Brayford 14, 18Charles 90+4
3,487
Lincoln City(0) 0 Doncaster (0) 1
9,237 Gardner 81 (pen)
Sent off: J Walsh (Lincoln City) 88
Wigan (0)2Crewe (0) 0
Lang 57
McClean 828,509P WD LF A GD Pts
Rotherham...........31 21 5 5 57 18 39 68
Wigan....................29 19 5 5 52 27 25 62
MK Dons...............32 16 9 7 51 34 17 57
Sunderland..........32 16 7 9 56 4412 55
Wycombe.............31 15 9 7 47 35 12 54
Plymouth.............30 15 8 7 52 36 16 53
Oxford Utd..........32 15 8 9 56 4115 53
Sheffield Wed......31 14 10 7 42 34 8 52
Ipswich..................32 13 9 10 49 38 11 48
Bolton....................32 13 6 13 48 44 4 45
Portsmouth........30 12 8 10 38 31 7 44
Burton...................32 12 7 13 41 41 0 43
Accrington...........31 12 7 12 41 47 -6 43Charlton................ 3111 6 14 41 39 2 39
Cheltenham......... 31 9 12 10 38 49 -11 39
Cambridge...........31 911114045 -538
Lincoln City.......... 319 8 14 36 41 -5 35
Shrewsbury......... 32 8 10 14 28 33 -5 34
Fleetwood............ 31 7 11 13 44 53 -9 32
AFC Wimbledon. 31 6 13 12 37 47 -10 31
Morecambe......... 32 7 9 16 43 61 -18 30
Gillingham........... 32 5 11 16 26 53 -27 26
Doncaster............ 33 7 4 22 23 63 -40 25
Crewe.................... 32 5 7 20 26 58 -32 22
League Two
Bristol Rovers (1) 2 Sutton Utd (0) 0
Anderson 4
Collins 46
Exeter (1) 4 Harrogate (2) 3
Brown 37 (pen)
Grounds 71
Dieng 81
Sparkes 90+5Armstrong 4
Muldoon 19
Thomson 64
3,852
Hartlepool (1) 1 Tranmere (0) 0
Clarke 45+1 (og) 5,214
P WD LF A GD Pts
Forest Green......30 19 9 2 61 24 37 66Tranmere.............32 16 7 9 33 22 11 55
Exeter...................30 14 11 5 45 30 15 53
Northampton.....30 15 7 8 35 25 10 52
Sutton United......31 14 8 9 45 37 8 50
Mansfield.............29 14 7 8 39 32 7 49
Newport Co..........31 13 9 9 49 41 8 48
Swindon...............30 12 10 8 46 38 8 46
Port Vale..............28 12 8 8 41 2912 44
Salford ..................31 12 8 11 35 29 6 44
Bristol Rovers.... 2911 8 10 38 39 -1 41
Bradford City....... 31 9 13 9 36 36 0 40
Crawley................ 30 11 7 12 37 41 -4 40
Hartlepool........... 30 11 7 12 30 38 -8 40
Harrogate............30 10 8 12 47 48 -1 38
Leyton Orient..... 29 7 12 10 38 29 9 33
Stevenage............ 32 7 12 13 30 46 -16 33
Walsall.................. 30 8 8 14 31 39 -8 32
Rochdale.............. 28 6 13 9 35 38-3 31
Barrow................... 31 7 10 14 30 39-9 31
Colchester........... 30 7 10 13 28 41 -13 31
Carlisle.................. 30 6 10 14 23 42 -19 28
Oldham................. 296 8 15 28 46 -18 26
Scunthorpe.......... 31 4 10 17 22 53 -31 22
Vanarama National League Boreham Wood 2
Altrincham 0; Bromley 1 Stockport County 3;
Weymouth 1 Eastleigh 0.P WD LF A GD Pts
Stockport Co 28 18 4 6 58 2731 58
Chesterfield........27 15 10 2 50 24 26 55
Boreham Wood 24 15 7 2 36 15 21 52
Halifax 26 15 5 6 41 21 20 50
Bromley................27 15 5 7 43 31 12 50
Solihull Moors....26 13 7 6 41 2318 46
Wrexham.............26 13 7 642 26 16 46
Grimsby................28 144 10 42 29 13 46
Notts County......25 13 6 6 47 2918 45
Dagenham & R...27 13 3 11 49 37 12 42
Torquay................27 12 4 11 42 41 1 40
Southend............. 27115 11 30 37 -7 38
Yeovil....................27 10 7 10 26 27 -1 37
Eastleigh.............. 279 6 12 28 39 -11 33
Woking.................27 10 2 15 42 43 -1 32
Wealdstone......... 268 7 11 27 37 -10 31
Aldershot............. 288 6 14 32 44 -12 30
Altrincham.......... 298 6 15 40 54 -14 30
Barnet.................... 278 6 13 32 53 -21 30
Maidenhead........ 25 7 6 12 28 47 -19 27
Weymouth.......... 28 5 6 17 28 51 -23 21
Kings Lynn.......... 264 3 19 24 51 -27 15
*Dover Athletic.. 28 1 4 23 21 63 -42 -5
* deducted 12pts for breaching league rules
North Kidderminster 3 Hereford 0; Southport
0 Curzon Ashton 0; York 3 AFC Telford 1. South
Welling 1 Dulwich 3.Results
“Bruno Bruno!” they sang. It was the
97th minute when Bruno Fernandes
ran half the length of the pitch from a
quick Paul Pogba free kick, feinted to
send Robert Sánchez the wrong way
and sealed a victory that pushed
Manchester United back into the top
four.
There was a first goal for Cristiano
Ronaldo in 2022 to end a six-game
drought. Ralf Rangnick smiled as he
chatted with Harry Maguire as they left
the Old Trafford turf. It did not look like
a conversation about what time he
would be seeing the psychologist
brought in to unlock the minds of the
United captain and his team-mates.
Fernandes, Pogba, Ronaldo. Three of
the world’s best, on song. By the close of
play Sánchez had been peppered with
19 shots. Glory glory Man United, and
yet it was a victory and a sense of
elation provided as much by Brighton &
Hove Albion imploding, as any master-
plan from Rangnick or his players.
At half-time, the walk to the same
corner of the stadium was met with
jeers. United had been insipid.
David de Gea had kept his side in the
game in the opening half. He became a
passenger for long spells in the second
period once Ronaldo had pounced on
an error to equalise and Lewis Dunk
had been given a red card after a VAR
review. Three minutes separated those
moments.
Graham Potter looked stunned as he
walked from his seat to assess the dam-
age, pitch-side. Dressed as dapperly as
Rhys Ifans in Oasis’s video for The
Importance Of Being Idle, some sombre
funeral music would have suited his
descent. From control to chaos.
Rangnick may have empathised with
the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the
had once more been squandered by
Rangnick’s side. Again, quick passing
opened up United, and Moder slipped
Yves Bissouma through, with just De
Gea to beat. He crashed a right-footed
drive narrowly wide.
Then came that revival. Bissouma
dawdled in possession, and with new
vigour from Scott McTominay and his
team-mates in the press, the ball was
forced inside to Ronaldo, with no
defender nearby.
It was too inviting. Ronaldo took two
touches, moving the ball forward,
threw a dummy with his right arm to
come inside Webster and then cracked
a quick, crisp strike into the bottom cor-
ner of Sánchez’s goal. A game turned.
Things deteriorated further for
Brighton and Potter when Anthony
Elanga pinched the ball off Dunk and
tumbled under a clumsy recovery
tackle. Peter Bankes, the referee, was
surrounded by red shirts, but instead
produced a yellow card believing the
cover of Webster to be enough so as not
to rule the denial of an obvious, goal-
scoring opportunity. VAR did not
agree, Bankes went to the monitor andby the 54th minute Brighton were trail-
ing and down to ten men.
Ronaldo twice went close with head-
ers. Sánchez almost gifted the home
side a second, but when Ronaldo
squared Fernandes dithered and the
moment went. Brighton responded by
striking the crossbar through Moder.
Fernandes would have the final say
through the quick-thinking of Pogba,
relegated to the substitutes’ beach until
17 minutes of normal time remained.
“We should be fighting for more
things than the top four,” said De Gea.
”But that is the reality. With the quality
we have, we should win a lot of points.”
That particular conundrum remains,
despite the final result.Martin Hardy
Ronaldo on
target after
rescue act
by De Gea
visitors. For once his side got better after
his interval words, rather than worse.
In the first half, those in blue and
white stripes were quicker, more
incisive, and cleverly structured with a
diamond midfield that put them in such
control that after 20 minutes and in
front of an increasingly disgruntled
home support, United moved to a
4-2-3-1, pushing Fernandes further
forward. There was wonder as to why
Brighton did not lead.
De Gea was key to that, with a quite
superb save in the 39th minute. Brigh-
ton’s movement was just too quick for
their hosts and when the ball was
sprayed wide by Adam Webster, Joël
Veltman sent over an excellent, inviting
cross that was perfect for the onrushing
and unmarked Jakub Moder, who had
split Victor Lindelof — picked because
of illness to Raphaël Varane — and
Diogo Dalot.
The header was firm and well placed,
and on its way to the top corner of De
Gea’s goal at the Stretford End until the
Spaniard fingertipped it over the cross-
bar, at full stretch. Two Brighton
players dropped to their knees. It
looked like the goal they had deserved
had arrived, a let-off for United and yet
a minute had not passed and possessionMan United
Ronaldo 51, Fernandes 90+7Brighton
2
0
Manchester United (4-3-3): D de Gea 8 — D Dalot
7, V Lindelof 5, H Maguire 6, L Shaw 5 — Fred 6
(P Pogba 73, 6), S McTominay 6, B Fernandes 8 —
A Elanga 6 (Rashford 80), C Ronaldo 7, J Sancho
6 (A Telles 80). Booked Shaw, Fernandes.
Brighton (4-1-2-1-2): R Sanchez 7 — J Veltman 7, A
Webster 6, L Dunk 5, M Cucurella 8 — Y Bissouma
6 — P Gross 8 (S Alzate 60, 5), A Mac Allister 7 —
J Moder 8 — N Maupay 6 (D Welbeck 70, 4),
L Trossard 7 (T Lamptey 60, 5).
Booked Mac Allister. Sent off Dunk.
Referee P Bankes.How they stand
P WD LF A GD Pts
Man City...............25 20 3 2 61 14 47 63
Liverpool..............24 16 6 2 61 19 42 54
Chelsea.................24 13 8 3 48 18 30 47
Man United.........25 12 7 6 40 32 8 43
West Ham............25 12 5 8 44 33 11 41
Arsenal.................22 12 3 7 34 25 9 39
Wolves.................. 23 11 4 8 21 17 4 37
Tottenham........... 22 11 3 8 28 29 -1 36
Brighton............... 24 7 12 5 25 25 0 33
Southampton..... 24611 7 30 37 -7 29
Leicester.............. 22 7 6 9 36 41 -5 27
Aston Villa........... 23 8 3 12 31 36 -5 27
Crystal Palace.... 24 511 8 32 35 -3 26
Brentford............. 25 6 6 13 26 40 -14 24
Leeds..................... 23 5 8 10 27 46 -19 23
Everton................. 22 6 4 12 28 38 -10 22
Newcastle............ 23 4 9 10 25 44 -19 21
Norwich................ 244 5 15 14 50 -36 17
Watford................. 23 4 3 16 23 43 -20 15
Burnley.................. 21 111 9 17 29 -12 14Ronaldo opens
the scoring for
United with his
strike in the
51st minute569
Cristiano Ronaldo had
gone 569 minutes without
a goal until he scored last
night. His previous goal
was against Burnley on
December 30Ralf Rangnick hailed an “amazing”
Cristiano Ronaldo goal that rescued a
Manchester United team he labelled
“Jekyll and Hyde” after their recent
inconsistent performances.
United benefited, shortly after
Ronaldo’s opener, from the sending-off
of Lewis Dunk, the Brighton & Hove
Albion defender, when the referee, Pe-
ter Bankes, changed his mind and up-
graded a yellow card to red after con-
sulting VAR and the pitchside monitor.
But it was Ronaldo’s first goal in seven
games that gave Rangnick, the interim
United manager, the greatest satisfac-
tion. “It was an amazing goal, not only
an important one, and it was also a good
performance from Cristiano,” he said.
“Energetically he was always on the
line. He was always trying to help his
team-mates. In the last weeks, definite-
ly the best performance from him and
a very, very important goal for us.”‘Amazing’
Ian Whittell