Middlesbrough dump out Man United in shootout drama

Manchester United 0 Middlesbrough 0 (Middlesbrough win 3-1 on penalties)

Wayne Rooney's season is going from bad to worse. The Manchester United captain missed the first of his side's penalties in a shootout defeat that saw then crash out of the Capital One Cup to Middlesbrough of the Championship. Unconvincing as an attacking force all night, United were unable to make the most of their spot kicks after Rooney had allowed Tomás Mejías to save to his right. Although David Nugent skied Middlesbrough's next effort, Michael Carrick missed the target and Ashley Young's strike was saved by Mejías to allow the underdogs to triumph 3-1.

Louis van Gaal had rested his captain for this game, the big tease, just as he did for the third round game against Ipswich when Andreas Pereira scored his first goal for United and Rooney and Anthony Martial came off the bench to add a couple more. In the intervening month there has been a growing clamour for Rooney to be rested for Premier League games, or at least not used as the main attacking spearhead, something the United manager has stoutly resisted.

The opening quarter of the game having proved that United can be just as turgid and unimaginative when Rooney is sitting watching as when he is playing, Boro began to break forward midway through the first half and ended up creating the first genuine attempt on goal. George Friend nutmegged Jesse Lingard to win a corner, and when United failed to clear Grant Leadbitter's returned ball found Friend unmarked at the far post, only for the full-back to shoot straight at Sergio Romero. Still, together with 10,000 visiting fans illuminating their end of the ground with mobile phones in a photogenic gesture of support for Teesside steelworkers, it was clear Boro intended to make their presence felt. By the half hour mark the visitors were doing most of the attacking and all the chanting, growing into the game as United retreated into their shell.

Lingard showed the occasional flourish on the ball, looking more of a threat than Memphis Depay on the opposite flank, though Pereira and Marouane Fellaini offered little thrust in central midfield and there was no real width to United's play with James Wilson cutting an isolated figure alone up front. Both sides had chances to take the lead in the closing minutes of the first half, however, with Fellaini looking certain to score only for Friend to throw himself in the way of the close range shot. Then at the other end Stewart Downing looked up and spied a chance from the edge of the penalty area, keeping his rising effort on target but finding Romero equal to it with a fingertip save.

The upshot was that Van Gaal was able to send on Rooney for the second half to applause, presumably from the same people who have been grumbling that he is past it. Nothing happened. Mejías fumbled a shot from Depay and got away with it, then comfortably got behind efforts from Pereira and Fellaini, but it was Boro who came closest to scoring, albeit from an offside position. Kike hit the post with an angled shot and the Boro fans thought they had gone ahead when Daley Blind could only turn the rebound into his own net, though despite the heated protests Lee Mason was quite right, the linesman had had his flag raised the whole time.

Young was brought on for Marcos Rojo even though Depay was the obvious candidate for replacement on the left. Some of the Dutch player’s distribution brought groans from the crowd and when he dribbled into a good shooting position after an hour he scuffed his shot terribly. United had a let-off when Romero allowed a backpass under his foot and was relieved to see it roll inches past his upright, before Van Gaal decided enough was enough and sent on Martial for Depay for the last 20 minutes. United at least spent the final part of normal time on top, yet Martial was peripheral out on the left and for all their pressing the home side could not find a way through. Lingard had a shot saved at the death, but Leadbitter passed up an even better opportunity in trying to chip Romero in the closing seconds.

United made a few positional changes for extra time, moving Martial to the centre, withdrawing Rooney to deep midfield and sending Fellaini further forward. Fellaini missed a close-range header from Pereira’s cross in the first period, unsuccessfully claiming he was shoved by Friend, then in the second period Martial looked to have found space for a shot with a smart turn but was expertly shut out by Ben Gibson and Daniel Ayala. That was it for incident until Martial then Fellaini missed with takeable headers right at the end. Boro were in conservation mode by then. United, goalless in the last 210 minutes at Old Trafford, could probably have played all night without scoring.

– Guardian Service