An eventful match at Old Trafford saw Manchester United go down early on, but they managed to recover after an awful start to grab all three points against Braga. Alex Ferguson's decision to rest Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand looked like a poor one in the early going, but he was bailed out by Javier Hernandez and United's other forward players in a 3-2 win.
Manchester United vs. Braga, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Final score 3-2, Chicharito leads Red Devils comeback
‘Chicharito’ Javier Hernandez was the star of the show on Tuesday as Manchester United turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win against Braga.
Braga scored just two minutes to match on a header by their captain Alan, shortly following a corner kick. Hugo Viana delivered the assist with a cross, and Alan rose up above Michael Carrick to head in. In the 20th minute, he completed a brace. Eder set him up by beating Carrick at the endline and squaring for Alan, who got between Jonny Evans and Alexander Buttner to apply the finish.
United stopped the bleeding and got back into the match in the 26th minute. Robin van Persie started the move by beating two defenders with a fantastic turn before he was fouled, and the referee correctly played advantage. Shinji Kagawa picked up the ball and crossed to the far post for Chicharito, who lost his defender and poked in the Red Devils' first goal.
Hernandez should have had another in the 34th minute, but Kagawa, who played him in on goal, was flagged for offside and United’s would-be equalizer was disallowed.
Evans scored the equalizer in somewhat fortunate circumstances in the 62nd minute. A van Persie corner was flicked behind by Carrick towards Evans, who whiffed on his first attempt at a shot. The ball fell favorably, however, and Evans managed to make contact with his follow-up effort and beat Beto.
The Red Devils experienced a bit of back luck over the next few minutes before finally finding their winner. Hernandez was incorrectly denied a goal again on a bad offside call in the 65th minute, and he was denied a brilliant assist in the 72nd minute when Nani had a shot saved by Beto. In the 75th minute, Hernandez finally got his deserved brace and the winning goal, heading in a cross by Tom Cleverley.
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