By Alan Duffy
Manchester United 2-0 Sunderland – Premier League – 28th February 2015
A Wayne Rooney brace fired Manchester United to a home win over Sunderland, a result which sees the Red Devils stay well in the hunt for a Champions League berth. However, the victory was anything but easy for Louis van Gaal’s side.
The hosts struggled in the first-half against Gus Poyet’s struggling side and at half-time, van Gaal hauled off megabucks man Angel Di Maria, replacing the ineffectual Argentine with Adnan Januzaj.
In the second period, the Red Devils pushed for an opener and on 66 minutes it came, albeit in rather odd circumstances. Radamel Falcao had look set to fire home from close-range, only for John O’Shea to haul down the Colombian. However, referee Roger East instead sent off Wes Brown despite O’Shea’s protestations. Rooney duly converted the resulting spot-kick before the England man doubled his side’s advantage late on.
The rather unimpressive victory sees United go third, at least until Arsenal play on Sunday. As for the Black Cats, they are now just three points above the drop-zone.
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Highlights: Footytube