Champions League

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Oct 23, 2012 at 7.45pm UK

Man Utd Manchester United
3-2
Braga

Match Analysis: Manchester United 3-2 Braga

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 23 October 2012

Sports Mole dissects the action as Manchester United record a 3-2 victory over Braga in their Champions League Group H clash at Old Trafford.

Manchester United recovered from two goals down to beat Braga and make it nine points from three games at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

The Portuguese outfit stormed into a two-goal lead inside 20 minutes following a brace from Alan, but Javier Hernandez cut the deficit to 2-1 five minutes later.

Jonny Evans levelled the scores with 30 minutes to play, before Hernandez grabbed his second of the match after 75 minutes.

Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Group H rivals.

Match statistics:

Manchester United:
Shots 11
On target 7
Possession 58%
Corners 8
Fouls 10

Braga:
Shots 9
On target 3
Possession 42%
Corners 4
Fouls 10

Was the result fair?

On the balance of play, you would have to say yes. Braga were impressive in the early stages as they moved into a 2-0 lead, but you just always believed that United would recover. Hernandez's strike after 25 minutes marked the turnaround and United were the better side for the vast majority of this match.

Manchester United's performance

6/10. It was a perfect example of United's defensive frailties and attacking talents this evening. They continue to concede sloppy goals, but with the attacking personnel in their side they will always score goals. Hernandez was impressive for the home side and Rafael's performance was also a particular highlight.

Braga's performance

5/10. In many ways Braga are a typical European outfit. They are nice and tidy on the ball with their pass success rate of 83% a prime example of this. However, their defending at times left a lot to be desired. Like United, they will always score goals with the way that they play, but they dropped deeper and deeper in the second period and eventually paid the price.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Javier Hernandez: The Mexican has struggled to hit the heights of his first campaign with the Reds, but he was back to his best with two headed goals this evening. It was the kind of performance that made him such a key player two seasons ago.

Biggest gaffe of the match

United's defending. There seems to be general theme developing here. It simply cannot continue with bigger tests ahead. Rio Ferdinand was a real miss this evening.

Referee performance

Milorad Mazic had a fairly productive 90 minutes of action. The Serbian was quick to issue cards where he felt it necessary, but also allowed the play to flow in the correct areas.

What next?

Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson's side resume domestic duty at home to Chelsea on Sunday. Meanwhile, they travel to Braga in the Champions League on November 7.

Braga: Braga resume their domestic campaign away to Maritimo on Sunday before welcoming Manchester United on November 7.