CSKA MOSCOW 1, MANCHESTER UNITED 1
Anthony Martial concedes a penalty with handball
Martial levels the game in the second half after United improve
Quiet game for Rooney before Manchester derby on Sunday
Anthony Martial went from villain to hero as Manchester United escaped Moscow’s icy grasp with a 1-1 draw against CSKA in the Champions League Group B.
United manager Louis Van Gaal was critical of Anthony Martial for giving away the first half penalty but couldn’t stay angry at him long after he levelled the scores in the second half.
“It was a stupid reaction of Anthony, but it’s the first time he’s done it and there always has to be a first time!
“[In the second half] he was playing again with a lot of threat to the opponent and he always plays at a certain level, he’s very consistent.
“For a 19-year-old boy I like that.” he said of the young Frenchman.
“I knew in advance that it would be a very difficult game because CSKA Moscow is very good organised and is playing very compact.
“They had a present off Anthony Martial – a penalty – and then you are behind in score and then it’s more difficult because then they can continue to play more compact.
“In the first half we could not play in a higher tempo because it was too slow in my opinion.
“That is what I said at half time and we had to improve.
“We played at a higher tempo. We switched the ball from side to side more and that’s also why we got the goal and created more chances and didn’t give too much away.
“We could have won I think but in the end I think it’s a deserved draw.”
Van Gaal opted for two changes from the side that beat Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park last weekend.
Jesse Lingard and Antonio Valencia started down the right flank in Moscow, perhaps with one eye on the Manchester derby at the weekend, as Juan Mata and Matteo Darmian were rested.
Despite their early dominance it was United that fell behind in the 15th minute when Martial handled the ball.
Seydou Doumbia reacted first after David De Gea saved Roman Eremenko’s penalty low to the left, slotting in the rebound past the Spanish goalkeeper.
United improved after the break after Marouane Fellaini’s introduction and Wayne Rooney could have levelled matters after getting on the end of an Ander Herrera cross on the hour but he couldn’t beat Igor Akinfeev in the CSKA goal.
Martial atoned for his earlier mistake five minutes later, however, when Valencia raced up the right flank and put in a telling cross which the young Frenchman headed in off the post.
It was Martial’s first Champions League goal in exactly 11 hours on the pitch in the competition but United couldn’t convert their overall dominance of the game, with 79% of possession overall, into a winner as Rooney, playing as the furthest forward United player, looked worryingly off the pace all night.