THE INDEPENDENT - SMITH SAVES POINT BUT UNITED ARE MILES BEHIND
Bolton Wanderers have not beaten Manchester United at home since 1978, but they came mighty close yesterday. With the game seconds away from its finish they led thanks to a controversial goal from Les Ferdinand, only for the visitors to equalise with virtually the last kick of the match.
Nicky Hunt, Bolton's fullback, was credited with the last touch, although David Bellion and Alan Smith might argue otherwise, but it undoubtedly saved United from a weekend of inquests. Even with this draw they are nine points behind the Premiership leaders, Arsenal, and at this rate the chances of their winning the title might have gone before the leaves are off the trees.
Living in Manchester, Sir Alex Ferguson knows about it pouring rather than raining, but the United manager has been contending with a monsoon's worth of injuries. Only five players went on international duty last week and three of them - Louis Saha, Gary Neville and John O'Shea - returned crocked, so Wes Brown and Ruud Van Nistelrooy were rushed off the treatment table.
THE TELEGRAPH - BOLTON DENIED IN EXTRA TIME
If anyone had presented the script they would have been laughed out of Bolton. Twenty-five seconds remained on the clock, the score was one apiece, when Manchester United provided the first barmy sequence.
Their goalkeeper Tim Howard was about to collect the ball when his teammate Mikael Silvestre intervened. The pair of them tumbled haplessly together and as the ball ran free and the veteran Bolton substitute Les Ferdinand virtually walked the ball into the net.
Everyone thought it was all over but the classic comedy of errors had two minutes more of added time. It was enough for United to launch an attack that saw Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and defender Nicky Hunt almost as much at odds as United's David Bellion lurked. This time Hunt, evidently trying to find his off-balance goalkeeper, managed to nudge the ball into his own net.
Two goals, two dogs' dinners and plenty of thunder in the dressing rooms.
Okocha was in inspired form in a first half that only went United's way two minutes before the break with the Gabriel Heinze goal that was followed up with the unlikely chant of "Ar-gen-tina" from the United fans.
THE OBSERVER - LUCKY UNITED SCRAMBLE A POINT
Never mind Manchester United's worst start to a Premiership season, let's hear it for Bolton's boldest opening to date.
Statistically this may not match the flying start of three years ago, when Bolton surprised everyone by taking nine points from their first three matches, but after five games it feels more solid.
Sam Allardyce's team are only looking up at the metropolitan powerhouses of Arsenal and Chelsea, and in the space of two games have taken four points from their more illustrious neighbours, Liverpool and United.
Not that United were all that illustrious here. Ordinary and vulnerable, more like, and Sir Alex Ferguson's reasoning about the Arsenal gap only mattering in March and April is already looking specious and desperate. It certainly seemed that way when amateurish defending by Mikael Silvestre gifted Les Ferdinand what appeared a certain winner in the 90th minute, and though United were reprieved through an even more shambolic scramble at a corner leading to another dubious equaliser in the final seconds, Arséne Wenger will be losing no sleep.
THE SUNDAY TIMES - LAST DITCH UNITED RIDE THEIR LUCK
Amir Khan, the local-born Olympic boxing hero, was showered by a sprinkler that suddenly spewed out water as he stood in the centre circle making the half-time draw. Drama burst forth with similar abruptness at the climax of this game. 1-1 after 89 minutes, 2-2 at the end of 92, Manchester United rescued themselves a point thirty seconds from the end of added time when Alan Smith nodded down a short corner at the far post and, under pressure from David Bellion, and misreading the intentions of his goalkeeper, Nicky Hunt chested the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Ferguson was proud that, for the second away match running, his players thrust their hands into the embers of a game and pulled out an equaliser.
Yet the haphazard way United are proceeding this season contrasts with Arsenal’s serene progress and, having beaten only Norwich in five league outings, they are already nine points behind Arsenal.
The pressure already building on Ferguson was, perhaps, evident, in the fact that despite being the manager whose side had levelled at the death, it was he who greeted the final whistle with fury. Making a beeline to Matt Messias, he erupted in the face of the referee. Anger at the free-kick which had led to Bolton’s second goal was what produced the lava. Phil Neville jumped with Jay Jay Okocha on the touchline and was penalised.
Heinze was the unlikely scorer of the opener when, executing a training ground ploy, Ryan Giggs hit a corner long, sailing the ball over the bodies bunched inside the six yard area to Silvestre, stationed beyond the far post. Silvestre nodded the ball back across goal and Heinze hooked a left- footed volley home.
Heinze looked impressive: fast, robust and able to manipulate the ball sufficiently quickly with both feet that the unfamiliar pace of the Premiership never had him in trouble. He has all the aggressive elements that typify stoppers from his country.