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United win as legend Ole dons the jersey once more
20LEgend
By Chris, August 3 2008
68,868 witnessed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pull on the famous red jersey one last time as the Baby Faced Assassin enjoyed his testimonial match with a 22-minute cameo appearance. Espanyol de Barcelona, however, showed no room for sentiment as they produced a competitive and determined display to fend off the European champions for 83 minutes. Frazier Campbell eventually secured victory for United.



As a United player, Solskjaer has 126 competitive goals to his name following a glittering eleven-year stint with the club.

However, there was no farewell strike for the Old Trafford faithful as Espanyol ‘keeper Alvarez Cristian denied the Norwegian star on two occasions.

It was quite surprising that Solskjaer didn't start the game - and that it took Sir Alex Ferguson 68 minutes to introduce him. When on the field, Ole looked sharp and hungry and, had injury not forced him to retire, would surely remain an important member of the United squad.

The game itself was a hard-fought affair. United enjoyed possession but, with Wayne Rooney injured and Louis Saha absent, were severely absent in attack. A new striker remains an important task for Sir Alex with Carlos Tevez often isolated as a lone forward.

Goalmouth action was limited but United nearly broke the deadlock mid-way through the first-half when Paul Scholes hit the woodwork and Nani fired the rebound wide.

The visitors looked more dangerous after the interval and came close to spoiling the party with a handful of decent opportunities. However, youngster Campbell settled the contest with eight minutes left on the clock. His deft chip beat Cristian and maintained United's unbeaten pre-season campaign thus far. Positive results against Peterborough and Juventus would complete this feat.

The day, however, was all about one of the greatest men to ever pull on a United shirt. Ole was presented with a trophy prior to kick-off, and made an emotional address to the 68,868 in attendance after the full-time whistle. His full focus can now return to his new job as the club's reserve-team boss and, with the Lancashire Senior Cup already in hand, he's got off to a fantastic start.

The word legend is used far too often in football - but, when you consider the loyalty, dedication and commitment so regularly shown by Ole, it doesn't come close to doing the man justice.

Full Time - Manchester United 1-0 Espanyol
Attendance - 68,868

Manchester United: Van der Sar (Kuszczak 46); Simpson, Ferdinand (Brown 46), Vidic (Evans 62), Evra (Silvestre 46); Gibson (O'Shea 62), Fletcher, Scholes, Nani (Campbell 46); Giggs, Tevez (Solskjaer 68)

Espanyol: Cristian; Chica (La Cruz 46), Jarque, Riera (Lopes 46), Beranger; A Martinez (Lopez 70), de la Pena (R Martinez 46), Rufete (Callejon 46); Torrejon, Hurtado (Sielva 53), Soriano
Substitutes Not Used: Ruiz

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Re: United win as legend Ole dons the jersey once more
Posted by: RedAngel (IP Logged)
Date: 03/08/2008 13:02

OLE....OLE OLE OLE. OLE. OLE. Wish I was there.

Absolute legend. Scored the most famous goal in our history.
Loyal servant to the cause. Thanks ole!

Interesting to see how he gets on as a manager but goodluck to him. Poor mcguiness, he was doing alright.

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