Four second-half goals put Wigan to the sword
Scholes opens scoring
By Chris
September 16 2012
Four second-half goals from Manchester United secured an emphatic win over Wigan Athletic for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men. Paul Scholes marked his 700th United appearance with the opening goal, whilst Alex Buttner and Nick Powell both made goalscoring debuts for the Red Devils.
Following a goalless opening half, Scholes tapped in the opening strike of the game six minutes after the interval as United made it three league wins on the bounce with an ultimately comfortable win over Lancashire rivals Wigan.
Javier Hernandez doubled the advantage on 63 minutes as he turned home Buttner’s cross, before the provider turned goalscorer with a finish from an acute angle only minutes later.
United’s victory was given an emphatic nature with the fourth goal as substitute Nick Powell fired home a fine 20-yard finish to make the perfect start to life at United. The striker showed tremendous goalscoring pedigree at Crewe Alexandra and will be hoping this debut goal keeps him in contention for regular top-flight football at this early stage of his career.
Powell had replaced Ryan Giggs, who was making his 600th league appearance for United – whilst it was also a landmark occasion for centre-half Rio Ferdinand who made his 400th outing for the club.
The result lifted Sir Alex’s men to second in the Premier League, a single point behind early pacesetters Chelsea. Attention now turns to the Champions League as United kick-off their campaign at home on Tuesday against Fatih Terim’s Galatasary.
Full Time – Manchester United 4-0 Wigan Athletic
Attendance – 75,142