When the Premier League scheduled Middlesbrough v Manchester United for March 19, we wonder if they realised the significance of the date.
Boro are back in the Premier League for the first time this decade, but back when they were a fixture in the division they had some memorable meetings with the former champions.
One of those came 10 years to the day before United’s first trip to the Riverside in the 2010s, but it was in the FA Cup rather than the league.
Back in 2007, United had a talented young player by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. You might remember him.
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The Portuguese scored the only goal of that game, but it’s what happened in stoppage time that caused more of a stir.
With Boro poised to fall just short of a second cup final appearance, as they did the previous season with a semi-final loss to West Ham, James Morrison took it upon himself to seal his team’s quarter-final exit by making his mark on Ronaldo.
In fact, ‘making his mark’ might be a bit of an understatement, with Wayne Rooney and Abel Xavier getting involved in response to a truly shocking tackle.
The midfielder was shown a straight red card, and he can’t have had too many complaints.
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