United Are Going To Moscow

Unless Sir Alex Ferguson receives a favour from Kevin Keegan, his old sparring partner in title races gone by, it is likely that complete vindication for last Saturday’s team selection at Chelsea will not be forthcoming until victories over West Ham United and Wigan are secured. Tonight’s slender 1-0 win over Barcelona to seal a place in next month’s Champions’ League Final at least kick-starts the reconciliation process.

The location may have changed, but the pattern of play in the opening stages carried over from the first leg in Camp Nou with Barcelona in command. Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick struggled in Catalonia and they were under immediate pressure from Xavi and Andres Iniesta as the visitors seized control. Scholes has by far and away been England’s premier midfielder since Paul Gascoigne’s pre-injury days of the early 1990’s, a feat accomplished without the need to employ a pop svengali, but his recent form has attracted growing criticism from many observers. At 33, the feeling is that his best days are well beyond him. If skilled passing and moving, for so long a trademark of the Salford redhead, were being exhibited by Iniesta, at least Scholes still showed he has an ability to provide the spectacular. His 14th minute goal owed a debt of gratitude to an error by the otherwise excellent Gianluca Zambrotta, but its execution was typical of the man. Scholes, after all, scores goals.

Barcelona quickly regained the upper hand and Deco, the Portuguese playmaker, came close to grabbing the vital away goal on a couple of occasions before half-time. Cristiano Ronaldo, his compatriot, was again finding it difficult to receive possession in space. By contrast, Lionel Messi embarked on a number of slaloming runs but without an end product. Ronaldo enjoyed his best spell shortly after the interval. Firstly he jinked around Zambrotta before sending a dangerous cross into the area which tested the Barcelona defence. Minutes later he provided a sharp return pass into the path of Carlos Tevez who saw his left-foot shot palmed away by Victor Valdes.

With Tevez in outstanding form, frequently battling to retain possession and relieve the pressure from mounting on United’s reshuffled backline, the cavalry charge did not arrive until the final 15 minutes. By then Frank Rijkaard had introduced Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic to the action. Ferguson responded by installing Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs in midfield at the expense of the less defensively sound pairing of Scholes and Nani. Henry had one decent chance from a corner but could only head tamely at the feet of Edwin van der Sar.

A late injury to Patrice Evra saw play continue until the conclusion of the 96th minute, but United held firm to reach their third European Cup Final. There were a few nerves in the dugout, but the outcome has never been in doubt amongst the Old Trafford faithful who have been proved correct. Since late last year they have been telling us that United are going to Moscow.

United Hold Firm In Camp Nou

The expected glut of goalmouth action served up by two of Europe’s most illustrious attacking line-ups may not have materialised, but Barcelona and Manchester United still combined to produce an entertaining game at Camp Nou in the first leg of their Champions’ League semi-final.

As is usually the case when a high profile player misses from the penalty spot, Cristiano Ronaldo will be falsely accused of lacking bottle rather than simply being subjected to the law of averages. Pressure from the spot does not get more intense than when asked to re-take a successful effort when trailing 1-0 to a title challenger late in the season, as Ronaldo was required to do against Arsenal recently. Sir Alex Ferguson probably called it correctly when he said that, if anything, the opportunity possibly arrived too early in the game. That said he and everyone else would still have backed the Portuguese maestro to convert.

At this same stage in last year’s competition, an injury-ravaged United found themselves outmanoeuvred and outgunned by a fresh AC Milan side able to pour all of their efforts into the Champions’ League. Though injuries have not taken the same toll on the English champions this time around (Nemanja Vidic was the only probable starter to miss out), Barcelona’s faltering title challenge in Spain has provided them with a single focus as the season draws to a close.

In the early stages, Frank Rijkaard’s men pressed high up the field. Their midfield pushed forward onto United’s back line, forcing the heralded triumvirate of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez to retreat into their own half. Resultingly, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick found it difficult to strike up their normal rhythm. Again unfairly for Ronaldo, many observers view this tie as a direct competition between him and Lionel Messi for the “World’s Best Player" accolade. Judging their respective merits on this game is highly misleading. Whereas Messi continually received the ball in the final third with team-mates close at hand, much of Ronaldo’s possession was gained around the halfway line and with little support nearby.

Ferguson will be content that, despite incessant probing, Barcelona could only create one seriously threatening chance when Samuel Eto’o broke into the penalty area early in the second half. He will be less impressed with his side’s ability to defuse some of the pressure heaped upon them by retaining control of the ball for longer stretches. It is doubtful that a side containing Ji-Sung Park and Paul Scholes as well as the front trio were instructed to play on the defensive, so credit must go to Rooney and Tevez for putting in a hard defensive shift when their attacking capabilities were so effectively marginalised.

Overall, United will be happy to return to Old Trafford next Tuesday knowing that a win will see them through to the final in Moscow. Rijkaard will feel confident that his men can score in the away leg, especially with Messi further down the road to full fitness.

A final word of praise goes to Massimo Busacca, the Swiss referee, who gave an impeccable display which ranks among the best that I have seen in recent years. There were, as can be expected, a handful of minor calls which he and his assistants did not get right, but he was exact in all of the major decisions regarding penalty appeals and bookings and allowed an admirable flow to the match without becoming overly officious – too often the case in today’s near non-contact sport.