UCL: RD 16 2nd Leg - Man Utd. vs. AC Milan
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Round of 16 - 2nd Leg
Manchester United [ENG] vs. AC Milan [ITA]
Old Trafford, Manchester - ENGLAND
March 10, 2010 [Wednesday]
First Leg: Utd. got a fantastic 2-3 away win getting one foot and a half in the QF of the UCL.
Preview
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It's a sombre mood leading into the second leg seeing that we have everything to do and Utd. need to just play normally for 90 mins to qualify as they have done all the hard work in the first leg.
Utd. deserve all the credit in the world for getting through and winning for the first time ever in the San Siro scoring 3 precious goals virtually eliminating Milan even before the second leg commences.
Now, I don't know what others feel but Milan was really hard done by in the first leg and paid a heavy price for poor finishing. Milan had Utd. packed and stacked in the first 30 minutes but we couldn't rack them and instead Utd. soaked up that pressure, re-arranged themselves and slowly started to get back into the game through one of the dodgiest goals ever!!
Wayne Looney just went berserk in a magical 15 min spell where he was just not controllable. It was our bad luck that a lot of our players like Nesta, Silva, Seedorf etc. were not fully fit for the match so they came into the match slightly rusty after injuries and were not in full flow.
We paid a price for that and in addition to that missed some wonderful scoring chances. On the level of play, Milan played a better match but Utd. were by far more clinical in finishing which is more important at the end of the day. This Utd. side has matured a lot since they started facing us. Before that they played a lot of top teams like Bayern, Real, Barcelona and Inter etc. in their day but they never developed into a strong UCL side. Only after facing Milan a few times in the last 5 years have Utd. become a very strong UCL side for the first time in their history.
This only makes our task all the more harder. We will need a lot of fortune to get through. We need a miracle night so to speak. I don't see us getting through any other way because to over-turn the damage of the first leg Milan needs everything to go right and Utd. needs everything to go wrong.
Ferdinand is likely to return for the match and Carrick will miss through suspension. They are key men but Utd. can still manage it IMO. Ferdinand returning is sort of like Nesta's return in the first leg. I think they can bank on the ruthless efficiency of the counter-attack to pounce on our mistakes to either get a breezy win or hold out for a scoring draw.
I don't see Utd. losing at home and I don't see Milan scoring 4 goals which will most probably be required to get through.
It will be one of the greatest UCL comebacks of all-time in a knock-out fixture for sure if Milan pulls through this one.
It will be very hard IMO. My head says that Utd. will win and my heart says that Milan will put in a respectable performance to get a draw but I don't see us taking them out.
The one thing that Milan needs to do on the sporting side is to not lose their focus even if Utd. take the lead from a streaky goal or we go a man down. We have to persevere and continue playing with HEART.
We really haven't had a great UCL comeback the last decade. We are not known for our comebacks but we are known to step up on the big UCL nights. We are known for our UCL pedigree and there is no doubt that we are a UCL thoroughbred and the reference side in this competition historically.
I don't think that anybody expected us to go all the way this year but we did hope to take out Utd. and reach the QF at least. If we eliminate them then we will have strong enough momentum to probably go far but this is going to be Leonardo's toughest game of the season now.
Milan needs to step up on the clinical finishing side. We have to be ruthlessly efficient and then hope that it works out at the end of the day. I think our team is in much better physical shape now than it was 3 weeks ago. Nesta, Silva and Antonini are much better now and look to have reached their peak fitness levels. Pirlo and Ambro also look better. Flamini and Huntelaar have minutes under their belt.
On our side we have done all what we could to prepare for this game. Now, it comes down to what happens at Old Trafford. Milan needs to make history and need a miracle. Utd. is an intelligent side with good experience. They should be happy that Giggs is returning and Scholes will start to support Rooney who is having one heck of a season ... probably his best ... we will know in May. Rooney so far looks the top contender for the Ballon d'Or if you ask me and he should get it one day.
Milan got a 0-0 and a Utd. got a 0-1 away win. I don't know how one looks at these results but it is kind of good that we fired blanks because in football it happens that a team can fire blanks after a long time and the last thing you want is to fire blanks in a game where you need goals. So we have go that out of the way now. Let's see if we can score a handful of goals.
The bare minimum for us is to score 3 goals. If we score 3 which is a VERY HARD task then we will control the tie. Leonardo has already stated that his team TRULY BELIEVES that we can do the job. He is not just saying that. I believe his words. That's a good thing. SAF is comforted that Ferdinand and Vidic will be able to start at OT. Hargreaves is getting ready to start soon as well but can be used as a bench sub. Giggs will be coming back.
Utd. might be slightly relaxed now that they are leading the EPL race by two clear points and they have a good lead for the second leg.
It comes down to how we approach this game and then hope that one thing clicks after another. Milan really needs to take good shots from outside the box as well. I am not giving up hope but we have to be rational as well. It is a difficult ask for us. It keeps reminding me of the Barcelona SF loss in 2006. Only this time the situation is even worse.
--->>> I think Utd. will win this game by a goal or two capitalizing on the acres of space we leave behind in a valiant attempt to make something out of this tie.
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Originally Posted by Dario
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