Manchester United: Champions of Europe

This was one of the better matches I have watched for quite a while.

Ronaldo scored his first goal against Chelsea, Drogba picked up a very important Red Card, and Edwin Van Der Sar came up HUGE for Sir Alex and Manchester United.

Manchester United looked the better club in the first half; Chelsea looked better in the second half. I was worried once it came to extra time as Chelsea looked like they would get their goal. Once the extra time was started, I was even more worried as thought that it would come down to Ronaldo.

I figured that Ronaldo would take the fifth kick and blow it. I was off by two spots. When he took his shot in the third spot, I instantly remembered his blown PK take in Barcelona. Unfortunately, he blew it like he did in Barcelona. Luckily for him, it did not completely destroy his season.

So as John Terry set up to take his kick, I layed down and looked at the ceiling. I heard the kick and Tommy Smith say that it wasn't meant to be for Chelsea.

In all honesty... in a match between these two clubs, a match that ends in a 1-1 draw and goes to penalty kicks is probably the best way for their series to end.

I am going to enjoy this Championship by United. I think I will wear all of my United jerseys over the next five days to celebrate. That and drink alot of Boddingtons.

Congratulations to Manchester United, Sir Alex, the Glazers, the players and most importantly, the Manchester United supporters.

Manchester United vs AC Milan: Highlights

Here are several highlights from last night's UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg at Old Trafford.

Champions League: Quick One

I followed the Manchester United vs. AC Milan match on-line, so I haven't any player performance comments for now. I am a little surprised at how well United seemed to do in the attack, at least for the first 15 or so minutes. It appeared that Milan was shocked as well.

I DVR'd the match, and I plan on watching it later tonight once I get home. After that I should have more in the way of my opinions.

3-2, it isn't that bad. It does make Milan have to come out and try and score in order to advance, which should give United a chance to get an away goal of their own. They will be without Evra regardless of his fitness as he picked up a Yellow card that will rule him out of the away leg. If Rio, Neville or Vidic don't return bye next week, the back line will look awfully thin.

Champions League Preview: Manchester United vs. AC Milan

So the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals kicks off today at Old Trafford. United are at home with a less than first choice line up against a more than rested Italian side that aren't as strong as they used to be.

The biggest problem I see is that the United defense is in such horrible shape and they could get even worse by match time if Evra is ruled out of the match and Fletcher has to fill in for him. If that happens, all four first choice defenders would be in street close for this match, which is never a good sign in a European Semi-Final. I honestly see Evra being the entire lynch pin to how United does today. If he is fit enough to take the field, than I can see United pulling out a 2-0 or a 2-1 victory over AC Milan. The biggest issue is Evra.

With Heinze available to start on the left and O'Shea and Wes brown to fill in the middle, Evra will need fill in for the right side. Fletcher isn't a defender and regardless of how well he has done in the EPL at this position, you never want to have a guy start out of position in a European match. If Evra doesn't play and Fletcher is the right sided defender, than the Carrick and Scholes will have to play alot more defensively, which will cut the offense in half.

If Carrick and Scholes do not have to provide a greater amount of defensive support for the back four, than I see no reason for Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney and Smith to be able to create several chances and pick up a few goals. Carrick and Scholes are going to have to play the ball between the defense and the forwards much cleaner than they had been in the last few matches, as the Milan midfield will be a bit more of a annoyance than Watford, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough provided.

Assuming that Evra plays, I see more of a pressure offense from United. If Fletcher has to play instead of Evra, than I expect a more defensive United side, with more people behind the ball.

Prediction:
With Evra: Manchester United 3 - 0 AC Milan
Without Evra: Manchester United 2 - 1 AC Milan

Manchester United vs. Roma Goals: 4/10/2007

Here are all 8 of the goals from yesterday's UEFA Champions League match at Old Trafford.

I am now hoping for a Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich Semi-Final. It is also looking like we should all be ready to see United play Chelsea three times in the month of May.

UEFA Champions League: Round of 16

Here are my picks for today’s matches:

Celtic vs. AC Milan:
Despite getting a good offensive result over the weekend, I have some doubt that Milan will be able to continue their goal scoring patterns. Celtic is running away with the SPL, but that really doesn’t say a lot for their form. I think that a 1-1 draw might be in the cards here.

PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal:
Arsenal played a 120 minute match last week, then played another spirited draw on Saturday. I am beginning to wonder if Arsene Wenger’s boys have anything left in the tank. A friend of mine of has season tickets at Emirates says that Arsenal will make it to the final and finish second in the EPL. I highly doubt either, especially if they have to keep playing replay matches in the FA Cup and have continue playing overtime matches. PSV are running away with the Eredivisie title and are coming off of a 2-0 victory over SC Heracles Almelo. As this is a home match for PSV, I feel that they might pull off a 1-0 or 2-0 victory.

Lille vs. Manchester United:
It has already been said that Lille need to play a perfect match in order to defeat United and I agree with this idea. United did stumble with their quest for the FA Cup over the weekend with a 1-1 draw against Reading, but in all honesty, United fielded a weaker side and didn’t have the best run of play against Reading, so a 1-1 draw isn’t the end of the world. Reading, IMHO is also a better club than Lille is, so with a full strength squad at his disposal, I fully expect Sir Alex Ferguson to get the best out of his boys. United should pick up a 2-0 victory.

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich:
Wow, just a few years ago this would have been a dream match up that would have any football supporter drooling. Now the only thing people will be looking for is if the stadium opens up and swallows both clubs for their mediocrity. Bayern is one of my favorite clubs in Europe; however, I am really not that interested in this match up. UEFA should just call this one off, it could be the snoozer of the round. 0-0 draw.