Showing posts with label Champions league. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Champions league. Show all posts
Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his side of complacency ahead of the Champions League clash against AC Milan. Manchester United were 3-2 winners at the San Siro and have a heavy away goal advantage but the Red Devils manager has warned his players against overconfidence as AC Milan arrive at Old Trafford today.
Manchester United are in a great position to progress to the quarter-finals, but that their progress is not guaranteed. Today’s game would mark the return of David Beckham to Manchester United after 7 long years. It would definitely be an emotional game for Becks and Fergie knows that very well.
I’m sure Fergie has prepared his players to deal with the Beckham circus. During the pre-match press conference, he stressed on being focussed to progress to the quarter-finals.
He said,
I don’t think we should be confused by the scoreline and think that we have a bye into the next round.
I don’t think we’re very good at defending leads. We need to play our normal game and that includes attacking. We’ve got to accept that it’s going to be a very difficult game and one we have to win.
It's certainly an open tie which should make for a great game of football. We hope to kill the tie by our own attacking abilities, but obviously AC Milan have to score and that should make it a really open match.
It would be an exciting game at OT tonight and surely there will be some goals. I just hope Man United thrash Milan like Arsenal did to Porto yesterday. But for that, Berbatov needs to show his magical class to help United progress to the quarter finals.
Manchester United will host CSKA Moscow today in their group B clash of the Champions League. United had won the same fixture two weeks ago in Russian capital and will look to win this one too.
Currently, the Red Devils lead Group B and a victory at Old Trafford would send them progress into the knockout round with two Group B matches to spare. Being in such a comfort zone, Fergie is likely to start with some subs or reserves as he will try to rest his stars for the big clash at Stamford Bridge this Sunday.
With Dimitar Berbatov injured and Wayne Rooney questionable after becoming a father on Monday, Michael Owen could get a start. He might team up with 18-year-old Federico Macheda if Rooney remains with wife Coleen and their new son, Kai Wayne Rooney.
Recently, Michael Owen had said that playing for Manchester United is more important for him than for the national team. I don't think these comments would see Fergie give Owen some partial consideration. But I only hope that if he starts today, he should remain till the end. Remember how his last home match start against Wolfsburg resulted in a damp squib as he lasted only 20 minutes.
Manchester United came from behind to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 on a night of contrasting fortunes for Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs. The match started with a shocker for United as Edin Dzeko's opener for the German champions silenced the United fans. But a consistent and wonderful performance from the home team earned them a deserving victory.
It was Ryan Giggs who equalized in the second half when his free kick was deflected into the net. That provided the much needed boost and then Carrick went on to finish the game for United with his winner. The only low point for the home team was the injury to Michael Owen. He barely lasted for 20 minutes as he limped out, complaining of a groin problem.
But Sir Alex did not let Owen's misery to shadow United's great win. He was full of praise for Ryan Giggs as his performance has been outstanding in the last couple of matches. Even at the weekend match against Stoke, it was Giggs who was instrumental in their victory.
While paying him tribute, Sir Alex Ferguson said:
He's unbelievable. With all the superlatives and praise he's had over the years, I don't know how you can add to it. He's a marvelous player. All Ryan is doing at the moment is continuing to play. And the amazing thing is he shows this incredible youthfulness about his performance. It is as if he has just started his career. He is continuing like a young man. He is enjoying his football, which is wonderful to see.
Its absolutely remarkable to see how Giggs manages to put his feet on ground despite so much success and accolades. The goal he scored today makes him the ninth player in Manchester United history to score 150 goals for the club. With one of the most astonishing careers of all-time, I wonder what other magical moments we are gonna see from this 35-year-old Red Devil.
European champions Manchester United kick start their Champions league campaign against Spanish outfit Villarreal. Theses two sides had faced each other in the 2005-06 tournament, with both games yielding neutral results.
Man U will get a boost as their star player Cristiano Ronaldo makes his eagerly-awaited comeback from injury at Old Trafford tonight. Ferguson has nothing but praise for the dedication Ronaldo has shown towards his recovery from ankle surgery. His return is well-timed as Michael Carrick could be out for six weeks with a broken foot, Paul Scholes is suspended tomorrow and Dimitar Berbatov a major doubt after suffering a bang on the knee in Saturday's defeat at Liverpool.
Also Villarreal are facing problems upfront as their first-choice strikers Nihat Kahveci and former United striker Guiseppe Rossi are still sidelined. However, former Arsenal winger Robert Pires has regained fitness and could feature in today’s game.
Way to capture Europe again, United!
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