INTER PUT TO THE SWORD

 

(Image taken from Yahoo)

We'd already been to the San Siro and made it back with a 0-0 draw. Fine by us, it meant that we weren't carrying any extra weight going into the Champions League 1st knockout round 2nd leg match at Old Trafford. Inter had shot their load really, now it ws a straight knockout tie on our turf. OK, we did still need to actually win the match one way or another but even though Inter were still Serie A leaders, it was Jose'e Mourinho's side that had their work cut out. Ronaldo started at right mid, Scholes and Carrick centre mid. Rooney and Berbatov up front. A straightforward task for the Reds and even with familiar faces in town, it looked as though it would be our night.

Well Inter may have had the first attack but in the 4th minute Giggsy sent over a corner, Vidic lost his marker, you can guess the rest. After that though it wasn't so smooth. The Serie A side were certainly keen to get an away goal and Zlatan Ibramovic was certainly looking to prove Jose's claimis that he was one of the best players in the world right. United gave as good as they got but we were still pretty messy, particularly in terms of passing. Still, Inter were unable to hit the net. Advantage United with 45 minutes to go. Inter looked like they were capable to turning the game round though so we still had to stay sharp and deally get a second goal.

Again Inter came up with the first chance in the second half. And then in the 49th minute Rooney crossed to Ronaldo and United were two up. United continued to dodge bullets from Inter but our opponents couldn't find the net on this occasion. In the latter stages of the match United in fact looked more likely to get a third goal, it didn't happen though. Inter had some more chances in the last few minutes but it was getting to the too little too late stage, or it would have done had the actually scored. As happened in '99, United faced a threatening looking Inter side. As happened in '99, United saw Inter off. Bring on the quarter finals.Till next time Jose, adios.

Elsewhere, Chelsea faced Juventus at the Stadio della Alpi. The Serie A side opened the scoring through Vincenzo Iaquinta before Michael Essien levelled the scoring for the Blues just before half time with the Premiership side looking to have a slight edge. Juve retook the lead though after the messiest penalty incident I've seen for a while thanks to Alessandro del Piero but Didier Drogba then came up with a late equaliser for Chelsea. And an equaliser was all the Blues needed, their first leg win meant that they won the tie 3-2 on aggregate. A great result given that the Blues weren't in the easiest of situations, it must be a relief to Blues fans to see their side through to the quarters.

Arsenal faced Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Juan opened the scoring for the home side and the Gunners fell victim to some messy defending. Still they did try to put up some kind of match before half time, particularly late on in the half. The second half proved to be more of the same, except this time around neither side hit the net. Arsene Wenger brought on some fresh legs in an attempt to turn the game round but when the final whistle blew, Roma could still claim a win. Except that wasn't good enough, given Arsenal's win in the first leg. The score was 1-1 on aggregate and the tie was level on away goals. All Roma had done was buy extra time.

In extra time there still looked to be nothing between the two sides, but Arsenal were able to make use of their counter attacking abilities with both sides running low on energy. Still, Roma wound up having the more chances. However the second half of extra time started with neither side having hit the net since that early Roma goal and though Arsenal had more late chances, the extra half an hour was only able to produce a deadlock. That meant the game wound up having to go to penalties and it had been a while since I saw a more knackered pair of goalies. Still Arsenal won the shootout 7-6 with Abou Diaby proving the Gunners hero on the night.

Liverpool faced Real Madrid at Anfield. The Scousers opened the scoring through Fernando Torres with Steven Gerrard then adding a penalty in what was proving to be another classic European night for Rafa Benitez's crew. Gerrard then got his second goal in the early stages of the second half and with the La Liga giant already destroyed, Andrea Dossena got a fourth goal for the home side in a game that will surely be one that Real will want to forget. For Liverpool though it was awesome and for Premiership fans as a whole it was even more amazing. Four Premiership sides in the Champions League quarter finals for a second year in a row. It does not get much better than that.

Going down a level, Man City faced Aalborg at the City of Manchester Stadium in the UEFA Cup 2nd knockout round first leg. City did great work in the first half, Felipe Caidedo opening the scoring before Shaun Wright-Philipps put his side two up. The action slowed in the second half and what opportunies there were fell pretty evenly but the bottom line was, a team that started the season in the Champions League couldn't put the ball in City's net. A great result for Sparky's team and one that surely sees them through to the quarter finals even with the second leg still to play. City aren't exactly one of the favourites to win the competition but the longer they're in it the better.

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