RAFAEL OFF, UNITED OUT

 

Last time around, we found ourselves up against Porto in the Champions League quarter finals. A 2-2 draw at Old Trafford was not what we had in mind for a 1st leg result though. So that meant that we wound up heading to the Estadio Dragao for the 2nd leg with our backs against the wall. We needn't have worried. An early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo saw us claim a 1-0 win and that was all we needed - just. Still, we'd secured our third Champions League semi final spot in a row, not bad.

This time around, we were going up against Bayern Munich. Well the last time we faced them was in the quarter finals of 00/01. I was just finishing my A Levels and Bayern wound up knocking us out 3-1 on aggregate. However there is one match that fans of both teams will always remember, United fans for the right reasons. The final of '99 at the Nou Camp. Just when Bayern thought they had their hands on the trophy...Ole and Teddy created history to complete the treble.

This time around well, there was no denying that this was one of the ties of the round. Coming into the 1s t leg, both sides were top of the Premiership and Bundesliga respectively - we could definately have faced easier teams than Bayern. And yet there were still question marks about our upcoming opponents - did they really have what it took to take on the likes of United? It seemed unlikely. Yet we certainly weren't expecting them to make things easy for us.

The 1st leg was at the Allianz Arena. Wayne was certainly in no mood to hang around, thanks to him we took the lead pretty quickly. After that though, United were happy to cruise their way to half time. The second half was more of the same, well if we'd gotten away with it the tie would surely have been in the bag. We didn't though, Franck Ribery and Ivica Olic saw to that. Still, we weren't in particularly bad shape, turning round a one goal deficit is relatively straightforward.

So came the 2nd leg at Old Trafford. Again United were in no mood to hang around. Gibson opened the scoring with Nani making it two soon after and then getting his second goal to seemingly finish Bayern off. The Bundesliga side weren't done yet though, Ivica Olic pulling one back before half time. United were then down to ten men early in the second half and tried desperately to hang on before Arjen Robben scorched in a freekick. Another United goal never looked likely. Bayern went on to claim a semi final spot on away goals. Well, no one that has anything to do with MUFC should be satisfied with that result - we've had worse European campaigns but this one still ended way too early

Elsewhere, Arsenal faced Barcelona. In the 1st leg the two sides drew 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium with the Gunners looking dead and buried before a late comeback suggested that they still had something left. In the 2nd leg at the Nou Camp though, Arsene Wenger's team got a pretty serious reality check, with Barca winning 4-1. Combined with United's exit it left the Premiership with no representation in the Champions League semi finals - the first time that's happened since '03!

So, the Champions League semi finals look like this. Inter(first Champions League semi since '03) will face Barca(third Champions League semi in a row) with the 1st leg at the San Siro. That'll be one hell of a rumble but surely Barca will edge it. Bayern Munich(first Champions League semi since '01) will face Lyon(first Champions League semi final in club history) with the 1st leg at the Allianz Arena, Bayern probably have enough to see off the Ligue 1 side. That would set up a final between Barca and Bayern at the Bernabau and surely the La Liga side will be able to claim back-to-back Champions League trophies from there.

Dropping down a level, the Europa League quarter finals also took place. Liverpool beat Benefica 5-3 on aggregate with the Scousers having to recover from a 1st leg defeat. Fulham beat Wolfsburg 3-1 on aggregate in what turned out to be a much smoother display over the two legs - and Roy Hodgeson's team keep catching continental opposition on the hop. Congratulations to both sides, their achievements mean that the Premiership flag still flies in this competition at least.

So now we have the semi finals of the Europa League. Well Liverpool will face Athletico Madrid with the 1st leg at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. The La Liga side has enough familir names but Pool should know what they're doing. Fulham face Hamburg with the 1st leg at the Nordbank Arena. Well sooner or later that fairytale will come to an end, and it'll probably be here. That would set up a final between Liverpool ad Hamburg at the Nordbank Arena. Well though the Bundesliga side would have home advantage, chances are, the Scousers should claim the trophy.

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