Manchester United 2-0 Internazionale

After the brilliance of Saturday back to a more ordinary display against the Italian champions, thankfully it proved enough, as well as Inter played especially in the first half, they didn't take their chances and we did. I couldn't help feeling last night that the players decided that they were just going to do enough and leave some juice in the tanks for the visit of arch enemies Liverpool. That's fair enough to me, that is where i want their priority to be. That makes some change from years gone by though,when that definitely was not the order players or manager put on things. It also shows a confidence that is something else when you stop and think about it. It also reflects pretty badly on Inter as United obviously don't rate Mourinho's team too highly. To be fair i think they are right, we won pretty easily at the end of the day even if Inter had took one of their chances in the first half i think United would have been able to raise their game sufficiently to have come back and won the game.
I was surprised that Fergie started with both Giggs and Scholes and i think it backfird a bit, especially with Scholes who it has to be said didn't have his greatest game. That said Carrick wasn't much better than Scholes and we lost control of the game for a time in the first half. Both the goals came at great times for us and at killer times for Inter. The first from Vidic was a ridiculously soft goal to give away. And then after having maybe had a better performance than even they had expected, to concede almost straight away in the second half, you could see their heads go down as if this was more what they had expected. United never really hit any heights on the night, though the second goal was a lovely flowing passing movement that ended with Rooney's gloriously inviting cross for Ronaldo to powerfully head home.
Berbatov had a great chance to really kill the game off but in keeping with a disappointing night he couldn't beat the goalie. Inter did manage to hit the wood work again but their body language never really looked to me like a team that believed they could get back into the game. I can't wait for Saturday morning where i thoroughly expect us to finish any scouse hopes of ending their 18 year barren run of winning the league.

Henry Winter goes ever so slightly over the top in his match report of last night's encounter
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/4975460/Manchester-United-knock-Jose-Mourinhos-Inter-Milan-out-of-Champions-League.html

Ferguson not that happy with last night's performance
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article5891605.ece

Fans in Rome behave as you have come to expect
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/uefa-demand-greater-security-for-champions-league-final-1643620.html

Mourinho thinks United can co quintuple
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/4977740/Jose-Mourinho-says-Manchester-United-can-win-all-five-this-season.html

FSA warns bankers, no more soft touch
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/12/regulators-financial-crisis
sounds promising, though they better get things up and running before the tories get back in.

Anatole Kaletsky is worried about US leadership during the credit crunch
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article5891045.ece

Mike Atherton isn't impressed by the England cricket team
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article5890826.ece

Simon Tisdall on disintegrating Pakistan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/12/pakistan-benazir-bhutto

Timothy Garton Ash on Britain and torture
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/12/torture-guantanamo-human-rights