Manchester United 2-2 Porto

After the massive high of Sunday we got another downer. It might not turn out be a fatal result, giving two away goals for them take into the second leg. But the way our defence has disintegrated and, to be fair to them, the way they took the game to us it's hard to be as confident as i would like. It's amazing how a teams confidence can just evaporate, but that is what has happened. It's pretty hard to stomach but that 4-1 defeat by the scousers seems to have completely knocked the stuffing out of us.
You can't blame Fergie for the way we are defending individualy and as a collective unit but it seemed a weird tactical choice to go for a 4-5-1 when we had got our rewards on Sunday when we went all out on the attack. And to say it didn't work is an understatement. To me that system is negative, unless played the Cruyff or Barca way with 3 out and out forwards. But the one thing it is supposed to do when it is played as we usually play it is to make sure you either control the game or else at least don't get overrun in midfield. So to watch them take the game to us and look far more threatning than we did for the majority of the first half tells you that the tactics didn't exactly got to plan. In fact we only really started to get a bit of a hold in the game when we shifted back to 4-4-2.
Their first goal was even that much of a suprise when it came as almost as soon as the game kicked they looked brighter, sharper and our defence carried off where it has been for the last few games. I don't think we would have got into the game at all in the first half but for the horrendous mistake by their defender that gifted the chance to Rooney that he took as calmly as you like. At the moment the only two players that are playing anything like are Rooney and Fletcher. Carrick isn't playing badly, but he is nowhere the player that the Italian press and most reds we raving about, what, only 4 weeks ago.
The second half saw us play better but without hitting any heights or look much like getting a winner. Giggs came on and improved as he almost always has this season. But with 5 minutes to go and with the way we had performed i would have took the 1-1 draw. But then a brilliant piece of skill saw Rooney glide the ball into the path of substitute Tevez who smashed it home for what looked like it would probably be the winner and give us a 1 goal cushion to take to Portugal. But 5 minutes was long enough for our defence to crumble again and for Porto to get a second away goal meaning we will almost certainly have to win over there. The we are playing at the moment, that is going to be a big ask.

Fergie admits we have a tough task at Porto as defensive injury list gets worse as Evans is now out again.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5122350/Manchester-United-have-a-job-to-do-after-Porto-snatch-late-draw.html

Duncan White of the Telegraph says United are missing Brown and Owen Hargreaves badly, he is right on both counts. Right back needs seriously sorting out in the summer, although i am not sure why Fabio couldn't have played a couple of games there as he looked to me as though he would be just as comfortable on the right as on the left. Whilst that formation that we played last night was made for Hargreaves to slip in to.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/duncanwhite/blog/2009/04/08/why_manchester_united_desperately_miss_owen_hargreaves_and_wes_brown

Rob Smyth worried about United
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/apr/07/manchester-united-porto-champions-league
He could be right but when a team inconceivably loses it's form sometimes it can just as inconceivably come back. Let's hope


The boys in blue cover themselves in glory again, i am amazed that anybody believed them after the lies and the cover up they obviously tried to perpetrate over the De Menzes death.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/07/ian-tomlinson-g20-death-video
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/second-postmortem-for-g20-death-man-1665567.html

What an embarassing creep Berlusconi really is, and crook of course.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/08/italy-earthquake-berlusconi