AC Milan 2-3 Manchester United

A great result after a far from convincing first half where our defending was so bad it was untrue. The team was pretty much as expected, virtually the same as the Arsenal and City games. I would have liked to have seen Valencia start and i was quite surprised he didn't. Rafael was again given a lot of responsibilty with the job of marking Ronaldinho, again i thought he might have preferred Wes Brown's experience.
As in all the games we have played AC Milan in at the san siro during the last decade the home side started strongly. But United's start was poor, sluggish and nervous, and a fortuitous goal to the home side after just three minutes didn't help those nerves to settle. Evra gave away the free kick and then didn't cover himself in glory when he sliced Beckham's innocuos looking cross straight to the feet of Ronaldinho. The Brazillian did well to hit a clean shot on the volley but Van Der Sar had it well covered until it took a wicked deflection off Carrick and into the back off the net. For the next twenty minutes United were terrible and we could have been really taken to the cleaners if Milan had taken their chances. Ferdinand looked shaky, Evans was having what you can only call a mare and Ronaldinho was unsurprisingly causing Rafael problems. The back four weren't being helped by the central midfield being far too casual with their passing. The only players that really turned up in that period were Fletcher and Rooney, but Rooney was having to live on scraps.
I didn't really understand the tactics with Fletcher on the left and Park given a seeming free role. Just before the game the camera's had panned onto Nani and it made me think what a big game this was for him. Maybe it occured to him and it was too much for him because this was the Nani we hoped that we had seen the last off. It said it all when Valencia came on and that with almost his first touch, he beat his man got the cross over and Rooney did the rest. In his sixty five minutes on the park Nani had never threatened to be as incisive.
United did start to get their act together as the first half progressed and started too look more like Manchester United. Scholes's miscued shot that put us level may have been fortunate but the passing before it was superb. With Fletcher doing tremendous work to get over to the right to overlap and get the cross in. To go in all square at half time was pretty unbelievable after the performance when we couldn't have complained if it had been three or four one.
I presume Fergie had words at half time if the bollocking we saw him giving Jonny Evans on the pitch were anything to go by. Maybe he let the players have it out amongst themsleves if Rooney's post match comments are anything to go by. Whoever and whatever was said, it worked because we were much better. As we increasingly took a stanglehold on the match it was hard to remember the first half happened. It helped us that the ageing Milan tired but United did play well. Rooney was at last starting to see a decent amount of the ball and he was worrying Nesta and co. But it took the introduction of Valencia to convert our possession into the goals that should hopefully help us go through to the next round. The goal that put us into the lead was so simple but a tremendous header from Rooney finshed off Valencia's fine cross. We were really on fire now and another fine move saw Fletcher find space on the left and put a sper little cross over that found Rooney's clever run and Rooney made no mistake with the header. The way the game turned it looked like we were going to finish the tie off here and now.
But credit to Milan they took the ineffectual Beckham off and replaced him with Seedorf who livened them up and eventually scored a fine goal that set them up for a rousing finale where substitute Inzaghi almost got a vital equaliser. So whilst this should se us go through after the home leg there are an awful lot of questions to be asked off our defence after last night. I wouldn't have much confidence in us reaching a third final on the trot if that doesn't improve. On the plus side, just how good is Rooney, and and how much better can he get.

Fergie is more than happy with Rooney
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8519242.stm

The Italian press think Rooney was the difference between the sides
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/17/manchester-united-milan-wayne-rooney
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article7030529.ece

Fergie can't hide his feelings over Vidic. He needs to or the Glazers won't be geeting as much for him as they will have hoped. I was surprised they didn't sell him in the transfer window. If he can't get himself up for a visit to the san sirowhat's the point of him being still here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/15/alex-ferguson-nemanja-vidic-champions-league

Gordon Taylor thinks Rooney was exploited by his agent from the age of sixteen. He is right of course, but Rooney seems to have a lot of time for him, for some reason.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/rooney-was-exploited-from-the-age-of-16-1901605.html

Last seasons champions league final defeat spurs Rooney on.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/final-defeat-made-me-stronger-says-rooney-1901036.html

It would seem that that sanity is trying to break out over football ownership and how the game should be reformed as Welan of Wigan and Gibson of Middlesbrough criticise the debt culture prevalent in English football.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article7027061.ece
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article7026930.ece

Bruce Anderson defends torture
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/bruce-anderson/bruce-anderson-we-not-only-have-a-right-to-use-torture-we-have-a-duty-1899555.html
Whilst Henry Porter rightly rips his argument apart
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2010/feb/15/pro-torture-human-rights

Paul Krugman argues that the Euro was created too soon, he argues that without more political union.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/feb/15/greece-europe-single-currency

Google Russia virtual tour of Trans-Siberian railway journey
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/16/google-tran-siberian-express-tour
After reading about the Russian civil war and at the moment finishing off Orlando Figes absolutely brilliant account of the Russian revolutionary period, i found this fascinating. The Russian civil war on the Siberian front was basically fought along this line.