Away to Benfica

An away draw against the main rival in your Champions League group was never a bad thing. And that was exactly that early this morning when United played Benfica in Lisbon. It ended one a piece.

On the balance of things, United should be the happier of the two. In the first half an hour, we were completely overwhelmed in the middle of the park without the Benfica goalie needing to make a single save. Benfica opened the score with a superb play and we were in danger of going two goals down before the end of the half. Against the run of play, Giggsy equalised with under five minutes before the break. A superb individual effort.

The score stayed at one a piece until the end of the game with United getting the better of the early exchanges in the second half. By the end, the away team should be thankful of the agility of the reserve goalkeeper, Anders Lindgaard with a string of great saves.

I thought the problem was we were getting overran in the middle of the park despite having Giggs, Carrick and Fletcher flooding the midfield. They were easily bypassed with our frontline best described as statuesque. The defense also lacked the physical presence of Ferdinand and Vidic. The young combination of Evans and Smalling struggled at times.

But then again, like I said in the first line, United was still in great shape and should qualify to the latter stages.

Outplayed. Outclassed.

No doubt about it. The better team won. Barca passed better. They retained the ball as if it was their birthday present. And United scored with their only shot on target. Even Giggsy went irate towards the end of the game. To be honest, we shouldn't complain really. Barca had 67% possession and we did not even get ourselves a corner all evening.

Maybe this was justice. We did not really play well all season. To be honest, we got lucky with winning the Premier League. With a few of our key players retiring, we had no choice but to invest on personnel. I foresee at least three new signings including a new goalkeeper. And with that, we would be going through another transition next season. As for this one, we got what we deserved and a bit more.

I was really amazed at how skillful Iniesta and Xavi at dictating the pace of the game. ManYoo have plenty to learn in that department I'm afraid what we look at the very top level. We were thoroughly well beaten. Outplayed. Outclassed. Even Sir Alex knows that.

Big Build-up

Compared to the years gone by, the build-up for this year's chapter of Champion's League Final was among the most boring, even though it promised a mouth-watering tie. The two teams which were known for their attacking prowess, ManYoo certainly having the edge in defense but would they be able to withstand the tsunami of Messi and Villa with Iniesta and Xavi pulling the strings behind them.

The question about United coping seemed to be the biggest debate. There were simply no other story, apart from Ryan Giggs' - of all people - off the field conquest apart, which was worth writing about. The two managers seemed to be warning up to each other. There were simply too much respect between the two teams. Listening to the interviews certainly put mr to sleep. How Xavi relishes to play with Rooney, how much respect Iniesta has for for Scholes. How Pique reminisced about his four years at Old Trafford. There was simply not enough needle! There was even the opinion of how much better United is now since Ronaldo left for Madrid. The togetherness of the squad and all that crap!

This does not mean that the event would not be a grand one. The end of the road for such legends such as van der Sar and Scholes. The emerging talent of Chicharito. How Rooney would rise to the occasion.

As for me, the match being played on a weekend was a blessing. No more late Wednesday evenings waiting for the matches and struggling to go to work the next day. I was at NZ when I wrote this entry, true to the ritual of getting myself the Tandoori and new ladna for the big match. The matches this season can never get any bigger than this one though. With my Veron shirt, United will prevail! Shame that I would not be joing the Prime Minister in Putrajaya tonight. We might be in danger of having the team rebranded 1ManYoo by one of their pseudo-fan!

19

Me waiting for the Tandoori earlier

I was planning to write an entry before the kick-off, while I was waiting for my order of tandoori earlier for fear of jinxing the result. To be honest, of all the league win we had - and all of them I was sure fully deserved - this season was the most obvious that we depended a lot of help from other teams capitulating, or even from up above. The sudden change-of-heart from Wayne Rooney. The stop-start form of Dimi Berbatov. How Nani flattered to deceive, and the flattering form of one Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. All this added up to what looked like a jammy season for us by all accounts, and it was a title which could have easily slipped by us.

But what was always consistent was my steady supply of Tandoori on match nights. I would like to think that that had played some part, throughout the season.

We played the best games of the season when it mattered - the two-legged Champs League semi against Schalke and the league win against Chelski - mind you, winning three games against your nearest rival in the league in the space of a month made you deserved champions by all account. The revelation of the season was the combination of Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick in the middle of the park. They have been efficient if not spectacular. They kept the cog going and moving forward. Even though the goalscorers in Rooney, Nani, Hernandez and Berbatov would get the plaudits, those two in midfield were just as important. How Vidic did not win the Player of the Year remain the crime of the decade, but don’t get me started on that yet!

The game I witnessed just now summed up a few obvious points. We needed to replace the aging Giggs and Scholsey - and Scholsey still couldn’t tackle, and we need a proper goalkeeper to replace van der Sar. What I was trying to say was, we need to buy not because we do not have enough quality, but because we need replacement for those departing. Tomasz Kuszczak clearly does not have the chops to make it at United, as well as having too many Zs in his name. So he has to go. But who would it be. A lot depends on who would be coming in, and it took us six seasons to find the right replacement for Schmichael in van der Sar. We went through Taibi, Bosnich, Howard and the legend that was Barthez. Finding a top quality goalkeeper was never that easy.

Our next big game would be against Barcelona at Wembley. It would be a fascinating one, and I hope Sir Alex did not make the mistake of a couple of Finals ago, when we tried to outpass them in midfield. We should try it anywhere but the center of midfield I would have thought, at least as far away from Xavi, because he was a bit good. Oh, and man mark Messi as well, and make sure he does not outjump his marker for a header as he did against Rio back then. We shall go for number 4 then!

We are through

Managed to catch the last 15 minutes of the match last night after setting my alarm for 4 am. As I switched on the TV, Park had just netted out second, and little did I know the drama of the previous ten or so minute, with the Ramirez sending off and the unlikely equaliser by Drogma. Plus the instant reply at the other end with a sublime pass from the evergreen Giggsy. Party on people!

Bring on Citeh this weekend!