Manchester United conquer San Siro....at last

The game between AC Milan and Manchester United ended 3-2 to United . Goals from Rooney and Scholes giving them a historical victory on the night. United had never scored away to Milan and had never won a game at the San Siro against Milan in Champions League history. Yesterday they accomplished both. Ronaldinho and Seedorf got the goals for Milan.

Im pleased that my preview and prediction was spot on. I had predicted a scored draw or a United win. Although there were moments during the first half when I thought my prediction will turn out to be wrong. Not only that, the line-ups were almost identical to what I had predicted. The weak points that I had pointed out, turned out to be true and thats where all the goals came from tonight.

Rafael had a very tough and testing 90 minutes. Both the goals that United conceded were because of his inexperience. You obviously can’t blame him. He was up against the one of the modern greats Ronaldinho. What a game the Brazilian had? Since the start of the season the biggest debate has been whether or not Dunga will take Ronaldinho to South Africa. If anyone has any doubt regarding the potential still left in him, you just need to watch yesterday’s game. He was terrific. He scored the first goal as well as set up the second for Seedorf with a piece of magic . I had warned , this guy Seedorf has always had great games against United. Thanks to him, the tie is still alive.

AC Milan were great in the first 20 mins or so. From the word go, Milan looked menacing. In the third minute, a Beckham free kick was cleared by Evra. However it fell into Ronaldinho’s path, who volleyed in home thanks to a deflection by Carrick. They were nearing tearing the visitors apart. Attack after attack. They could easily have gone 2-3 goals ahead if not for their finishing. The problem with United in the first half was their midfield. There was no shape and the space available was enough fro Pirlo and company to make inroads into the United defence time and again. They were quite sloppy too, giving up possession easily and inviting Milan to attack them. But as the half wore on, United started getting back into the game. It was a typical counter attacking move that got United the equaliser. A Flecther cross was met in the box by Scholes. Scholes tried to volley it with his right foot but it ended hitting his left shin and the ball slowly rolled into the Milan net. It was 1-1 and the game was on.

All knew that the United performance would only get better in the second half, and with the ageing Milan midfield, it was time for United to take the game to the home side. Immediately the difference could be seen as the United midfield started taking control. They were dictating the game now. Nani who had been chosen ahead of Valencia was not doing enough to exploit the weakness on the flanks. That’s when Valencia came into the game. And what a substitution it turned out to be. Within a minute of coming on, he ran along the right flank and put in a superb cross into the box. Ronney was there to score a looping head into the top corner. 2-1 to United. United started upping their tempo as they could sense a victory here. The confidence grew and they started attacking more and more. The third goal was set up from the left flank. Fletcher put in a flighted ball into the box. All Rooney had to do was run in between two defenders and head the ball home. All Dida could do was pick up the ball from the back of the net.

The next ten minutes or so was like training ground football for the away side. They were sort of toying with the Milan midfield. The game was dead and buried. However on came Seedorf. With 5 minutes left to go, Rafael made a mistake and it was punished by none other than Ronaldinho. He ran into the box and although there were 4 defenders around him, he managed to find Seedorf at the near post, who cleverly put in into the back of the net. Wave after wave of Milan attacks followed, but United somehow managed to hold on till the very end. The only blip being a red card to Carrick in injury time. United created a European record yesterday. 16 consecutive games unbeaten, away from home. Their last away defeat was at the San Siro around 2-3 years back. Fletcher and Scholes were magnificent yesterday. In the end the Roo factor was too hot for Milan to handle. 25 goals already by the top marksman in Europe. 10th of march is when these two sides will meet again at Old Trafford. The tie is now United’s to lose.