It was a tie worthy of a Champions League final. But the Round of 16 was where they met. Two great sides. Sides with history, tradition & ambition.
Amusing as it may seem, both sides are recovering from massive breakups. One with Kaka and the other, Ronaldo. Hence, the fight was on to see who had moved on first.
The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza or The 'San Siro' as we know it was the venue and hosts AC Milan took on 'favorites' Manchester United. Both teams fielded their strongest lineups with Milan adopting a 4-3-3 of sorts and Manchester United playing their newly acquired 4-3-2-1. The game was touted to be a Rooney vs Ronaldinho affair. A lot was made of the Beckham saga too. Would he play? Will he start? Can he play? In all fairness, he did ok in the night. His cross set up the first goal and he displayed some master class defending as well.
At the very beginning of the game it was Milan who struck first blood. And who else, but Ronaldinho with a beautifully timed volley that deflected past Carrick into the back of the net. Pure class! It baffles me how a player like Ronaldinho manages to get himself omitted from his national side. He showed great skill with the ball and played the kind of football that would have broken into smiles even the stubbornest of souls. For a lot of us, he was reborn last night. The bucktoothed wizard was arguably the best player on the pitch for the whole of 90 minutes. With the stylish flip flaps, to his intricate Joga Bonito style of play, he was the master performer of the night. Matched against his fellow Brazilian Rafael, he made the latter look half his age.
Milan dominated the first half despite a scrappy goal from veteran Paul Scholes that drew the visitor’s level. The attacking triplet of Pato, Huntelaar and Ronaldinho tormented the United defense that somehow managed to let loose only one goal despite their shabby performance. In all fairness, had Milan converted their chances, the game could have ended very differently. But they didn’t. And they paid for it.
Man of the night Wayne Rooney was virtually absent for the opening Thirty minutes of the game. The Nesta-Silva pairing, dubbed as Seria A's very best were given an easy first half with Milan's midfield enjoying majority of the possession. United's midfield in contrast were dismal and allowed the likes of Pirlo and Beckham to take a touch too many, too often. This was apparent when Thiago Silva marched nearly 20 yards within goal without being challenged for the ball.
Much was expected out of United's young wing wizard Nani, who not too long ago was out destroying world class defenses on his own. But he, like the rest of his teammates, had a very poor start and a majority of his crosses ended up in the stands leaving behind a very irate Rooney.
But, enter second half! The game transformed. Nani Out, Valencia In. And that made the difference! Scholes latched onto a misplaced pass by Silva and immediately drilled it towards the United substitute who then took on Favalli head on and after feigning an extra touch delivered a beautiful high cross which Rooney duly met with his head. As the ball rose from Rooney's head towards the top right corner, rose with it a million red devils from the edge of their seats. And as the ball sunk into the side net of Dida's goal, sunk with it the 'heady' hopes (no pun intended) of the Rossoneri.
Suddenly, there was a shift in possession. Fletcher and Carrick finally got into the game. United were creating chances after chances. Nesta and Silva were being unsettled by the quick pace of Valencia, Park and Rooney. And then came United's third of the night. The Game Breaker. Another wonderful header from Rooney, and the dream fixture was put to a premature end.
Or so we thought.
One criticism I have of AC Milan is them not starting with Clarence Seedorf, the man who proved to be the very same opposition’s nemesis 3 years ago. Nonetheless, the substitution was made and almost immediately you could see the difference. Within 5 minutes of full time, the ball was played to Ronaldinho who in a flash, played a dazzling low cross to Seedorf who's classy finish United fans will find hard to forget. To add to their woes, Carrick was shown Red for time wasting.
Milan's final chance came in injury time, when once again Ronaldinho sliced open United's defense with a slick through ball to Inzaghi only for him to shoot high and wide. The referee blew his whistle soon after, much to the relief of the United entourage.
Final Score - AC Milan 2-3 Manchester United
One thing to note is that despite the result, the tie is by no means over. Old Trafford may not be the kindest; when it comes to travelling teams but, Milan have done it in the past. The return leg will be won by the team that wants it more. Heart will play a big factor. Sir Alex Ferguson's men have been exposed too many times this season and with all the melodrama surrounding Beckham’s return and with Ronaldinho and co. out to prove a point, anything can happen.
After all, persistence is not just key.
It’s everything!
