Well! Well! Well! What do you know? Football is a hell of a bloody game! So Manchester United go to the Emirates Stadium looking for a clean-sheet or an away goal to take them to the final and they end up with more than they bargained for--a resounding victory against the Arsenal in less than ten minutes. I mean let's be logical here---a 0-2 lead after ten minutes meant that Arsenal needed four goals to win the aggregate tie, and in all honesty how many Arsenal fans still believed they would be on the next flight to Rome after that? United, quite simply, have not looked back since that turn around in the recent home game against Spurs when they overturned a 0-3 deficit to win 5-2! That is why the games against Arsenal have been walks in the park as well as our victory at the Riverside last Saturday. There is something about United that had not seemed right all season but it seems our lads have woken up just in time for tea! You cannot describe the scenes at the Red Cafe when Prk scored the all important first goal for United. I mean before we had even tested Almunia, we had already got what we came for--an away goal that was effectively the sucker punch! The free-kick from Ronaldo cost me my spects as somebody next to me could not help but use his arms in the name of getting some elevation to celebrate. At the start of the game, the noise inside the stadium was threatening, to say the least, but after Ronaldo sealed the tie with that 40 yard pile-driver, you could literally hear a pin drop in all but one tiny corner of United fans! The saddest thing for the Arsenal faithful was that they were already out of the tie with 77 minutes left to play. On a day when the world tuned in to see a game packed with Drama and entertainment, United quickly re-wrote the script and turned it into a procession to Rome. The third goal defined Manchester United--so if here are any of you who want to know what United is about, take a look at Ronaldo's second and United's third! It was sumptuous! Enthralling! Exhilarating! Entertaining!
It all means for the second consecutive year, Sir Alex will take his seat at Stamford Bridge waiting to find out who United will take on in the Champions League Final on May 27th.
The only sour on the night was the red-card wrongly given to Fletcher for a foul on Fabregas. I thought he got the ball first and I hope the ref sees into that. It will be harsh for him to miss out on the occasion altogether after helping us get this far!
Anyhow, what United need now is one last stride of concentration in the league. The final is weeks away. If we win our next two league games, we'll surely be Champions again. The Dippers really believe that City and Wigan then Arsenal will down us so I think it's time to finally put any doubts about the league to rest. The earlier we get the job done in the league, the better chance we shall have of being prepared for the CL final. This season, we have the CL fianl before the FA Cup final so the game will come immediately the league season closes. Barcelona have already wrapped up their league and Chelsea have nothing else to play for (forget the FA Cup) so it's us who'll need to do our job in time to get equal rest. If we get the job done in the league before we play Hull, it will be game on in the eternal city come May 27th!
Labels: UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
