Can United go the distance in Europe?
OK, so AC Milan aren’t the side they have been in recent times and the likes of Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Seedorf and Beckham could be considered senior statesmen of the game. However, Manchester United still needed to get a result against them at Old Trafford this evening, and they ended up demolishing them. Is this a sign of things to come?
Things could have been somewhat different had Milan taken some of their earlier chances (step forward Ronaldinho and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar). However, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men punished the Azzurri’s profligacy in front of goal and went on to fill their boots, ruining David Beckham’s return to his old stomping in the process (although he still seemed to have a nice time).
Only half of the Champions League draw has been decided, but Ferguson must be starting to believe his side can avenge last season’s final defeat. Real Madrid are out, and of those who have gone through, Olympique Lyonnais remain pretenders in spite of their heroics at the Bernabeu, Bayern Munich scraped past Fiorentina, and United have already soundly beaten Arsenal twice this season.
The second half of the draw should hold no fear for United either. Unlike Barcelona last season, there is no stand out side. The Catalan side have hit a worrying dip in form at the crucial stage of the season, neither Chelsea nor Internazionale look set to dominate their tie, whilst it would be considered a major upset if Ferguson’s men lost to any of the other remaining teams in later rounds.
The main factor holding United back is likely to be their exertions in attempting to retain their Premier League crown. It should be a tight run in, and Ferguson can afford to take nothing for granted on the home front, as Saturday’s very narrow win over Wolverhampton Wanderers demonstrated. With that said, it doesn’t appear to have had too detrimental an effect so far.
Quite simply, in his current form Wayne Rooney is unplayable and he is being backed up by a cast of talented and well-disciplined individuals. It is at this time of the season that the best players step up and be counted, and United have them in abundance. They have been here many times before and know what is required.
Like United, Arsenal and Chelsea both also have a chance of winning the Premier League and Champions League titles before the domestic season is out. However, if you had to put your money on one of them doing it, it would surely be Ferguson’s side. Milan might have been a walkover, but don’t let that fool you: United are hitting top gear when it matters.
