Champions League Final preview – Manchester United

Tomorrow night will be Manchester United’s third appearance out of a possible four Champions League finals. It is a remarkable record for a club who this season have become England’s most successful club side. The final will also give the club a chance to win their fourth European Cup.

The overwhelming feeling in the media this season has been that this United side is not as strong as some of its predecessors. There is definitely a case for this argument but the side has also not really been pushed to its limit domestically. In Europe they have been sublime which was highlighted against Schalke in the semi-final when they fielded a second string side. They have conceded four goals in the competition but have only scored 18.

It has been an incredible season for Sir Alex Ferguson who has once again demonstrated why he is regarded so highly. This side is not the most free flowing and attack orientated as some of his former sides but is resolute and efficient. They have struggled to play their best football at points this season but have remained extremely difficult to beat as their home form suggested; they dropped two points at home all year in the Premier League.

The final will be a close encounter and very tricky to predict. There is no doubt in my mind that Ferguson has been preparing for this ever since the final whistle in Rome two years ago, The defeat hurt many of the senior player, coaching staff and in particularly Ferguson. He felt that his players had failed to carry out his on field tactics which lead to a comfortable victory for Barcelona.

I feel they must attack the Spanish side if they are to be successful. Their form has improved as the season has gone on and their attacking threat is more potent now than at any other point. If they sit back too much they will be picked off eventually and it is unlikely the manager will let that happen. The sides that have had the most success against Barca this season are the ones who have attacked them. I would imagine that Ferguson has spoken with Mourinho several times with regards to tactics. The Portuguese manager countered Barca’s passing by hitting them very quickly and effectively on the break. With Hernandez, Park, Rooney and Valencia likely to feature I would imagine this is how United will play.

It should be a great final; they are the two best sides in Europe and Wembley should be a fitting venue for the final.

Schalke vs Manchester United – a preview

Schalke host Manchester United at the Veltins-Arena in Germany for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tonight. With United currently top of the Premier League and Schalke sitting in 10^th place in the Bundesliga the game looks like a formality. However, at this stage of the competition nothing can be taken for granted.

It is the fourth time United have graced this stage of the competition in the last five years and go into the game unbeaten in Europe this season. They have travelled to Germany without Dmitar Berbatov who remains hampered with a groin injury having missed the Premier League game on Saturday. However, with 19 goal Javier Hernandez fit, and ready to start with Rooney the side possess a very potent threat.

Whilst Rooney has not been scoring freely, his new Mexican team-mate has settled into life in England far quicker than expected. His crucial goal on Saturday against Everton looks to have secured United’s 19^th League title. Their link up play in recent weeks has been superb; Rooney seems able to find his runs at ease, often, he doesn’t even look.

At only 22 Hernandez has proved to be the buy of the season at only £6 million. He has a very good football brain and is probably the best finisher United have had since Solskjaer. It is not only having the pace to evade defences but it is having the intelligence to make use of the pace with the timing of your run. I have not seen better movement from a young player than the Mexican displays.

Meanwhile, whist United will showcase their new forward; they will also be facing someone who has knocked them out at this stage before. Much of the pre-match focus has revolved around Raul who just continues to break records in this tournament. He remains the leading scorer in the competition with 71 goals and the player with the most appearances, having played in 142 games. He has been fantastic this season and has already scored five times already.

Whilst they have done well in Europe their domestic form has been very inconsistent and it explains why they are 10^th in the table. They lost 1-0 to Kaiserslautern at the weekend but did leave out several key players with tonight’s game in mind.

Although on paper the game should be one-sided, these games can often bring about the downfall of the favourite. Schalke have scored goals all the way through the tournament so United have to beware. They have been in similar positions in the Champions League before but you would think Ferguson will not let them think the game is over before it is played. It should be a fascinating game.

United surely have one hand on the trophy

After Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Everton at Old Trafford this afternoon the Premier League title is now surely within touching distance. They are now 9 points clear with 4 games remaining; surely the title is now theirs.

It has been one of the strangest seasons in living memory with the top sides continually dropping points. The title race has ended up going to the wire when it could and probably should have been decided many weeks ago. There have been more anomalies this season that any of the recent ones put together. Every time the title has looked over surprise results have been thrown up which has given their rivals more hope.

United now face Arsenal at the Emirates and Chelsea at home knowing that they require seven more points to lift the title. It could even be won at the Emirates (depending on other results) next weekend where Arsenal are on a horrible run. It will see United being crowned League champions for the 19^th time which will take them ahead of Liverpool and make them the most successful English club.

It is an incredible achievement for the club and most of the credit must go to Sir Alex Ferguson who has yet again proved what an incredible manager he is. It is by no means a great side he has this year but he has made them very difficult to beat. He must also take credit for the buy of the season – Javier Hernandez. He has now scored 19 goals in all competitions and looks set to be a United hero for many years to come.

Manchester United vs Chelsea – a review

It is Manchester United who are through to the semi-finals after a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford last night which gave them a 3-1 aggregate win over Chelsea. It was by no means a classic encounter but United fans will not care one bit.

The Chelsea manager had threatened to spring a surprise on United but instead opted to start with Torres as the lone striker with Lampard playing in a slightly advanced role behind the Spaniard. It did not work and although they created several chances early on it was United who went into the lead just before half-time.

Once again it was the sublime Ryan Giggs who opened up the Chelsea defence to supply the final ball to Javier Hernandez. The young Mexican now has 18 goals in his first season in English football which is a truly remarkable effort. However, all the credit should go to the Welsh wizard who was yet again the best player on the pitch. Deployed in central midfield he is able to manoeuvre the ball around far better than any of his younger team-mates.

The second half brought much puffing and panting from Chelsea who had replaced the much maligned Torres with Drogba at half-time. The Ivorian striker clearly thought it was him against the world as he continued to run blindly into a wall of United defenders. However, with 13 minutes remaining he scored to set up a potentially crucial last 10 minutes.

When you first start playing football you are taught and advised that the most dangerous time for a side is just after they have scored. Sure enough United kicked off and scored almost instantly, the game was over, the tie was over and Chelsea were beaten.

Their ‘obsession’ as Ferguson called it is over and several of the Chelsea team should not be playing next year. They need a complete overhaul if they are to seriously challenge for major honours next season. Most of the side have played in the 4-3-3 formation but playing Torres on his own up front and hammering long balls up to him is never going to be rewarded. They have to get some creative players in to liven them up, everything last night was too one paced, too predictable and simply not good enough.

Meanwhile United advance to the semi-finals where they look likely to face Schalke. It is not a great United side we are seeing at the moment, similarly to Chelsea they need more creative players and they have to address the fact that Giggs may still be their best and most influential player. They are incredibly well organised and tough to beat as they always are under Ferguson.

It is concerning for football though that such an average team could be on the verge of a treble; fortunately for football fans Barcelona remain in the tournament.