Red News - 28 april
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Imponerande vinst borta mot Schalke 04
Manchester United kunde relativt enkelt vinna med klara 2-0 borta mot Schalke. I första skapade United ett ordentligt tryck och borde ha gått till halvtid med 0-10 men en storspelande Neuer höll tyskarna kvar i matchen. I andra gjorde Giggs & Rooney varsitt mål och slutresultatet skrevs då till 0-2. Nu är finalen väldigt nära. Kommentarer efter matchen:
Sir Alex: "The players are relishing these games. I think we're coming to a peak.
There was a fantastic atmosphere (inside Schalke's Veltins-Arena) tonight but it never bowed our players once. They kept on playing their football, showing confidence and trust in one another. Our concentration, the intensity of our play and the speed of our passing were all excellent tonight. It was a top performance. I'm really pleased with the players, every one of them has done fantastically well tonight.
He (Neuer) was fantastic. It was one of the best performances I've seen against Manchester United.
(At half-time) I was cursing myself for mentioning the Dortmund semi-final and all the one-on-ones we had (in my pre-match interview). But we've got more experience now than we had then (in 1997).
The funny thing was that when Chicharito 'scored' (early in the second half) but he was offside, it told the players they could beat this goalkeeper! Of course, Ryan scored and then Wazza did. It's a marvellous result.”
Giggs: "We created enough chances to be four or five up at half tim. Before the game, we'd have taken 2-0 but we're slightly disappointed it was only two. I thought if we kept creating chances, one would go in and hopefully I would get one on my left foot rather than my right foot!
It's a tough game on Sunday and the manager will obviously rotate and then get us ready for next week against these at Old Trafford.
So obviously we're pleased but the substitutes help as well, the lads who came on did well as well, so it's not about 11 players but about the squad.”
Rooney: "You never know (if this tie is still alive). We're a bit disappointed we didn't take a few more of our chances.
We played very well tonight and I thought we created some great chances. Overall, I'm delighted with the performance and we've done really well to get two away goals so it's a good win for us.
We have to be professional and finish the job off at home. Schalke are a good team and we won't take them lightly. They went to Inter Milan and won 5-2 there so we need to make sure we're professional and fully concentrated and manage to do the job and try to get to that final."
Ferdinand: "We'll wait and see. We won't count our eggs too soon. We know that teams can peg you back. There's quality in all sides at this stage of the competition. Players like Raul are quality so you can't take anything for granted.
It all counts for nothing if you don't get there (to the final), or if you get there and you don't win. We need to make sure we continue the way we're playing and when we take Schalke back to Old Trafford, we play the same way we did here and then hopefully get through to the final.
I thought, first half, we were very good. We should have come in at half-time maybe three or four goals up. Their keeper played well and made some good saves. We were just a bit disappointed at half-time.
Going out for the second half, we said as long as keep a clean sheet we'll get more chances and this time we need to put them away. We did that. In some ways, I was a little bit surprised (by how dominant we were) but then I look at the players in our changing room and it doesn't surprise me because we've got quality in there. If we click and play well like we did in the first half, we can open up any team.
It was on a bit of a knife-edge for us defensively because we were thinking after creating so many chances that if they got one and put it away, it would be a big upset."
Evra: "We never know. In football, we never know. I think we played very well tonight but it was a little bit strange to get to half-time without scoring a goal. I think everyone was frustrated. We kept doing the same things we did in the first half. I think there was one team on the pitch and it was a great performance. But, in football, you never know because I remember when I was playing with Monaco, we lost in the Bernabeu 4-2 and Madrid thought they were going to the semi-final. But in the second leg we won 3-1.
So we have to be as professional in the second leg as we were tonight, we have to keep going and we have to win. We have to win at Old Trafford. If we don’t get to the final, it would be disastrous. We have to do our job. We are very near to another final but let’s do our job at Old Trafford.
Yes, definitely (if it was as complete an away performance as he could remember in his time in Manchester). The one we did against Barcelona in Camp Nou in the semi-final, when we drew 0-0, tactically the team was very strong. But tonight, I think it was one of the best performances United play away.
I’m not surprised because I saw the desire in our team and the respect we had for Schalke. I think Manchester United respected Schalke a lot tonight. Before the game, we said we’re playing in a semi-final, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Schalke or another team. We’re playing to go to the final. It’s important. That’s why we played with respect and I think everyone did their job very well tonight.
"I nearly scored. Nearly, nearly, again! They have to go in, not just nearly score. But maybe in the second leg or in the final?"
“Mitt underbara lag”
Sir Alex hyllar sina spelare inför de avgörande matcherna i båda liga och Champions League.
"It (the team) might not have the 'Ronaldo' factor, but it's not as if we’ve been devoid of that ('fantasy'). Some of the football we’ve seen from the players this season has been terrific.
I don’t think it’s on our minds at the moment (becoming Englands best team of all time by winning that 19th league title). If we achieve it, it’ll be great to reflect on, but at the moment we know we’ve got some hard games left. We look forward to the challenge, though.
It’s important to keep momentum going by winning games. That’s vital. Draws don’t come into it now, it’s all about wins. We’ve got a big few games coming up and we need to win them.
You just have to use your experience, and fortunately I’ve got a team of staff who have been with me for a long time. Having that continuity and consistency is a great thing - we know how to deal with situations.
The players see how staff behave and how they conduct themselves in situations like we're in at the moment, and there's a lot of experience amongst the backroom team, which provides a calming influence. Two or three of the older players help too. The likes of Ryan, Paul, Rio and Edwin - we've got enough experience to handle any situation that comes along."
Barcelona på väg mot final mot Manchester United
Även FC Barcelona vann med 2-0 på bortaplan, precis som Manchester United. I deras fall mötte man ärkerivalen Real Madrid. Leo Messi satte två och han avgjorde nog även den tillställningen. Om allt går som förväntat kommer Manchester United & Barcelona att drabba samman på Wembley i maj.
Returerna:
Tisdag 3 maj: FC Barcelona – Real Madrid (2-0)
Onsdag 4 maj: Manchester United – Schalke 04 (2-0).
Rio & Evra om Rooneys nya roll
Wayne Rooney har tagit sig an rollen som spelfördelare, den offensiva motorn i denna maskin som är Manchester United. Han har gjort det bättre än förväntat och det verkar vara en roll som han själv gillar. Så här säger Rio Ferdinand & Patrice Evra om Rooneys nya roll:
Evra: “I think Wayne has found his position. When he’s a little bit behind the striker, he gets more touches of the ball. I also think Wayne can play as a number 10. He likes to give good balls, and he scores. From behind, maybe he’s more dangerous. I think Wazza is happy to play there as well.”
Ferdinand: “Wayne played in two positions on Tuesday, playing high and running in behind as well as playing just off Chicharito, by coming short and getting things going for us. He seems like he’s enjoying his football - long may it continue.”
Skador & avstängningar
Dimitar Berbatov är ett frågetecken inför matchen mot Arsenal, men ska med lite tur kunna medverka.
Anders Lindegaard har precis återhämtat sig efter skada och det är fortfarande inte säkert när han finns tillgänglig för spel.
Darren Fletcher är nu kvitt sin sjukdom och han medverkade även i reservlaget när de tog emot Arsenals dito.
Owen Hargreaves missar resten av säsongen pga en skada i axeln.
Ska även noteras att Ryan Giggs kommer att vila mot Arsenal, detta enligt Sir Alex.
Övrigt
Manchester Uniteds reserver vann Northern Group A Reserves' Title efter 0-0 hemma mot Arsenal. Nu väntar Blackburn I slutspelet.
Medlemmarna på den officiella sidan kan nu rösta på april månads Player of the Month. De 5 nominerade är: Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Javier Hernandéz, Wayne Rooney & Edwin van der Sar. Undertecknad röstade på Carrick!
