Tonight’s 4-0 demolition of AC Milan was possibly Manchester United’s best performance in Europe since we beat a different Italian club 7-1 at Old Trafford three years ago. United looked more up for this match than they have for any other all year. Yesterday I said the atmosphere could be something special and for most of the match it certainly was. For the first twenty minutes it was clear the pure adrenaline of playing in such a prestigious European tie was spurring United on, while Milan was struggling to keep up with the pace.
I have often talked about the key to the 4-5-1 being pressure high up the pitch. Against Milan, United had this down to perfection. With Carrick suspended Park played centrally behind Wayne Rooney, although not in a traditional attacking midfield role. Park job was to take Pirlo out of the game, force him as far back as possible and to close down any other Milan players in their own third as quickly as possible. He did this and more, three-lung Park had his best game all season for Manchester United. Park is a player who was made to play a high octane European game, he has skill going forward, and covers a lot of ground but his real strength is the consistency with which he can shut down opponents therefore forcing them to speed up the game. Ji-Sung Park was the key for United against Milan and he was rewarded with a peach of a goal in the second half.
The pressure wasn’t all from Park, Fletcher also was running around like a mad man cutting off passing lanes for Milan and forcing countless Milan turnovers in their final third. Fletcher dominated the midfield further down the pitch as well, keeping the Milan attackers in front of him and forcing them to go wide giving them no space down the middle. The tireless work of Park and Fletcher allowed a certain Wayne Rooney ample space further up the pitch.
With his 29th and 30th goals of the season Rooney continued to score by the bucketload. It all started with a perfect header from a, surprisingly, quality cross courtesy Gary Neville. The commentators were comparing Rooney to Dennis Law as he’s chipped in with eight headed goals over the past few matches. I think one of the factors is that Rooney has become more of an instinctive poacher over the past season but I believe a lot has to do with Antonio Valencia as well. Almost all of Rooney’s headed goals have come from crosses from the right hand side of the pitch many coming from Valencia crosses. Rooney’s second goal really got the party started though after a brilliant ball came in from Nani which Rooney diligently finished with the simplest of toe taps.
I was also delighted to see Ferdinand and Vidic with a solid performance playing together. The two of them were a little shaky at times, but overall they looked dominant in the air and certainly were muscling the Milan players off the ball. Gary Neville also surprised me keeping Ronaldinho very quiet for most of the night.
I said yesterday that these European nights are something special and as a supporter you have to make the most out of it. The Manchester United faithful certainly did. The green and gold campaign was more visible than ever, especially with David Beckham wearing a green and goal scarf as he left the pitch. The reaction Beckham got at Old Trafford was outstanding as well (for those about to disagree the booing was meant to be ironic, minutes early they were chanting “There’s only one David Beckham”). The performance, the result and the atmosphere made for a European night to remember.
