Football at its highest level

Hi Folks,
Mark here.
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Last night we had the pleasure of watching two of the best teams in the world go head to head in an enthralling game of football, one of the best of the season so far. (View the goals here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1t1x5_man-utd-vs-ac-milan-goals)

United started well, getting a lucky early goal from Ronaldo, via Dida's best Jerzy Dudek impression, but they were worth their lead afterwards - Fletcher strong in tackle, Carrick distributed excellently and Ronaldo causing all sorts of problems to Jankoulovski and Seedorf.
Kaka, however, took over the game in a masterclass of midfield play - his first goal a brilliantly timed burst of pace past Heinze with a cool finish past the static van der Sar. His second was more down to some comedy defending from Heinze and the leaping Evra, but it was coolly dispatched to the corner.
United were staring elimination in the face and Ronaldo wilted under the pressure, absolved only by Milan doubling and trebling up on him. Maldini went off at half time, depriving the back line of a wealth of experience. Ex-Parma man Bonera didn't impress as his replacement. Likewise, when Gattuso was forced off with an injury, it deprived the Milan midfield of his excellent running and tracking down - the sub, Broochi, was anonymous. Kaka had a couple of goods chances to score early in the second half before Rooney, previously having done little bar argue with the referee, scoring from close range after a wonderful move and delicately scooped chip from Scholes. Suddenly, the nervousness went from United's play, Giggs and Scholes came into the game more, without Gattuso, Milan were being streched all over the place. A number of good free kick positions were wasted by Giggs and Ronaldo as Milan lost all attacking threat. (The horrendous Gilardino deserves sacking for his performance last night.)

It looked to be heading for a draw, until, just after 90 mins, Giggs won the ball in his own half and 8 seconds later, Rooney took advantage of bad positioning by Dida to lash one in from 20 yards. United breathed a sigh of relief, and take a lead to Milan, confident in their ability to score (and concede) goals.

The second leg is next Wednesday, and it is clear what United need to do - attack.

Man of the match: Kaka
Special award - worst performace in the competition so far: Gilardino

Player ratings:
van der Sar: 6 - might have done better for the 1st goal
O'Shea: 7 - surprised everyone by winning a crisp tackle in the first half
Brown: 6 - unconfident but it wasn't hard to keep Gilardino quiet
Heinze: 5 - at fault for 2 goals, his mark increased by one for the vast improvement in the 2nd half
Evra: 5 - intelligent going forward but a moment of madness with Heinze let Kaka score. Needless yellow card sees him suspended.
Ronaldo: 7 - a threat in the first half, but went missing as the Milan defense learned how to contain him
Carrick: 7 - another solid performance, played deeper last night than he usually does in the league, but excellent on the ball
Fletcher: 7 - Fergie seems to have found a role for the former waster - all action midfielder! Unlucky not to score.
Giggs: 8 - wonderful break for the winning goal, and set up Ronaldo for the first. Occasional missed pass.
Scholes: 7 - Got a grip when Gattuso went off, his passing wayward beforehand. Wonderful setup of Rooney's 1st.
Rooney: 8 - Not really in the game but when it mattered he scored the vital goals with confidence.

Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com