CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: THE MOOD at Old Trafford was one of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, Alex Ferguson's players were entitled to feel they had shown themselves to be superior to those of Arsenal. On the other there was a sense of regret and an admission that it might have been an opportunity missed.
There was little sense of triumphalism from the Manchester United players, even if John O’Shea’s first-half winner and Arsenal’s inability to score an away goal does put the reigning European Cup holders in a position of strength going into the second leg next Tuesday.
Wayne Rooney publicly chastised himself for “not having one of my better games” and “not offering much” while Patrice Evra said United could not be regarded as the favourites to reach the Champions League final.
“Before the game I would have thought 1-0 would have been a great result but because of our performance I don’t think 1-0 was enough,” said the Frenchman. “Congratulations to Manuel Almunia because if he had not been there it would have been 4-0.
“But we scored only one. Our performance makes me confident for the second leg but because it was only 1-0 the match is still balanced at 50-50.”
Arsene Wenger said it would be a “different Arsenal” at the Emirates Stadium next week but their failure to score an away goal could, according to Rooney, be a decisive factor if United play with the same rhythm and attacking impetus. “We know if we get a goal at the Emirates they’ll need to score three,” said Rooney.
“It’s just a bit frustrating that we didn’t score more and settle it here. We had a lot of chances and we should have taken some of them. The good thing is that we were creating chances and if we can create a few more at Arsenal hopefully we will take some of them next time. They will know what a difficult game they are in for because they know they can’t afford to concede a goal.”
The mood was downbeat, with Rooney appearing to blame himself in part for United’s failure to build an unassailable lead, shaking his head when it was put to him that he had put in another accomplished performance. “Not really,” he replied, “I didn’t think I had one of my better games. I did a job for the team but, going forward, I didn’t really offer too much so hopefully I can improve on that next week. The team are playing well but I don’t know about my own form.”
It was harsh but reflected the sense that Arsenal had been let off the hook. “You have to respect Arsenal, they keep the ball very well and have good players, but they didn’t create any clear chances,” said Cristiano Ronaldo. “We have to respect them, they are a good team, but we are a little disappointed we scored only one goal.”
Evra struck a note of caution when it was mentioned that United could be on the brink of retaining the Premier and Champions League. “We won’t be going there just to try to get a clean sheet. We want to win. This is Manchester United, we can go anywhere and win. We can score anywhere. We can score in Portugal, Japan, Korea, anywhere. This is why I am very confident. But it is too early to speak about winning both titles back-to-back.
“We have an important game against Middlesbrough and then a massive game at the Emirates. After that, maybe we can look at our dream. But you can lose it all very quickly. I remember when I played for Monaco we were top of the league with 10 games to go. We lost against Porto in the Champions League final and then we lost the league by one point. It turned out to be my worst-ever season.”
United are expected today to disclose the extent of Rio Ferdinand’s rib injury following an X-ray yesterday. Ferdinand came off with a possible broken rib.
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Almunia wants team-mates more focused
Ask the fan in the street to predict the kind of start Manchester United might make to a Champions League semi-final first leg, in their own stadium, in front of their own pumped-up crowd and, chances are, he or she will use words or phrases like “relentless” and “attacking”, “in waves” and “from all angles”, writes David Hytner.
Arsenal, however, did not appear to be in on the secret. “We were surprised at how they played,” the goalkeeper Manuel Almunia said, as he reflected on a torrid opening period for his team on Wednesday.
“Some of our players were maybe lost at the beginning. But that’s normal, it’s a big competition, it’s a semi-final and it’s a big pressure on the players. I was disappointed with the performance. For the first 25 minutes or half-hour we were not switched on, we didn’t keep the ball as well as we should have and we know how to do.
“Sometimes you try to put everything on the pitch but your head doesn’t respond enough to your desire,” Almunia said. “I hope that next Tuesday everybody is focused on what we have to do. Otherwise, we will be lost.”
“Maybe they are stronger than us but in terms of desire nobody can beat us.
“We have to show that at the Emirates but desire is not enough. Arsenal know very well how to play football but if you don’t play as you know in these sort of games, then you are lost.”
Almunia used that word repeatedly. Was Arsenal’s disorientation linked to the tender years of the majority of their starting line-up? “Of course it’s a big pressure on everybody but I think we have enough experience to face these kind of games.”
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