Manchester United could lost 3-0 at the San Siro to bow
out of the UEFA Champion's League 5-3 on aggregrate.
It was never going to be an easy game for the English side with
most of their first choice defenders out injured. Ferdinand made
the bench but played no part for the 90 min that AC Milan
dominated.
In a way it could be said that the pitch and the weather won it for
AC Milan in the first half. The heavy rain right before and during
the first half of the match made the pitch slippery and harder to
run on.
Being an English side, Manchester United's game would have relied
on pace and runs to get their game going. Milan have players like
Inzaghi and Kaka who have great pace, but it was the Red Devil's
overall game that was affected.
Manchester United players struggled to adapt to the pitch and their
unease with the ground showed. Poor, sloppy passes and not running
into position in time. Man U not only gave away possession cheaply
at times but the slower pace of the game meant Milan's older, more
experienced players could afford to pass the ball around and prod
for gaps in Man U's somewhat makeshift defence.
Moreover, the english side had no answer to the midfield pairing of
Gattuso and Seedorf, who controlled the midfield. Gattuso was
practically bossing the United midfield around. This despite Alex
Ferguson playing what was seemingly a 4-5-1 formation, no doubt to
try and hold more possession.
Just as Man U struggled to contain Kaka at Old Trafford, they had
the same problem at San Siro and it was the Brazilian who first
found the back of the net early in the 11th min. From then on, Man
U had to do all the chasing.
Manchester United was poor at defending which led to the second
goal. Was not able to play their attacking game due to their
problems with the pitch. And were thoroughly outmatched in central
midfield.
AC Milan were deserverd winners, but things could easily have been
different had the pitch been in normal condition. Milan might still
have won but perhaps we would have seen more of a contest.
So much for an all English
final.
