United vs Chelsea Champions League 2nd Leg Review

Manchester United strode imperiously into the Semi Finals of the Champions League after a convincing 3-1 aggregate victory over Chelsea. Goals from Javier Hernández and Ji Sung Park saw United through and only a Didier Drogba strike gave the away side any joy. There can be little doubt that the better team prevailed over the two legs with United dominating midfield areas throughout and possessing a cutting edge in attack. The return of Rio Ferdinand cannot be underestimated as a key factor as he brought his usual composure and class to the proceedings despite having only just returned from eight weeks out through injury.

United's opponents in the last four will be decided tonight but it looks likely to be Schalke who swept past Inter Milan at the San Siro in some style. The Reds have poor memories of facing German opposition in this competition during the course of Sir Alex's reign and a mid table position in the Bundesliga gives a false representation of their quality. However, United would start the tie as big favourites to progress to a Wembley final at the end of May.

Here are my main talking points from last night's game:

Goal analysis - Part 1: Hernández

The vital opening goal followed a Nani free-kick being cleared to the lurking Wayne Rooney. As he did all night, he looked to spread the play as much as possible and spotted Giggs wide on the right.

Anelka is isolated from his team mates and exposed down the right hand side

The key to the goal can be seen by the above picture. Anelka (circled) has found himself in the left back slot after the free kick. Giggs, spots the space behind the Frenchman and lays the ball back to O'Shea. Sensing an opportunity, the Welshman is able to make a darting run on the blind side of Anelka whose defensive deficiencies are exposed brilliantly. O'Shea who enjoyed an indifferent first half, played a lovely incisive pass to the on-rushing Giggs.

Ashley Cole caught out of position after the free kick allowing Giggs a free passage towards goal

Just four seconds later, the picture above shows Giggs clear of Anelka who belatedly realises the amount of space that is now available for the Welshman to run into. A reason for the left side of Chelsea's defence being so devoid of presence is the circled Ashley Cole who has been tracking Ji Sung Park. If you look into the middle at this point, Chelsea look well covered with five defenders in a group. Notice how Hernández is once more hovering on the back of Alex (away from view) and ready to surge towards the posts.If you study the goal carefully, you can see the little Mexican hold his position until the very last second in order to keep himself onside. Then as the cross looks like being struck he sprints towards goal to get his reward.

Goal analysis - Part 2: Park

The key to this goal is, in many ways, the dismissal of Ramires. As he was absent from the right side of the  Chelsea defence, Park was able to find the space whereas with the Brazilian on the pitch, his run may well have been tracked.

Park is unmarked and anticipating a Giggs pass. Note how 7 (plus Cech) Chelsea players are back but over manned on their left side leaving Park free.

As Giggs receives the ball in the centre, once more Chelsea look okay defensively if a touch over-manned on their left. Park's body shape shows he has spotted the opportunity to the right of Ivanovic who is currently looking after Hernández on the edge of the box. 

Just one second has elapsed since the first picture and it shows the subtle movement from Hernández which takes Ivanovic with him and frees up the space for Park to fire home and seal the match. No one has taken on Ramires' defensive duties (perhaps understandable given the tie's position) and Drogba's goal ultimately counts for nothing. After the game, Rio Ferdinand told journalists in the mixed zone that Hernández's movement is more reminiscent of an attacker approaching his peak rather than one so young. Clearly, his footballing family have schooled him well in the subtle art of the striker and he looks like developing into one of the world's best.

Midfield Dominance

In my view, Ryan Giggs gave one of the best midfield displays of the season last night against Chelsea. To say he was imperious would be almost an understatement. I have to admit that pre-game I had some reservations about the veteran Welshman in the centre. I was unsure whether he could sustain the level of performance shown in the first leg at Stamford Bridge and wondered whether at 37, the sands of time would finally catch up with him. Thankfully, this view was shown to be foolish in the extreme. Along with another towering display from Michael Carrick, the duo bossed the crucial midfield area, once more combining the key elements of control, poise and penetration. To completely overshadow both Lampard and Essien is some achievement given the quality that those two possess. In normal circumstances you would expect a team that dominated midfield in such a massive match to be comprised of at least one dedicated "midfield enforcer" (á la Makélélé) who would be making tackles, breaking up play and providing simple passes to team mates. Last night, all of these traits were on display by both men throughout with much more besides and showed that there is more than one way to dominate a midfield.

It is interesting to note that Giggs created each of the three United goals in the tie but also that two of those were from wide areas after set plays had broken down showing how this reborn central midfielder still has creative wing play in his soul.

Rooney the conductor 

If Giggs and Carrick were the orchestrators of many of the reasons for United's dominance then it was Wayne Rooney who held the baton as conductor. This was a Rooney on top form, high on confidence and seemingly covering every blade of grass. Time and time again, he dropped deep to link play before easing the ball wide to a team mate. Never again should there be a debate where Rooney plays. This is his role and he is the master of it and the centre of attention once more but this time for all the right reasons. In previous seasons, he has shown his unselfishness can benefit the squad as a whole, with roles on the left or up front on his own. His natural enthusiasm and sheer love for the game also manifests itself in his willingness to drop back and assist his midfield colleagues when the opposition have the ball. What this in turn means is that the manager, with Rooney back on form, can play 4-4-1-1 with confidence knowing that from a defensive point of view, Rooney can drop back and supplement the two central midfielders and disrupt the play of a sitting opposition midfielder if he is present. For so much of this season, Sir Alex has been almost forced to play 4-5-1 in big games to ensure we do not get overrun. Now with the emergence of Hernández adding an extra dimension to the team's attack and Rooney back on form, our Govan supremo can revert to a much more flexible formation that guarantees threat at one end and stability at the other.

Picture courtesy of TriciaRKG's library

Other notable performances

It is difficult not to single out certain individuals from last night's display and Ji Sung Park is one worthy of high praise. What he lacks in technical ability, he more than makes up for in energy and intelligence proving that it takes many components to develop a successful squad. Time and time again, the manager selects the South Korean in big games to the extent that is becoming almost a cliché but the evidence for doing so is compelling. This was his 2nd goal against Chelsea to add to three against Arsenal and other notable strikes against Liverpool and Milan. He is highly thought of in the dressing room for his unselfish play combining defensive and attacking adaptability to all occasions. As a squad member, he is worth his weigh in gold.

The indomitable partnership of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand has been re-formed at such a vital phase of United's season. They combine so well together with their various strengths that opposing strikers could be mentally on the back foot before play even begins. It is no coincidence that the statistics show just how much more effective United are when they are in tandem. Who better for the likes of Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans to learn from as they begin their careers at the club. You can sense that they will be well schooled in the United way by now and will continue to learn the art of defending by studying these two giants at work.

Nani and Valencia (after his appearance in the second half) kept both Cole and Ivanovic relatively quiet from an attacking point of view throughout while still offering threat. United's own full backs improved as the game wore on. O'Shea had a shaky start and looked off the pace in the first period, incurring a yellow card for a mis-timed tackle on Malouda. His key role in United's opening goal seemed to energise him and subsequently was solid in all areas. Evra was much improved but still looked nervous in defence at times. He was caught out by Drogba for the Chelsea goal but did well in attack often finding himself well advances assisting his wide man.

What now for Chelsea?

I do not want to dwell too much on the problems at Chelsea as it may take away something from the United performance over the two legs. To me they look like a team that lacks spirit, unity and a common goal. I can imagine there are splits in the dressing room and on the training field.

Their team lacks width which actually makes them relatively simple to play against for the better teams. This is coupled with a lack of creativity in midfield which means they will always struggle to break down teams at the highest level as their only option is through the middle whereas United stretch teams with width and invention.

The signing of Torres has clearly backfired. It looks like he has de-stabilised the squad, upset the temperamental Drogba and driven a wedge between owner and manager. This comes at a time when the player is struggling to recapture his confidence and form. He looks like he needs a clear break this summer in an attempt to come back firing next season. 

Whether Ancelotti is there to see a possible Torres resurgence is highly debateable. Abramovich's nervous finger will surely be on the trigger after a poor season and it is usually the manager that takes the blame. This would be a shame as the Italian is clearly a great manager and likeable man who has the support of the players but until the owner stops interfering and decides on a policy of stability then the revolving door of the manager's office at Stamford Bridge will continue to turn.

Conclusion 

Attention will now turn to Wembley and the small matter of an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City. The United bandwagon keeps rolling on three different fronts and after seven wins from seven since the defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool, the key word, as spelled out by the manager is "momentum". You cannot ask for more than to have this in the finishing straight in any season but to have it when you are fighting on three fronts simultaneously is unquantifiable. 

Whisper it very quietly but the similarities to 1999 are almost uncanny and once momentum builds it is very difficult to de-rail.

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