it could have all been so different.before i take a look at tonight, it seems a bit foolish to start anywhere else other than the san siro. it wasn't a classic in terms of quality- both teams were guilty of wasting chances and defending poorly, and the technical level (ronaldinho and rooney apart) was average, but in terms of excitement, milan-united matched the milan-madrid humdinger at the bernabeu.
i'm quite pleased that i said the key for milan lay in the form of ronaldinho, and their ability to stop wayne rooney. the brazilian was at his menacing best, and his tormenting of rio ferdinand must have given fabio capello something to think about. ferdinand was flat-footed and unresponsive, and the fact that rafael was united's best defender on the night says a lot. had milan (specifically huntelaar) taken their chances, united would have gone into half-time 2-0 down, and perhaps they wouldn't have come away with an aggregate lead, and 3 away goals.
but then again, maybe they would, because rooney eventually, inevitably, managed to expose those oft-mentioned weaknesses in the aging milan back line. nesta managed to contain him for an hour, but putting valencia up against favalli was a shrewd move by ferguson, as nesta was forced into mutiple evasive covering actions. rooney was clinical in his finishing, but my abiding impression of the overall united performance is a reinforced certainty of how fucked they'd be if he got injured. this is not the united of 07-08.
elsewhere, lyon will be quietly pleased with their 1-0 home win over madrid. the main aim for claude puel was not to concede, and the second leg should be a more open, attacking affair.
onto tonight...
bayern munich v fiorentina.
what a difference a new year makes. when the group stages ended, bayern had scraped through, louis van gaal was hanging on by a thread, and rib-rob was a distant dream. fiorentina were buoyed by a victory over liverpool, and eyeing a spot in the last 8.
now things look very different. bayern are 2nd in the bundesliga only on goal difference, and rib-rob (although rib may be absent tonight) has flowered in time to save van gaal. fiorentina are missing their 3 best players (mutu, gamberini and gilardino) to suspension, injury and loss of form, and are looking vulnerable at the back, having inexplicably sold dario dainelli to genoa in january. their disjointed defeat against sampdoria last sunday saw pazzini, another discarded player, score the winner.
if you asked me which manager would remain in his job the longest in december, i would have said prandelli, without hesitation. now, cesare is probably hoping those rumours of juve interest are true...
fc porto v arsenal.
if there's no better time to be playing arsenal, there probably isn't a much better time to be playing porto either. a limp draw at leixoes last weekend is at least as worrying as arsenal's recent losses against chelsea and stoke, and both jesualdo ferriera and wenger need a win here.
porto will welcome the return of hulk (his indefinite ban doesn't extend to the champions league- don't ask), but more significant could be the loss of arshavin. fabregas might enjoy the space he's given when the russian doesn't start in front of him, but the rest of the midfield looks susceptible, in my opinion, to the bullying tactics of the returning raul meireles, another boost for porto.
ferreira has already stated that keeping a clean sheet is a priority, so expect his team to rely on the distribution and set-piece prowess of captain bruno alves, who will surely be relishing the thought of being marked by midgets like gael clichy...
enjoy the games.
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