Cristiano Ronaldo scored against his former side but it was the much maligned David De Gea who stole the headlines as Manchester United earned a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League tussle in Madrid.
It may not have lived up to the impossible levels of hype thrust upon it by the constant stream of Sky Sports adverts, but the first leg of the last-16 Champions League tie between Mourinho's Madrid and Ferguson's United still managed to serve up a result that leaves things perfectly poised for the second leg next month.
The home side fielded an incredible array of attacking talent and looked to hurt a United defence without influential skipper Nemanja Vidic early on, with Angel Di Maria setting the tone with a fierce effort that skipped just past the post.
David De Gea's magnificent night got started with his best save of the evening from Fabio Coentrao, the Spaniard tipping the fullback's effort onto the post with the slightest of fingertips after just 5 minutes.
Despite Madrid's dominance early on it was the Premier League leaders who took the lead from a debatable corner kick, and despite tongues wagging over the likes of Van Persie, Rooney, Ronaldo and Benzema it was Englishman Danny Welbeck who got the first goal of this contest as he evaded Sergio Ramos to head past Diego Lopez.
Madrid are well off the pace in La Liga and it was obvious as to why as United looked threatening against a suspect back four, but with the attacking talent on show for Mourinho's side it was inevitable that they would continue to create chances and it was no surprise as to who got their goal on the half hour mark.
Di Maria sent over a fierce cross from the left hand side and Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to defy gravity as he hung in the air above Patrice Evra for what seemed like an age to plant a stunning header past the helpless De Gea. It was almost reminiscent of Gareth Bale at his best. Almost. Heh.
Despite the setback United continued to attack, sensing weaknesses in Madrid's backline, and Welbeck went close to his second of the game before Wayne Rooney shot just wide.
The second half saw the away side sit back as they were forced to deal with increased pressure from the men in white, and De Gea pulled off an unorthodox but nonetheless impressive save from the free running Coentrao.
Robin Van Persie had been anonymous since an early booking for foul on Ramos, but the Dutchman sprung into life to miss a guilt edged chance when his scuffed volley failed to beat Xabi Alonso on the line with the goal gaping.
Both managers made substitutions suggesting their contentment with the result, with the tidy but completely ineffectual Luka Modric winning a freekick that Ronaldo almost scored with from 40 yards out. Yes, 40 yards.
United's goalkeeper still had more saves to make as the game approached its conclusion, with the Madrid born stopper showing assured handling to stop Sami Khedira's fiercely struck effort.
The last chance fell to Van Persie, however, who was denied late on by Alvez who managed to turn his effort round the post.
It's difficult to see either side failing to score when they meet again at Old Trafford, which should make for an enthralling encounter when they come together next month.
0 comments:
Post a Comment