Champions League Night Roundup
Manchester United confirmed their place in the round-of-sixteen in the UEFA Champions League last night, after a match against Scottish rivals, Rangers ended up 0-1 in United’s favour. Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the night at the Ibrox stadium,
which shattered Rangers’ hopes of progressing in the Champions League. As a consolation, Walter Smith’s men will have booked a place in the Europa League next year.
Critics argue that despite not faring well in the Champions League this season, the Scottish team put on a better display than they did in the competition last year, when they failed to win a single match. Manchester United are now the leaders of their Group
C, topping their table with ten points and Valencia are second, with seven points. The Spanish side thrashed Bursaspor 6-1, in a fixture that was also played out last night, effectively booking their place alongside United in the knockout stages of the competition.
Fellow English club and in-form Tottenham beat Werder Bremen 3-0, which will see the Spurs progress to the next round. Benitez’s Inter-Milan won against FC Twente. Spanish giants, Barcelona thrashed Panathinaikos 0-3 and Hapoel Tel-Aviv won 3-0 against Benfica.
Group D’s Rubin Kazan’s match against Copenhagen ended 1-0 in Kazan’s favour, while Schalke sustained a win against Group B leaders Lyon.
Wayne Rooney sunk Gers hearts after tucking one in against goal-keeper Allan McGregor in the 87th minute. The penalty was awarded to United, after Haismith committed a rash challenge on Fabio and penalty-taker, Rooney’s strike and Allan’s miss
proved detrimental to the Rangers, who prevented the Red Devils from scoring for an overwhelming majority of the match but had to settle for a loss at the bitter end. Manchester United are now the only team to have not conceded a goal in the Group stages of
the competition.
Wayne Rooney had one other good chance in the first half, when his header touched the wood-work. United dominated Rangers in all other statistical aspects of the match, with 56 per cent of possession, twelve attempts on target as opposed to Rangers’ five.
The Red Devils even committed thirteen fouls compared to Rangers’ eight and Sir Alex’s men enjoyed thirteen corners, compared to Smith’s side who only managed one corner. Rangers' players Whittaker, Naismith and Hutton were all awarded yellow cards by referee
M. Busacca.
Rooney, who has been in the headlines for the past month due to his high profile injury, problems in his personal life and contract-signing controversy, was eager to win back the hearts of the United faithful. The 25-year-old, who has just penned a new five-year
contract with United, was forced to dispel rumours that he delayed his decision to stay with the club to increase his salary and that United would gain a greater fee from his departure, if he decided to leave the club in the future. The striker made a statement
ahead of the match, in an attempt to prove his mettle to the Red Devil fans, saying “I have to go out and prove to the fans that I am here to stay and I want to work and I want to win things at this club.”
A player who may not face a long term future at United may be Dimitar Berbatov, as reports have emerged that the Bulgarian may move to Juventus and in exchange, Gianluigi Buffon may play at Old Trafford. Speculation about the Bulgarian's future has yet to
be confirmed by the manager and club.
Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson praised his player’s performance and described Rooney’s decision to take the penalty as courageous. Ferguson now wants to seal his team’s position as leaders of their Group C; they face Spanish side Valencia next
at Old Trafford.
Rangers’ boss Smith had to field a fairly inexperienced side against the English club, as many players in his first team were injured. Before the game, the boss was heard admitting to the media that he “needed a hand” and that his team had “basically only
teenagers left.” The manager went on to reinstate his team’s need for investment, explaining that “If we don't get any help in the January transfer window then we could have a struggle again because we are right down to the bare bones in terms of what we have.”
Rangers now have a consolation place in the Europa League and will play in the competition after Christmas.
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