Valencia and Scholes

See you at Wembley lads!

“Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we’re going to Wembley, que sera sera!”

The twist to the lyrics of the iconic song originally performed by Doris Day rang out through Old Trafford, as a much changed Manchester United side cast aside all lingering doubts, to comfortably book their place in the 2011 Champion’s League final, to take their place alongside Barcelona, in challenging for Europe’s top honours.

Led by John O’Shea, deputising as captain for the evening, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team saw out the task at hand, to run away comfortable winners with a 4-1 victory, giving them a 6-1 lead over the two legs. Such ease of victory is a rare accomplishment in such late stages of the competition. And with that, here are five things that may be taken from the game.

1) The gamble on the squad paid off

With a 2 goal lead against a team that were considered vastly inferior, it would have been so surprise to find a few players that had featured being rested, particularly when one considers the flat and somewhat fatigued display shown against Arsenal the previous Sunday.

However, the fact that 9 changes had been made would undoubtedly have been considered a risk. Although Schalke were poor the previous week, the idea of such a major change to the starting line up will have been thought of as a gamble in a competition where “there are no easy games”. Fortunately, despite a fairly brighter start from the German side, the tie was soon put beyond doubt as Gibson thread a well placed pass through to Valencia to charge into the box and coolly finish past Neuer after 26 minutes.

The game was made to look even more comfortable when 5 minutes later, Gibson fired a well-struck shot that should have been comfortably collected by Neuer but instead found itself deflecting off his hands and in to the net and despite a Jurado claiming a goal back only minutes later, the semi-final already looked beyond United’s German counterparts. Despite the risk taken with the squad, one has to applaud the efficiency and professionalism displayed by Ferguson’s men in getting the job done, and in failing to allow Schalke a lifeline in finding their way back into contention.

Although it was a poor side that United faced, the possibility of complacency was always there unless business had been dealt with appropriately.  On a note about Neuer, Schalke’s goalkeeper that has made headlines of late, although he had a poor performance, his standing as one of the world’s top ‘keepers should not be called into question. Perhaps his error for Gibson’s goal threw him off for the rest of the game, regularly showing his signs of frustration and perhaps annoyance at the lack of a challenge posed against United. Whatever the reason, it was not the performance that many will have expected for someone of such high standard, and will certainly have not looked positive in the closing stages of his career at Schalke.

2) Resting players at this stage is a luxury

The opportunity to give players a night off at the business end of the season is a rarity, especially when said side are challenging for both European and domestic honours, and the fact that United were able to make so many changes without suffering the ramifications will have been pleasing for the coaching staff, particularly when players will be needed to be at their peak for what could be seen as a title-decider the following Sunday against Chelsea. The possibility of a fresh starting line up will certainly maximise their chances of success and getting the result necessary in solidifying their advantage at the top of the table.

The likes of Hernandez and Rooney, as well as Ferdinand and Vidic will have benefited from some respite, and will have been comforted by the fact that their understudies were able to fill in with competence and do what was required of them without setback. At the same time it will have provided a chance for an “audition” of sorts for potential squad members for the title run in and indeed the final itself, with many taking the opportunity to try and make an impression at a time when squad selection will have to be considered extremely carefully.

The likes of Anderson, Berbatov, Valencia, Nani and others all aimed at putting in a performance that would leave the management with something to think about. In truth, it could be said that nobody played badly, but then against opposition that were far below par, some may say it was to be expected. The coming games will tell as to who is likely to get the chance to represent United in the line up at Wembley.

Continued on page two.

2 responses to “Five Things We Learned – Champions League, United – Schalke Part 2”

  1. Ezra says:

    Great article. Though early for me to comment on the finals, I believe if we play our attacking football rather than sit back and wait for one counter attack chance, we will beat Barca. They can’t play against alot of pressure. Offensive is our only option.

  2. lamar says:

    we have to play like this to beat barca. we have NO CHOICE