Manchester United have gone one step into the final after defeating Schalke 2-0 at the Veltins. Giggs and Rooney were Devils’ heroes last night, managing to push the Germans on the brick. United beat great-shaped Neuer twice within two minutes. Giggs opened the score in the second half, while Rooney doubled the lead right afterwards. Hernandez, by contrast, failed to score, but the youngster did have a solid contribution in front.
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Rooney got his first chance early in the third minute. The striker was picked on the left but his shot was tipped away by Neuer, who tends to become one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Schalke’s keeper made another big save three minutes later. Park penetrated inside the box, but his effort was denied by the same rescuer. On the other side, Schalke could barely test Van der Sar as neither Raul, who was chasing his 72nd goal in the competition, nor Edu was able to trouble the Dutch.
Hernandez mocked a huge chance in the 14th minute. Park played the Mexican in good position, but youngster’s poor finish was denied by Neuer who was gaining one fan per save. Chicharito got his second one just five minutes later. The forwarder developed a personal action on the right, but his strike reached the side netting. He got one more opportunity in the 26th minute, his shot going standswards from tight angle.
Giggs, too, tried his luck in the 29th minute. Vidic’s cross was headed straight to Neuer by the Welsh veteran who was also chasing the opener. A foul on Rooney brought Metzelder’s first yellow in the 34th minute. The 37th minute could have brought both the best goal and action of the night. The Germans lost the ball in the middle as Fabio started a long distance run. The youngster beat two defenders but his finish went just over the bar. Giggs had the last word of the first half, his shot being held by the same Neuer.
As for the second half, things looked almost the same. The early minutes brought a couple of chances but neither Carrick, nor Giggs could put the ball beyond the impressive keeper. Hernandez scored in the 50th minute but the referee disallowed the opener for an offside position. Schalke were the first to make a change. Coach Ralf Rangnick replaced ineffectual Baumjohann with Kluge in the 53rd minute, but things remained the same. Fabio, too, picked a yellow card in the 58th minute for a tough challenge on Jurado.
Untied then opened the score through Giggs. Rooney’s tremendous exquisite finished with a lovely pass for the veteran, who penetrated the German defense to strike it through Neuer’s legs from ten yards. But things got much worse for the hosts. Just two minutes later, Rooney made it 2-0 following an impressive three-man combination. Valencia picked Hernandez on the edge of the box who also played Rooney inside of it. The striker then shot below the keeper to give the Mexican a big hug right afterwards.
Rangnick replaced Sarpei with Escudero, but United’s defense remained undestroyable. Manchester haven’t conceded any goal on the road so far this Champions League season. Ferguson, too, made two changes. The Scott replaced Hernandez and Park with Anderson and Scholes with 15 minutes left. Escudero was very close to cut the deficit to one goal and keep the qualification chances alive, but his finish was denied by Van der Sar. The last minutes brought a couple of changes, one for each side. Jurado departed for Drazler, while Nani was introduced for Rooney. However, it went 2-0 as Manchester are the main favorites for a final spot.
Schalke 04 – Neuer; Sarpei, Metzelder, Matip, Uchida; Jurado, Papadopoulos, Baumjohann, Farfan; Edu, Raul. Reserves: S. Escudero, J. Draxler, P. Kluge, N. Plestan, A. Charisteas, A. Karimi, M. Schober.
Manchester United – Van der Sar; Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Fabio; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park; Rooney, Hernandez. Reserves: Nani, Rafael, Anderson, C. Smalling, J. Evans, T. Kuszczak, P. Scholes.
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