Manchester United 4-0 AC Milan (Agg. 7-2): Woeful Rossoneri Humbled As Red Devils March Imperiously Into Last Eight

The Rossoneri were humiliated by the Red Devils as the English giants taught them a footballing lesson at Old Trafford...




Manchester United made history as they eliminated AC Milan for the first time in European competition, having never beaten the Italians over two legs before. It was more than comfortable in the end, with Wayne Rooney grabbing a brace before Ji-Sung Park and Darren Fletcher put the icing on the cake.

The Rossoneri started the game without star forward Alexandre Pato and the talismanic Alessandro Nesta. Proceedings started ominously for the Rossoneri as Rooney turned on the edge of the box and flashed a shot wide in the third minute.

With Ignazio Abate and Marek Jankulovski both starting for the visitors, Sir Alex Ferguson's side knew that the Italians' flanks were vulnerable and looked to feed Nani and Antonio Valencia as often as possible.

It took eight minutes for Milan to muster a meaningful shot at goal, but it almost gave them the lead. Nani inadvertently flicked the ball on to Ronaldinho from Andrea Pirlo's free kick, but the Brazilian's header floated just wide of Edwin van der Sar's left post with the 'keeper rooted to the spot.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar then failed to control the ball in the penalty area following a superb pass by Thiago Silva, but Manchester United re-established themselves and took the lead in the 13th minute. Gary Neville was allowed to advance in the Milan half and sent in an inch-perfect cross for Rooney to outjump Daniele Bonera and head past Christian Abbiati.

The Rossoneri now needed to score three at Old Trafford and in the 20th minute Pirlo nearly caught Van der Sar out with a shot from the edge of the box, but the Dutchman smothered the effort at the second attempt. The Italians were afforded more than their fair share of the possession as the first half progressed, with the hosts content to try and hit them on the counter-attack, but there was a lack of incision in the Milanese attacks.

Frustrations were beginning to build for the Italians as Manchester United comfortably contained them in the final third. The Rossoneri's defence was less watertight as Darren Fletcher was allowed far too much time to fire a shot at goal just before the break, but his effort fizzed just wide.



Clarence Seedorf came on for Bonera at half-time, and less than a minute into the second period the attacking move backfired spectacularly. Nani played a superb pass with the outside of his foot to play Rooney in on goal, and the striker rolled the ball effortlessly past Abbiati for his 30th goal of the season.

Huntelaar could have reduced the arrears when Abate sent in a dangerous cross from the right hand side, but the ball was just too high for him and his close-range header flew over the bar. At the other end, Abate was turned inside out by Nani as he ran at him at pace, but Abbiati was able to claw the winger's cross away from under his crossbar.

The Milan goalkeeper could do nothing moments later as the Red Devils went 3-0 up. Valencia found Paul Scholes in acres of space in midfield, and the veteran midfielder dummied a shot before splitting the defence open for Ji-Sung Park to slide the ball past Abbiati into the far corner.

The Italians' lack of defensive abilities were clearly evident, and the back five were hardly aided by a lack of cover by those in front. David Beckham was thrown on for Abate just after the hour mark to a fantastic reception from the Old Trafford faithful.

Flamini tried his luck from 25 yards in the 70th minute, but Van der Sar did well to get a foot on it after it took a deflection on the way through a crowded penalty area. Five minutes later, Beckham caught a volley perfectly on the edge of the box, but it was straight at the Dutch shot-stopper and he was able to turn it over the bar.

Darron Gibson blazed a shot over the crossbar from 20 yards out as the game entered its final 10 minutes as Nani toyed with stand-in right back Flamini. The Frenchman was then booked as the Manchester United winger flew past him for a third time in as many minutes.

Milan's humiliation was complete in the 88th minute as Rafael put in a delightful cross for a completely unmarked Fletcher to head in at the far post. It was an ignominious end to an utterly forgettable night for the Italians, but it certainly marks a statement of intent from Manchester United, who move into the quarter-finals and leave the Rossoneri licking their wounds.