PREVIEW vs Chelsea: Win and take another step towards greatness

The win last week at Stamford Bridge, once a bogey ground with contentious refereeing decisions and undeserved losses, was a significant moment for United in their quest for a fourth European cup. The win was the first there in nine years and came courtesy of a move as good as any you’ll see this season when a combination of a glorious Carrick pass, Giggs’ magical touch to take the ball past Bosingwa, and finally Rooney’s powerful but measured finish past Cech gave us a 1-0 win.

Although the goal was scored in the 24^th minute, United never truly looked like increasing their lead, but the same can be said of Chelsea. Apart from a few near-misses by Hernandez and Lampard’s shot cleared on the line by Evra at the end of the first half, United generally looked comfortable and got precisely what Ferguson had asked for: an away goal or two.

Ancelotti now has a difficult decision to make. He faces a tough task in overcoming a first-leg deficit, something which has been done only once this season when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich. He also has to wrestle with the decision of whether or not to start with Fernando Torres, now that El Nino has gone almost 13 hours without a goal in a competitive fixture.

It is also selection problem that Sir Alex shares but more so due to a healthy competition for places .Dimitar Berbatov’s situation is unfortunate, especially taking into account that the Bulgarian is both the team and Premier League’s top scorer this season with 21 goals, a personal best, and is enjoying his best season in English football. Ferguson has admitted he fells ‘terrible’ having to inform Berbatov everytime he does not start, but he seems decided on one thing at least: Hernandez is the answer, and not the player whom he broke the bank to acquire from Spurs back in 2009.

How ironic it must be then, for the Mexican who arrived for a measly 7 million pounds compared to Berbatov’s transfer fee to overtake the latter in the pecking order. Ferguson’s faith in the Hernandez-Rooney partnership has not been misplaced, and was justified again last week although Hernandez did not get on the score-sheet against Chelsea.

For Rooney, his entire season has been a culmination of everything leading up to this point. The England star has been hounded by the media for the past 12 months, with his tiniest of actions scrutinized in the press. Yet, he was at the centre of United’s best play against Chelsea and is clearly enjoying his time on the park when paired with the Mexican. It is no coincidence that Rooney’s best form on the pitch has coincided with his pairing with Chicharito and thiis looks to be the formula that will ultimately bring glory to the Red Devils this season.

On the flanks, Nani and Valencia will be crucial in United’s wing-play and penetration in attack. Valencia has made an immediate impact on his return to the first team and it is as if he was never away, with his goal on Saturday against Fulham capping a remarkable turn-around since his injury.

Not much else needs to be said about Nani. The tricky Portuguese has been United’s chief orchestrator this season and continues to be instrumental in United’s title charge, both in the league and Europe. He is likely to be on the team sheet after adding two more assists to his tally at the weekend against the Cottagers.

Of course, Chelsea are still Chelsea. They have done it before and despite beating them twice already this season, they remain our biggest threat domestically, with memories of last season’s 2-1 loss at Old Trafford instantly springing to mind.

On the other hand, United have a flawless record in Europe against English opposition. They have won everytime they have been paired with an English team in the Champions League, and they will make it a perfect six wins out of six meetings by beating Chelsea.

Consider this: Chelsea’s usual first team regulars no longer possess the ‘fear factor’ they had last season when they won the double. The Blues have already lost seven games in the league this season, and no longer look invincible or a sure bet even against mid-table opposition evidenced by their recent draw at Stoke. They struggled to score against Wigan at home; a side battling relegation and whom they put seven past on the final day of last season.

Bringing Fernando Torres in on transfer deadline day, a move which was expected to save their season, has instead compounded their problems and even disrupted the attacking chemistry of Ancelotti’s forward line at a time when change is not welcome.

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Nicolas Anelka has easily been Chelsea’s stand-out performer in Europe this season, with seven goals to his name; Didier Drogba has obviously not looked the same player ever since that bout of malaria and will never be content with playing second fiddle to the Spainard, especially as Ancelotti has yet to coax the best out of his 50 million pound striker. It is a striking conundrum that has been highlighted many times ever since Torres made the move to London, and it could not have come at a worse time for the Blues and a better time for United.

Vidic and Ferdinand, bedrock of United’s defence and one of the best centre-back pairings left in the competition, will still have to be on their toes but can expect a similar challenge they faced at the Bridge if Ancelotti continues to stick with his 4-4-2 formation and play two up-front. Judging from how they generally struggled against Wigan, the Italian is likely to revert back to his diamond formation for the upcoming game.

At this stage of the competition, United have one of the most balanced teams in Europe and are more than a match for anyone on their day. They also have the best defence amongst the sides left in the competition, having conceded a mere two goals away in Europe this season. They nearly set a group stage record by not conceding a single goal – a testament to the sturdiness of the back line that at times has been dictated by injuries and inconsistent team selection.

Manchester United are not a side without problems. Their season however, has certainly not been as mediocre as some critics have made it out to be. The Red Devils were unbeaten in the league going into 2011 before losing to Wolves at Molineux, have consolidated their position atop of the league and look on course for league title number 19^th. They are in the FA Cup semi finals and hold the advantage against Chelsea.

What United have lacked this season in quality match-winners, they have made up for with an abundance of experience and spirit resonating throughout the team. The argument provided by naysayers is that the class of 2010/2011 are not exciting enough and miss a top creative midfielder like Snejider of Inter Milan to bridge the gap between their rivals.

The current United set-up looks a good blend of youth and experience – Rafael and Fabio instantly come to mind, as the Brazilian twins have continually pushed for a first team spot and look to be the long-term residents for the full-back spots, while Smalling who was playing non-league football two years ago has made startling progress and been more than adept cover for the missing Rio Ferdinand. Van Der Sar looks as good as any of the top goalkeepers linked with in the press, and when Giggs and Scholes retire one day, they are undoubtedly the ones who will need the most replacing in the team such is their importance. Regardless, their evergreen presence has been an invaluable factor in United’s hunt for trophies this season, as Giggs showed again last week after proving to be the difference between the two sides at Stamford Bridge.

The job is far from done, as Ferdinand acknowledged after the first leg, the tie is still ‘very much in the balance’ and United fans will be wary of the familiar feeling of disappointment against the Blues.

It has always been the club’s ethos, constantly engrained onto any team Sir Alex selects; they possess the know-how of getting the job done and contrary to most observations this season, can win spectacularly as well as grind out results – something we can be attributed our position in the league to.

No opposition should be underestimated at this juncture of the competition, and it can be dangerous to pre-empt that Manchester United will cruise into Wembley having avoided the Spanish big two in the draw. What is clear is that United will give themselves the best possible chance of repeating the feat not seen since the 1998/1999 season in red colours, if they start by beating Chelsea at Old Trafford and eliminate their effervescent arch-rivals once and for all.

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