© EuroFootball.com
There was no intrigue in the first Champions League semi-final match - "Man Utd" proved a clear advantage against Gelzenkirchen's "Schalke" away.
Although the English team brought home a victory with an unimpressive result of 2-0, the Germans can be happy that the visitors did not take advantage of numerous opportunities to score. Despite playing defensively carelessly, the "Schalke" team was not saved by the impressive performance of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
In the first half, he fantastically repelled attempts from Wayne Rooney, Park Ji-Sung, and Javier Hernandez, even though the attackers had excellent chances.
However, the miracles faded in the 67th minute: Ryan Giggs jumped ahead of Neuer and struck the ball into the goal. Almost immediately, another attack ended with another goal for "Man Utd": Rooney doubled the lead after a pass from Hernandez.
For the remaining time, "Schalke" could not create anything similar to a final attack, and on the other side of the field, Patrice Evra even sent the ball slightly wide. The intrigue was gone - the winner of the tie, looking at this match, is already clear, and the German club can only hope to demonstrate incredible football in Manchester in order to have at least a slight chance of reaching the final in London.
The second leg match will take place in Manchester on May 4. In the other semi-final on Wednesday, Madrid's "Real" and "Barcelona" will face off.
Gelzenkirchen's "Schalke" 0 - 2 "Man Utd"
67' [0 - 1] R.Giggs
69' [0 - 2] W.Rooney
First half highlights:
Goals:
