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On Tuesday, the long-awaited intriguing semi-final battles kick off in the UEFA Champions League. In the first match in England, "Man Utd" will face "Milan" from Italy.
Time – 21:45
Referee – Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
Firstly, it is striking that the leaders of the Premier League will have to cope without a bunch of players due to injuries – Rio Ferdinand, Garry Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Mikael Silvestre, Kieran Richardson, Ji-Sung Park, Louis Saha, and Patrice Evra.
Despite the numerous losses, "Milan" coach Carlo Ancelotti does not underestimate his opponents: "The absence of players like Rio Ferdinand may benefit us, but "United" has the advantage - very fast Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, who are very dangerous in counterattacks."
"Of course, the absence of Rio Ferdinand, Garry Neville, and Louis Saha is a big loss for us, but the team spirit is good. Other important players will be able to play. The only problem is that we won't have a quality replacement on the bench," - jokingly said "Man Utd" coach Sir Alex Ferguson.
Meanwhile, "Milan" seems to be able to field all their strongest players, including Alberto Gilardino who returns after disqualification. The only doubt is about the goalkeeper Dida's health, as the Brazilian recently suffered a shoulder injury.
"Dida is already training, but not at full strength yet. We will decide if he plays or not just a few hours before the match," said C. Ancelotti.
These matches can also be called a clash of "Youth" versus "Experience". Young leaders of the Manchester team - 22-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo and 21-year-old Wayne Rooney will try to break through the defensive wall of 31-year-old Clarence Seedorf, 38-year-old Paolo Maldini, and 31-year-old Alessandro Nesta.
"I cannot deny that my players lack experience. But I hope it will be enough in important situations," said the "United" manager.
An interesting battle is also expected in the midfield. In the "Milan" team, Brazilians Kaka, who has already scored 7 out of 13 team goals in the tournament, and Gennaro Gattuso, play the leading roles. They will face experienced players like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Both teams have met each other 6 times in European tournaments. "Man Utd" celebrated 2 victories, while "Milan" won 4 times. The latter should have pleasant memories of the teams' encounter. In the 2004-2005 season, in the quarter-finals, "Milan" won a minimal victory in England twice, thanks to Hernan Crespo's goals. That was the only victory of the Milan team in England at all. The Manchester club has faced opponents from Italy at home 12 times, winning 8 times, drawing twice, and losing twice.
Overall, "Milan" can probably be considered the more titled club. They have already played in the Champions League semi-finals 11 times (won 9) and raised the winner's cup 6 times. Interestingly, the last time - in 2003, "Milan" did it at the "Old Trafford" stadium, beating "Juventus" after a penalty shootout.
"Man Utd" have reached the semi-finals 8 times (successfully only 2), winning the cup twice. In the 1999 semi-finals, the "Red Devils" defeated "Juventus", coached by C. Ancelotti.
In the quarter-finals, "Milan" outperformed Munich's "Bayern", drawing 2-2 at home and winning 2-0 away. "Man Utd" did not spare the other Italian team "Roma" - after losing 1-2 away, "United" crushed the opponents 7-1 at home.
In the national championships, both opponents had different results over the weekend. The English team drew 1-1 with "Middlesbrough" but still leads the Premier League. The Italian club defeated "Cagliari" 3-1 and is in 4th place in Serie A.
Before facing "United," Carlo Ancelotti said: "Despite the fact that opponents will play without several key players, we must remain very cautious and control the situation on the field, gaining control of the ball, as "Man Utd" is very dangerous in counterattacks."
Sir Alex Ferguson spoke about victory: "Of course, we cannot underestimate the abilities of "Milan" players, but I hope that each of our players will give their all to achieve a result. A goal would give us real chances. We understand the importance of the match. We hope and plan to win and not concede a goal."
This season in the Champions League, "Man Utd" won all 5 home games. Meanwhile, "Milan" won 2 out of 5 away matches and did not score in 3 games.
Possible lineups:
"Man Utd": E.van der Sar; D.Fletcher, W.Brown, G.Heinze, J.O'Shea; C.Ronaldo, M.Carrick, P.Scholes, R.Giggs; A.Smith, W.Rooney.
"Milan": Dida; M.Oddo, A.Nesta, P.Maldini, M.Jankulovski; G.Gattuso, A.Pirlo, M.Ambrosini, C.Seedorf, Kaka; A.Gilardino.
